How to burn Japanese incense

How do you light a stick and how long does it burn?

Light the tip in a flame, match or lighter, same as lighting a candle, until it catches and you can see it burning. Then blow it out. You're not trying to keep a flame going. You want the tip to settle into a small glowing ember that smoulders and releases smoke on its own. If it's gone out completely instead of glowing, relight it and try again with the tip held in the flame a bit longer.

Burn time depends on the shape and size. A standard 2.75-inch incense stick burns for around 20 minutes; a cone burns for around 15 minutes; a coil can run for two hours or more, which is why coils are the ones people reach for overnight-length sessions or larger rooms (Shoyeido USA product pages, Floral World cones). Treat these as a rough guide (different blends and thicknesses burn at different rates) and let it run its course, or put it out early if you need to.

Which holder for which type?

The holder needs to match the shape of what you're burning. Stick incense stands upright, planted in a bed of ash inside a burner, with the tip and the falling ash clear of the holder's edge and anything else nearby (Nippon Kodo, How to Use Incense). Cone and coil incense sit flat instead, usually on a bed of ash inside a shallow dish or on a heatproof plate, since they burn from the top down rather than end to end.

Whatever you use, the surface underneath needs to be stable and non-combustible: a proper incense holder or plate, not a saucer balanced on something uneven (CFA Victoria, Candle, Oil Burner and Incense Safety).

Where should you put it?

Somewhere still, away from anything that can catch. Keep it clear of curtains, blinds, paper and other combustible items, and out of a draft, since an open window or a fan will scatter the ash and pull the smoke somewhere you don't want it (CFA Victoria fact sheet, above). Give it a bit of airflow in the room so the smoke doesn't build up, but don't burn it inside a closet or right under anything hanging.

Keep children and pets a safe distance away, and never leave it burning unattended. Put it out before you leave the house or go to sleep. This isn't specific to incense; it's the same rule fire services give for any open flame or smouldering item in the home (Fire and Rescue NSW, Candle safety; CFA Victoria fact sheet, above).

How do you store incense so it keeps its scent?

Keep it in the box or wrapper it came in, or move it to a sealed container once you've opened the packet. That protects the scent more than anything you do while it's burning. Store it somewhere cool, dry and dark; heat, damp and direct light all break the fragrance down faster (Kikoh Incense, Storing Japanese Incense).

Keep it away from strong household smells too. A kitchen drawer or a cedar-lined box will bleed its own scent into the incense over time, and if you keep more than one fragrance, group similar ones together so they don't cross-contaminate each other in storage (Kikoh Incense, above).

Quick answers

Does incense need a special holder? Yes, match the holder to the shape. Sticks stand upright in ash; cones and coils sit flat on a heatproof plate or dish.

Can I leave incense burning while I'm out or asleep? No. Put it out before you leave the house or go to sleep, same as any open flame.

Why does my incense smell weaker than when I bought it? It's likely picked up damp, light or a stray smell from storage. Keep it in its original packaging or a sealed container, somewhere cool and dark.

Browse the incense collection to see what we carry.