Shoyeido – Expo Incense – Scent of Africa

This sample comes from Sebastian, who travelled to Japan last year (2025) and brought me back some incense. He also provided the photo for the title image. Thanks for both!

The incense sticks are part of a line created specifically for the Fragrance Expo. It’s a collaboration between three companies: Shoyeido, Kyukyodo and Nippon Kodo. Each manufacturer created two of the 6 varieties:

• Scent of Asia – Kyukyodo (oriental floral scent with Indian sandalwood)
• Scent of Oceania – Kyukyodo (the scent of white blossoms with Australian sandalwood)
• Scent of Europe – Shoyeido (a floral bouquet with herbs and spices)
• Scent of Africa – Shoyeido (earthy scent with herbs and spices)
• Scent of North America – Nippon Kodo (white sage, copal, eucalyptus and cassis)
• Scent of South America – Nippon Kodo (lime, cloves and palo santo)

The information comes from a slip found with the pack.
There’s almost nothing to find online, just a short article on the blog of the Japanese Chuo Ward Tourism Association, which Sebastian dug up.
The pack was bought by him at the Shoyeido Main Store in Tokyo. As far as I know, they aren’t available on the international market.

The short description text gives away hardly any information: “The vast land of Africa. People dancing in vibrant, colorful costumes. A wild, earthy fragrance blended with herbs and spices.”

Already the raw smell is rather unusual: an acidic-fruity note, mixed with spices and a hint of something musk-like.

Lit, the slightly tangy, fruity character continues, and the spicy note, a little reminiscent of clove or perhaps star anise, comes through more strongly.

With the first stick, I caught a note that I associated with orris root. Today I find an animalic aspect in it. Something I’d rather attribute to a root like spikenard. Soft, yes, but also shifting easily in an unpleasantly funky direction. It’s possibly one of those earth-derived ingredients that Shoyeido means by ‘earthy’.

Sometimes I also catch a slight, tart soapiness, which seems more present on warmer days.
In the after-smell, the spicy notes linger most clearly.

The character of Scent of Africa is modern, perhaps even a little experimental.
I find the scent interesting. It’s something different for once, but not something I’d buy again. As a limited edition developed for an event, though, they’re not meant for that anyway.