KOUSAIDO Choju-Giga Shell Incense Holder - Playing Chase / 香彩堂 香皿

Kousaido (香彩堂) is a Kyoto-based incense maker with a simple but deeply felt philosophy — to colour your life with fragrance. Drawing on Kyoto's centuries-old incense traditions and the city's ever-changing seasons, Kousaido blends ancient Japanese craftsmanship with a modern sensibility to create scents that feel equally at home in a quiet morning ritual or an everyday moment of pause. Natural sandalwood forms the heart of every blend, layered with woods, botanicals, and florals to build fragrances that are both grounded and evocative. The range is wide and thoughtfully curated — from rare agarwood and kyara to playful contemporary series inspired by ukiyo-e prints, woodland creatures, and the colours of autumn leaves — all presented in packaging as considered as the scents within. Rooted in the belief that incense has the power to calm the mind, cleanse a space, and bring a quiet richness to daily life, Kousaido invites you to slow down and let fragrance do the rest.

The Oikakekko motif captures a moment of pursuit from the Choju-giga scrolls — creatures mid-chase, all forward momentum — and the fragrance assigned to it follows suit: opoponax, clove, and tocade combine into something spiced and substantive, the kind of scent that changes the feeling of a room quite quickly. It's the most characterful of the Choju-giga shell holders, and the one most likely to divide opinion, which is perhaps its own recommendation. For those who find lighter incense a little too retiring, this is the one to try.

◾ Made in Japan

◾ What's included? One (1) Incense Holder

◾ Comes with a cardboard box.