헤이안문학에 나타난 향도(香道)와 다키모노(薫物)

Abstract

In “The Tale of Genji,” Murasaki Shikibu produced the highest-quality incense of the time by competing for the incense of women living in Rokujoin, the residence of Hikaru Genji.The scents were “baika,” “Kurobo,” “Kayo” and “jiju”. These four scents later became the archetype of the “mukusanotakimono,” the representative fragrance of Japanese incense. In this paper, we examined the four types of perfumery methods, owners, and incense materials contained in the oldest existing introduction to perfumery, “Kujuruisho.”To sum up their characteristics, the class that first created and appreciated incense and taught the secret method was limited to some royal families and to the very top class. Second, they produced seasonal scents to suit the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Third, the secret method of the Heian period incense, which is considered legitimate in each family, was handed down as a secret, but since the amount of ingredients of incense of the same name was slightly different, a completely different scent was created by the blending method.