Japanese Incense Workshop: Listening to Incense and Making Incense - Sunday, June 22, 2025

On Sunday, June 22, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., a new format for an exceptional workshop in a small group to discover the way of Japanese incense and make your own custom-made one.

Laurence, the founder of Atelier Ikiwa, welcomes you to a beautiful Parisian apartment (located near the Solférino metro station, Paris 7th arrondissement) for an afternoon dedicated to Japanese incense, a truly immersive experience and a wonderful moment of sharing.

The experience will begin with monkō, listening to incense, and discovering its gestures, tools, and principles. A soothing moment filled with new sensations. Laurence will also discuss Kōdō, one of the three traditional arts of Japan (along with the tea ceremony and ikebana), through a cultural, historical, playful, and elegant approach. She will share her favorite places in Japan related to incense.

In the second part of the workshop, pressed incense (inkō) will be made. Laurence brought back from Kyoto, in collaboration with a very famous Japanese incense house created in the 18th century, some kits containing the ingredients traditionally used in the manufacture of this type of delicate and beautiful incense. Each participant in the workshop will receive their own kit which contains 9 sachets of powder of different natural ingredients from fragrant woods, spices, resins and plants... An incense paste will be made by measuring the ingredients, a binder and oils according to their tastes and incense pieces will then be made using molds (everyone can use the shape(s) of their choice). Around twenty pieces of pressed incense will be produced, which once dried (after 2 days) can either be lit using a flame or left in a bowl where they will release their delicate scent. The kit and any ingredients that have not been used will be kept by the participants.

These moments of sharing in small groups (5 participants + Laurence) will also be an opportunity to taste Japanese teas accompanied by seasonal sweets.

Price of this workshop: 90€, including the welcome for about 3 hours, the manufacturing kit, the incense listening session and presentation of the kōdō, the tea tasting and the sweets.