By Concentrating on the Fragrance You Become one with Universe
- Hiragana Times
- Apr 12, 2016
[From May Issue 2015]
Incense Specialist
WATANABE Eriyo
Kodo “the way of incense” is a traditional art in Japan. Rather than saying “smell” the aromatic wood, we say “listen” to it. Listening to incense means appreciating its fragrance with keen attention. “Japan has four seasons. It’s blessed with the scents of different trees and flowers each season and a moderate level of humidity,” says incense specialist WATANABE Eriyo.
“The climate, too, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, is diverse; the country has 3,000 meters high mountains and a rich ecosystem. This environment has nurtured the delicate sensibilities of the Japanese people, especially our sense of smell and taste. I’m interested not only in Japanese aromas, but also in aromas from other countries, from history and how these relate to each other.”
Watanabe opened her “Setagaya Incense Salon” in Tokyo and from this base, she organizes workshops in which people make nerikoh (blended incense balls made by mixing together the raw materials and honey) based on a 1,000-year-old Japanese recipe and learn, through incense, about Japan’s classical literary works and traditional culture. All kinds of people participate, from foreigners who want to “experience something typically Japanese” to regulars who “look forward to listening to lovely fragrances.”
Watanabe organizes gatherings at which participants simply listen to incense. Many come just for one day. “When a workaholic listens to incense, their expression softens as if a mask has slipped off,” says Watanabe.
“It’s of course wonderful that kodo is such a rich subject, but it can also be a mental challenge because differentiating scents by ‘listening’ to them and comparing them is competitive. I want people to enjoy the calming and relaxing effects of incense, so they don’t compete with each other, they simply fully enjoy the fragrances. Since ancient times, incense has always been referred to as food for the soul. If you concentrate only on the fragrance, you lose your ego, become one with the whole universe and experience a state of bliss,” says Watanabe.
The reputation of Setagaya Incense Salon is spreading by word of mouth. The salon has been mentioned on an Australian travel website as one of the “Top Ten Things to Do Only in Tokyo” and on a German travel website as “a relaxing place.” “The enjoyment of scent has always been a cultural practice that has spanned the globe,” says Watanabe. Burning incense is a sacred act in Christianity, Islam, and in Buddhism. Since antiquity, there has been an international trade in the raw materials used to make incense.”
“As a student of art history in London, I rediscovered Japan when I learned that ‘Japan’ also meant lacquer ware. I later studied expressive arts therapy in Boston and while working in that area, I realized that incense had the same effect as expressive arts therapy. My biggest personal asset is the cross-cultural experience acquired on trips to 48 countries and during the time I lived abroad for ten years.”
Watanabe says enthusiastically, “When I burn incense that I made with a wish or a prayer, it feels as though that wish or prayer reaches heaven. I’d like to create new kinds of incense equipment and market them to the world.”
Incense Research Institute
Text: SAZAKI Ryo/文:砂崎良[2015年5月号掲載記事]
香研究家
渡辺えり代さん
日本には香道という伝統文化があります。香道では香木の香りは「かぐ」といわず、「聞く」といいます。聞香とは、心を研ぎ澄まして耳を傾けるように香りを鑑賞するという意味です。「日本は四季があります。それぞれの季節の樹木や花の香りに恵まれ、適度な湿気もあります」と香研究家の渡辺えり代さんは話します。
「また、北海道から沖縄まで気候が多様で、3千メートル級の山々もあり、生態系が豊かです。この環境が日本人の繊細な感覚、とくに嗅覚と味覚を育んだのです。私は、日本のお香に限らず、世界の香文化と歴史、そしてつながりに興味をもっています」。
渡辺さんは東京で「世田谷香サロン」を開いていて、そこを拠点に、日本に千年前から伝わるレシピに基づいて練香(香原料を蜜で練り合わせたお香)を作ったり、お香を通じて日本の古典文学や伝統文化を学ぶワークショップを開いています。参加者は、「日本らしいことを体験してみたい」という外国人から、「いい香りを聞くのが楽しみ」と通う人までとさまざまです。
渡辺さんが行っているのは、シンプルに香りを聞く集まりで、一日だけ受講する人もたくさんいます。「ばりばり働いている方がお香を聞くと、仮面が落ちたかのようにやわらかい表情になるんですよ」と渡辺さんは言います。
「伝統的な香道はもちろん奥が深くてすばらしいですが、香りを聞き比べてそのお香の名前を当てるという競技形式なので、頭を使います。私はお香の鎮静作用やリラックス効果を味わっていただきたいので競技はせず、いい香りを堪能していただくやり方をとっています。お香は昔から魂の食べものといわれていて、無心になって香りに集中すると、自分という枠の意識が消えて、宇宙全体と一つにとけ合い、至福を感じます」と渡辺さん。
世田谷香サロンは口コミで広まっています。オーストラリアの旅行サイトで「東京だけでできることトップテン」の一つとして取りあげられたり、ドイツの旅行サイトでも「リラックスできる場所」と書かれたりしました。「お香を楽しむのは、そもそもとても国際的な文化なのです」と渡辺さん。キリスト教でもイスラム教でも仏教でもお香をたくというのは神聖な行為です。香原料の交易は古代から国際的に行われてきました」。
「ロンドンで美術史を学んでいたとき、JAPANが漆器を意味すると知って日本を再発見しました。その後ボストンで芸術療法を修めてその仕事をし、芸術療法によって得られる効果がお香にもあると気がついたのです。48ヵ国への旅と10年間の海外生活から得た異文化体験は私の一番の財産です」。
渡辺さんは「祈りや願いをこめて作った練香をたくと、その思いが天に届くような気がします。新しいスタイルの香道具を開発して、世界に発信したいです」と意気込みます。
香研究会IRI
文:砂崎良
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