Shoyeido
Twelve generations of excellence. The name Shoyeido is derived from the three characters Shō (pine tree), Ei (prosperity), and Dō (shrine or store).
The Shō is from the traditional Sho Chiku Bai trio (the Three Friends of Winter): shō (pine tree), chiku (bamboo) and bai (plum tree), which is a traditional incense grading system representing degrees of purity. Shō represents the highest grade or quality.
Today, Shoyeido is considered the highest quality, most natural incense available in the world.
Shoyeido is one of the oldest traditional Japanese incense companies producing high quality, natural incense.
Around 300 years ago, in 1705, Moriyoshi Rokuzaemon HATA, who headed the Tanba-Sasayama district of the present Kyoto prefecture, created a store called “SASAYA” in Kyoto, where Shoyeido is still based.
Rokubei Moritsune HATA, who represented the third generation of the Hata family to make incense, began incorporating incense methods he learned while working at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. He applied the court’s secret traditions of blending incense that had been previously enjoyed exclusively by royalty.
Three hundred years later, the Hata family continues the legacy of their innovative ancestors, offering a wide variety of unique, hand-blended incense.