Spirit of Japan Elixir Attar 2017 Extrait de Parfum

The sacred aura of a Kōdō ceremony. A sumptuous, rich composition that perfectly recreates the heavy air of ancient Japanese imperial temples. Warm spices like cinnamon and clove lead the way to a majestic, authentic oud, paired with smooth Mysore sandalwood and mystical resins. Dense, highly spiritual, and an absolute must-try for dedicated incense connoisseurs, featuring a resinous depth that evolves dramatically over many hours on the skin

Wear festive clothing and settle down on mats between walls of white paper. Observe the master of ceremonies, then slowly close your eyelids. Sharpen your senses, there are anise herbs, at first they waft gently alongside flowers, they carry mushroom lamella leaves, gradually becoming greener and bitter. Soon you notice mild summer images of curry yellow and Greek hay, honeydew drips onto spicy fields, sharp cool mists pass by, like clove flags on the trees of the forests. There, the soils breathe peppermint leaves, through every moldy soft fiber of the falling bark of ancient woods, which shimmer in the ethereal resinous veil, the contemplative sound of nature.
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"Spirit of Japan" thematizes the Japanese Kōdō ceremony, which originated in the 14th century, where participants listen to the "sound of fragrance" with a master of ceremonies, compare its qualities, and link them with poetic associations or listen to traditional literature. Because the brain perceives scents in the limbic system, the "primitive" part of the brain associated with instinct and memory, and poetry activates a different part of the brain, the combination of these two activities in Kōdō opens up new ways of thinking and levels of consciousness. Precious ouds (Jinkō) and sandalwoods (Byakudan) play a central role during the incense burning on charcoal, cinnamon bark, clove, anise, patchouli, flowers, and herbs are also included.
Ahmed Mostafa's interpretation initially reminds one of dried chamomile leaves, green and soft, delicately smoky, before it unfolds a subtle, spicy-bitter sharpness of anise, clove, cumin, and cinnamon leaf aromas support the character and carry it into the base. After a brief hint of curry-like turmeric dust, spicy hay notes of fenugreek, the so-called Greek hay, become evident, on which honey-sweet labdanum resins float like tiny pearls, I also believe I perceive marzipan-like notes of heliotrope within it. While the hay in the base continues in soft, mulchy bark notes of eagle wood, the spicy-bitter sharpness merges into minty-earthy patchouli as well as into ethereal, glue-like aromas of sandalwood. Styrax and benzoin soften the ethereal towards tree resins, amber and deer musk remain rather reserved, adding more depth.
"Spirit of Japan" remains, true to the ceremony, rather restrained in projection, fine-green-smoky and woody-spicy contemplative, and of course, it is determined by the quality of its noble raw materials.

(With thanks to Cfr)