hibi 10-Minute Aroma — Ylang-Ylang

A matchstick you strike, set on a folded mat, and watch burn for ten minutes — no holder, no ash tray, no ritual. Hibi was born from an improbable collaboration: the incense makers of Awaji Island meeting the match factories of Harima, two Hyōgo crafts that had sat fifty kilometres apart for a hundred years without talking to each other. The ylang-ylang scent is tropical, slightly narcotic, and wholly uncharacteristic of Japanese incense — which is part of the point. Perfect first-timer's purchase.