Palais d'Hiver kadzidła

Petersburg. Over the Neva River hangs a frosty fog. The rising sun illuminates the grand facade of the Winter Palace. In the rays shining through the tall windows, stucco and dazzling gilding in the ballrooms sparkle. The air is filled with the scent of the empress's perfume: intensely musky patchouli mixed with the delicious aroma of white flowers.

Thanks to the favorable climate of Awaji Island, located off the coast of Kobe, the best incense comes from there. The local masters of perfumery, koh-shi, prepare incense according to a thousand-year-old tradition passed down from father to son. They have perfected four stages of production. First, they prepare and mix ingredients - all of natural origin - including exotic wood, plants and herbs, plant resins and perfumes. They knead these ingredients to form a uniform paste and leave it for two weeks to combine with the perfumes. From this paste, they then form long strips, which are cut to the desired length and left to dry for three days in the western wind. The finished incense is collected in bundles. Each box contains about 125 incense sticks, each burning for 30 minutes.