Baieido – Ensei – Gallant
I got this tube of Gallant [or 凛の香 Rin no Kaori] in late 2024 as part of a lot of mostly Japanese incense I bought on Kleinanzeigen.
Ensei [圓成] is a line comprising just three varieties, about which not much is talked about in the online community. There’s a 2022 review of the line on ORS, but I’ve never seen it mentioned on Reddit’s r/Incense.
The sticks come in a lovely, washi paper-covered tube; the label is affixed to the plastic wrapping, so once unpacked, you’re left with the plain tube. It measures about 10.5 cm (just over 4″) with a diameter of 2.5 cm (roughly 1″).
Inside are 20 incense sticks, each only 8 cm long (around 3″). The burn time is given as approximately 15–18 minutes.
In Germany, they are sold by Padma Store (for €16.50).
In the US, you can get them at japanincense.com for $15; in Japan they retail for ¥1,650 (about €10).
They’re comparatively expensive.
There’s little information available regarding the ingredients; not even in the shop linked on Baieido’s official Japanese website. The US Baieido site doesn’t list the line at all.
Anandam, who used to stock them, mentioned “cinnamon notes”, JapanIncense lists sandalwood and agarwood as the main ingredients.
The learning curve with Japanese incense is quite fascinating. The first few times I burned these sticks, I didn’t find them particularly pleasant. My initial notes described a bitter tone combined with a harsh smell reminiscent of fireworks. Alongside that, I could perceive a vague spicy warmth and a touch of umami.
After about the fourth stick, the scent began to open up to me, and by now I detect a sweetness that had been completely hidden at first. The off-notes have practically disappeared.
Now I perceive Gallant as a warm, slightly tart scent carried by a subtle sweetness. I recognise the agarwood, primarily through the umami note, which can feel odd at first but adds depth to the composition.
Furthermore, I find a softness to the scent, which I’d describe as waxy.
It seems to be quite a typical scent profile for Baieido, with its rather dry, spicy woodiness. The fragrance isn’t dissimilar to Tokusen Kobunboku; however, in direct comparison, Gallant feels noticeably heavier and fuller, and its sweetness has a different character from that in Tokusen Kobunboku.
Gallant is nice, and the packaging is extremely attractive, but the price-performance ratio doesn’t quite convince me.
I can see it working well as a gift, but not as an incense you’d use regularly and therefore restock frequently. And to save it for special occasions, I don’t think it’s quite special enough.
