Kô is the Japanese word for incense which has a long tradition in Japan. Initially, it was brought from China, but eventually the Japanese started their own manufacture. Soon the Japanese ceremony kôdô emerged, literally the way of fragrance. Like the Japanese tea ceremony it is one of the classical arts of refinement and requires a codified conduct.

Apart from the ceremonial use of incense, the Japanese Heian court in the 8th century developed special games where one had to guess incense ingredients by their fragrance.

Typical ingredients of Japanese incense are jinkô or agarwood and byakudan or sandalwood.