Kouseido – Kyoto Incense – Tsukimiusagi

This pack came from the collection of my friend Povilas, who had weeded it out of his collection and passed it on to me in 2024.

I remember that his parcel arrived just before I went visiting Max for a few days, so I simply took it with me and unpacked it there.
We tried some things straightaway at Max’s, and he was very taken with Tsukimiusagi, so I left them with him.

There was long confusion around this pack. Povilas had bought it on eBay and the seller had simply titled it ‘Kouseido – Usagi’. (‘Usagi’ means ‘rabbit’.)
Later, Povilas found another eBay listing for a larger box, which describes the sticks as ‘Kousaido Tsukimiusagi Sandalwood‘, which matches Google Lens’s machine translation of our pack. What’s confusing: on our pack it says on the side ‘Namiusagi Stick Incense Sandalwood‘.

I started searching the web and eventually found these Tsuki-Usagi (Moon Rabbit) by Kouseido in the Japanese shop Wa no Kaori.
The packaging design is strikingly similar; it seems as if the design of Tsuki-usagi is a modernised version of Tsukimiusagi. Since I have no clue about Japanese, I thought the missing syllable might just be a different Latinisation.
But I had doubts and didn’t want to spread false information here, so I asked Ken, the owner of Wa no Kaori.

I’m glad I didn’t content myself with my first conclusion because it was soon proven wrong.
Ken was enormously helpful. He sent me this link to Kouseido’s Japanese website, where it states that the varieties formerly known as ‘Kyoto Incense – Usagi‘ have been given a new look and renamed. They’re now simply called ‘Tsuki‘, but the fragrance is unchanged.
According to Ken, ‘Tsuki’ means moon; ‘Tsukimiusagi’ translates to ‘moon-viewing rabbit’.

Regarding the writing on the side, Ken said it must be an error that Kouseido overlooked.
To go with that, he sent me a link to the Japanese incense blog A Life With Incense, where (alongside the corresponding review) there’s a picture of the Namiusagi pack. Thematically fitting, it’s blue, not brown. (‘Nami’ means ‘wave’.)
Unfortunately, the author didn’t write a review for Tsukimiusagi, but did write reviews for all 3 (!) ‘Wave Rabbit’ variants, which come from different lines. These confirm that the fragrances differ.

As far as I know, the sticks aren’t available in Europe. I couldn’t find them in the stock list of any relevant American and English retailers, either.

The price in Japan for a 110g box Tsuki (formerly Tsukimiusagi) is 1200 yen (approximately €6.50); Ken has since added them to Wa no Kaori‘s range for €8.95.
The burning time is approximately 25 minutes.

The varieties of the Kyoto Incense line are listed in the Kouseido catalogue as smoke-reduced incense sticks.

Although Tsukimiusagi are described as sandalwood sticks, sandalwood is by far not the most prominent note for me.
In fact, I find the sandalwood only really apparent in the after-smell and on the raw sticks, though the unlit sticks already have a certain perfumed character.

The fragrance strongly reminds me of Moonlit Night out of the Karin line from Aromandise. And now that I know the correct name and translation of these sticks, I notice another parallel: both varieties are themed around the moon.

Apart from sandalwood, Kouseido give no ingredients or fragrance notes, so I’m groping in the dark on that front. In Moonlit Night, there’s mention of daphne, though it’s not clear whether this is an ingredient or inspiration.
I can’t remember ever smelling daphne. Generally, it seems to be described as a sweet flower fragrance with citrus notes.

Tsukimiusagi and Moonlit Night share the same type of florality with a green and fresh feeling that reminds me of the sort of perfumes my mother likes to wear. Probably that’s why I find the smell perfume-like, though I don’t mean that negatively in this case.
Tsukimiusagi smell a little less bright to me and the florality is a touch less distinct than in Moonlit Night; in return, the sandalwood base comes through a tad bit more in Tsukimiusagi.
When I burn the two alternately, I notice the difference distinctly at first, but over time the two fragrances blur together in my perception.

I’m still struggling to find a better description for this type of fragrance than floral and fresh in a green way.
I sent Nathan some sticks of Moonlit Night a while ago, and he said they had an inconspicuous flower fragrance, the kind he’d already smelt in a number of other incense sticks.

Although Tsukimiusagi don’t really suit my taste, I still find the fragrance pleasant and refreshing.
I like it best in Max’s flat, where the association with perfume is toned down.