Fragrance house

Kitowa

Kitowa traces its heritage to a Japanese incense tradition founded in 1575 and was established as a maison fragrance brand in 2018, when Nippon Kodo launched it as an expression of the company’s incense heritage. Its identity brings together Japanese aesthetic principles of restraint, quietness, and harmony with an aim of communicating Made-in-Japan fragrance culture internationally. The brand’s scent concept centers on natural oils from Japanese woods—hinoki, hiba, and kusunoki—materials associated with Japanese architecture and daily life. After beginning with home fragrance in 2018, Kitowa expanded into eau de parfum, announcing its first three compositions for release on December 2, 2019. Based on hinoki, kusunoki, and hiba, these fragrances established the traditional Japanese woods as the clearest thread in Kitowa’s fragrance identity.