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[3] By _sîla_ is meant the observance of the rules of purity in act and thought.151 _Dhyâna_ (called by Japanese Buddhists _Zenjō_) is one of the higher forms of meditation.152

Sometimes in Buddhist sermons the destruction of Karma by virtuous effort is likened to the burning of incense by a pure flame,—sometimes, again, the life of man is compared to the smoke of incense.153 In his “Hundred Writings “(_Hyaku-tsū-kiri-kami_), the Shinshū priest Myōden says, quoting from the Buddhist work _Kujikkajō_, or “Ninety Articles “:—154

“In the burning of incense we see that so long as any incense remains, so long does the burning continue, and the smoke mount skyward.155 Now the breath of this body of ours,—this impermanent combination of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire,—is like that smoke.156 And the changing of the incense into cold ashes when the flame expires is an emblem of the changing of our bodies into ashes when our funeral pyres have burnt themselves out.”157

He also tells us about that Incense-Paradise of which every believer ought to be reminded by the perfume of earthly incense:—“In the Thirty-Second Vow for the Attainment of the Paradise of Wondrous Incense,” he says, “it is written: ‘_That Paradise is formed of hundreds of thousands of different kinds of incense, and of substances incalculably precious;—the beauty of it incomparably exceeds anything in the heavens or in the sphere of man;—the fragrance of it perfumes all the worlds of the Ten Directions of Space; and all who perceive that odor practise Buddha-deeds.158 _’ In ancient times there were men of superior wisdom and virtue who, by reason of their vow, obtained perception of the odor; but we, who are born with inferior wisdom and virtue in these later days, cannot obtain such perception.159 Nevertheless it will be well for us, when we smell the incense kindled before the image of Amida, to imagine that its odor is the wonderful fragrance of Paradise, and to repeat the _Nembutsu_ in gratitude for the mercy of the Buddha.”160

IV161

But the use of incense in Japan is not confined to religious rites and ceremonies: indeed the costlier kinds of incense are manufactured chiefly for social entertainments.162 Incense-burning has been an amusement of the aristocracy ever since the thirteenth century.163 Probably you have heard of the Japanese tea-ceremonies, and their curious Buddhist history; and I suppose that every foreign collector of Japanese _bric-à-brac_ knows something about the luxury to which these ceremonies at one period attained,—a luxury well attested by the quality of the beautiful utensils formerly employed in them.164 But there were, and still are, incense-ceremonies much more elaborate and costly than the tea-ceremonies,—and also much more interesting.165 Besides music, embroidery, poetical composition and other branches of the old-fashioned female education, the young lady of pre-Meiji days was expected to acquire three especially polite accomplishments,—the art of arranging flowers, (_ikébana_), the art of ceremonial tea-making (_cha-no-yu_ or _cha-no-e_),[4] and the etiquette of incense-parties (_kō-kwai_ or _kō-é_).166 Incense-parties were invented before the time of the Ashikaga shōguns, and were most in vogue during the peaceful period of the Tokugawa rule.167 With the fall of the shōgunate they went out of fashion; but recently they have been to some extent revived.168 It is not likely, however, that they will again become really fashionable in the old sense,—partly because they represented rare forms of social refinement that never can be revived, and partly because of their costliness.169

[4] Girls are still trained in the art of arranging flowers, and in the etiquette of the dainty, though somewhat tedious, _cha-no-yu_.170 Buddhist priests have long enjoyed a reputation as teachers of the latter.171 When the pupil has reached a certain degree of proficiency, she is given a diploma or certificate.172 The tea used in these ceremonies is a powdered tea of remarkable fragrance,—the best qualities of which fetch very high prices.173

In translating _kō-kwai_ as “incense-party,” I use the word “party” in the meaning that it takes in such compounds as “card-party,” “whist-party,” “chess-party”;—for a _kō-kwai_ is a meeting held only with the object of playing a game,—a very curious game.174 There are several kinds of incense-games; but in all of them the contest depends upon the ability to remember and to name different kinds of incense by the perfume alone.175 That variety of _kō-kwai_ called _Jitchū-kō_ (“ten-burning-incense”) is generally conceded to be the most amusing; and I shall try to tell you how it is played.176

The numeral “ten,” in the Japanese, or rather Chinese name of this diversion, does not refer to ten kinds, but only to ten packages of incense; for _Jitchū-kō_, besides being the most amusing, is the very simplest of incense-games, and is played with only four kinds of incense.177 One kind must be supplied by the guests invited to the party; and three are furnished by the person who gives the entertainment.178 Each of the latter three supplies of incense—usually prepared in packages containing one hundred wafers is divided into four parts; and each part is put into a separate paper numbered or marked so as to indicate the quality.179 Thus four packages are prepared of the incense classed as No. 1, four of incense No. 2, and four of incense No. 3,—or twelve in all.180 But the incense given by the guests,—always called “guest-incense”—is not divided: it is only put into a wrapper marked with an abbreviation of the Chinese character signifying “guest.”181 Accordingly we have a total of thirteen packages to start with; but three are to be used in the preliminary sampling, or “experimenting”—as the Japanese term it,—after the following manner.182

We shall suppose the game to be arranged for a party of six,—though there is no rule limiting the number of players.183 The six take their places in line, or in a half-circle—if the room be small; but they do not sit close together, for reasons which will presently appear.184 Then the host, or the person appointed to act as incense-burner, prepares a package of the incense classed as No 1, kindles it in a censer, and passes the censer to the guest occupying the first seat,[5] with the announcement—“This is incense No 1” The guest receives the censer according to the graceful etiquette required in the _kō-kwai_, inhales the perfume, and passes on the vessel to his neighbor, who receives it in like manner and passes it to the third guest, who presents it to the fourth,—and so on.185 When the censer has gone the round of the party, it is returned to the incense-burner.186 One package of incense No. 2, and one of No. 3, are similarly prepared, announced, and tested.187 But with the “guest-incense” no experiment is made.188 The player should be able to remember the different odors of the incenses tested; and he is expected to identify the guest-incense at the proper time merely by the unfamiliar quality of its fragrance.189

[5] The places occupied by guests in a Japanese _zashiki_, or reception room are numbered from the alcove of the apartment.190 The place of the most honored is immediately before the alcove: this is the first seat, and the rest are numbered from it, usually to the left.191

The original thirteen packages having thus by “experimenting” been reduced to ten, each player is given one set of ten small tablets—usually of gold-lacquer,—every set being differently ornamented.192 The backs only of these tablets are decorated; and the decoration is nearly always a floral design of some sort:—thus one set might be decorated with chrysanthemums in gold, another with tufts of iris-plants, another with a spray of plum-blossoms, etc. But the faces of the tablets bear numbers or marks; and each set comprises three tablets numbered “1,” three numbered “2,” three numbered “3,” and one marked with the character signifying “guest.”193 After these tablet-sets have been distributed, a box called the “tablet-box” is placed before the first player; and all is ready for the real game.194

The incense-burner retires behind a little screen, shuffles the flat packages like so many cards, takes the uppermost, prepares its contents in the censer, and then, returning to the party, sends the censer upon its round.195 This time, of course, he does not announce what kind of incense he has used.196 As the censer passes from hand to hand, each player, after inhaling the fume, puts into the tablet-box one tablet bearing that mark or number which he supposes to be the mark or number of the incense he has smelled.197 If, for example, he thinks the incense to be “guest-incense,” he drops into the box that one of his tablets marked with the ideograph meaning “guest;” or if he believes that he has inhaled the perfume of No. 2, he puts into the box a tablet numbered “2.”198 When the round is over, tablet-box and censer are both returned to the incense-burner.199 He takes the six tablets out of the box, and wraps them up in the paper which contained the incense guessed about.200 The tablets themselves keep the personal as well as the general record,—since each player remembers the particular design upon his own set.201

The remaining nine packages of incense are consumed and judged in the same way, according to the chance order in which the shuffling has placed them.202 When all the incense has been used, the tablets are taken out of their wrappings, the record is officially put into writing, and the victor of the day is announced.203 I here offer the translation of such a record: it will serve to explain, almost at a glance, all the complications of the game.204

According to this record the player who used the tablets decorated with the design called “Young Pine,” made but two mistakes; while the holder of the “White-Lily” set made only one correct guess.205 But it is quite a feat to make ten correct judgments in succession.206 The olfactory nerves are apt to become somewhat numbed long before the game is concluded; and, therefore it is customary during the _Kō-kwai_ to rinse the mouth at intervals with pure vinegar, by which operation the sensitivity is partially restored.207