Nippon Kodo – Meiko – Shibayama
I was curious about Shibayama because it’s one of the few Japanese incense sticks where musk can be found in the description. However, the text on the box describes Shibayama only as ‘Floral Sandalwood’.
I ended up buying them as part of a set of second hand incenses, on Kleinanzeigen.
These small boxes, like I got, are sparsely found in Germany. They’re predominantly sold in rolls containing a higher number of sticks.
The boxes contain 20 sticks, whilst the rolls have 50. They are 14cm long. The stated burning time varies between 25 and 30 minutes.
For the boxes, I find prices ranging from €3.99 (FR) to €6.50 (IT); for the rolls, prices range from €5.20 (DE) to €6.95 (FR). Additionally, Shibayama gift boxes with 250 sticks are available (€23.90 (DE)).
They are spelled “Meiko” as on the package, but you may find them under alternative spellings like “Meikoh” and “Meikou”.
As with the Koh Do line, which come in similar boxes, the sticks are only relatively loosely wrapped in paper, which often leads to some breaking during transport. 🙁
Nippon Kodo lists Meiko – Shibayama as reduced-smoke incense sticks.
When I first tried Shibayama, I had just started exploring Bakhoor, and I found Diqa Bulush No. 2 to be reminiscent of Shibayama. Both mention sandalwood, floral notes, and herbal elements (Diqa Bulush No. 2 in the form of oregano). And although I couldn’t find either the oregano or really the sandalwood in this Bakhoor, there’s still this remarkable similarity to Shibayama.
Shibayama is very sweet and powdery-floral. Unlike Diqa Bulush, it’s not specifically rose, more a general, generic flower scent that blends with the sweet woodiness of the composition and repeatedly allows the nameless herb notes to shine through. These give Shibayama a typical ‘Japanese-incense-stick-scent’.
I’m not sure if I can find the musk. Presumably it’s part of the powdery sweetness, but the scent doesn’t have anything about it that immediately makes me think of musk. It will definitely be a synthetic musk molecule, perhaps, as with Kayuragi – Sandalwood1, musk ketone.
The sandalwood becomes somewhat more noticeable in the after-smell but doesn’t last long.
I like sweet incense scents, but I can’t really warm to Shibayama. They’re nice, and if I didn’t have so many other delicious scents that I prefer, I would certainly keep Shibayama. However, I wouldn’t buy them again.
