Fragrance house

Shoyeido

Established in Kyoto in 1705, Shoyeido traces its beginnings to Sasaya, founded by Hata Rokuzaemon Moriyoshi. In the third generation, Hata Moritsune began dedicated incense making and incorporated techniques learned at Kyoto’s Imperial Palace; the business has continued through the Hata family to its thirteenth generation. In 1897, Shoyeido developed cone-shaped kōsui-kō incense and made Japan’s first export of incense to the United States. Incense purchased for the 1928 imperial enthronement ceremony helped spread the name nationally. The company became a limited company in 1942, established Shoyeido Corporation in Boulder, Colorado, in 1990, marked its 300th anniversary in 2005, and established the Shōju Bunko incense-culture archive in 2009. In 2018, it opened Kunjyukan as a space for experiencing incense and sharing information about Japanese incense culture. Today, Shoyeido works across hand-blended incense and aromatic woods, combining traditional incense-blending practices with technological innovation. Its Horin collection gives the ancient art of incense appreciation a modern form, with fragrances named for periods and places in Japanese history.