KITOWA

Information

Founded：2018年
Founder：Nippon Kodo

We have a goal of becoming the world’s number one fragrance company. This goal is not something that Nippon Kodo aims to achieve on its own, but something that we would like to achieve as a group. We want our name to be the first name that comes to mind when people in any country in the world are asked to name a fragrance company. That is why we launched the “KITOWA” brand.

CEO　Masayoshi Konaka

All About Kitowa

In 2018, Nippon Kodo, a long-established incense company founded in 1575, launched KITOWA, a Japanese fragrance brand originating from Japan that uses Japanese trees, traditional trees of Japan.

　The name of the brand was chosen to express the idea that “trees are eternal (towa)” and the wish for “harmony” in relation to trees that have healed people’s hearts and minds since ancient times. The brand design was created by suwa design studio, using a series of “木” (means tree in Japanese) and “K”.

　The perfumes are sold in only three varieties, and each is formulated with Hinoki (Japanese cypress from Mie Prefecture), Hiba (cypress leaves from Aomori Prefecture), and Camphor (camphor tree from Yakushima Island), which have been widely used in architecture since ancient times and are familiar to Japanese people, as the central oils in the perfumes. Each perfume is made in eau de parfum, using alcohol derived from sugarcane. The perfume is prepared by Tatsushi Horita, chief perfumer of Nihon Kodo and president of the Japan Perfumers Promotion Association.

Apart from perfumes, sandalwood and kyara are also used in the incense sticks (incense), but these are not from Japan.

The cypress, hiba, and camphor trees used in KITOWA have been widely used in buildings since ancient times for their excellent durability, and their dignified presence and relaxing fragrance have been deeply rooted in the lives of Japanese people.
Because they are rarely distributed in other countries, these trees have been unfamiliar to people outside of Japan.
The combination with exotic rich fragrance is bold, innovative, and unique in the world.

KITOWA Official Website

When we launched “KITOWA,” we wanted to create a brand that would incorporate a deeper Japanese spirituality, not simply cypress oil or camphor oil. Hinoki and camphor trees are revered as sacred trees, and hiba (cypress) has a history of being familiar to Japanese people in their daily lives, but each has a character that can be differentiated by its fragrance and appeal.

Tatsushi Horita

In addition to perfumes, the company also pays tremendous attention to incense and diffusers. The diffuser is an original Aritayaki porcelain, and the sticks are made of porous ceramics. Incense plates for incense and candle containers are also Aritayaki. They are all made at 224porcelain, a Hizen Yoshida-yaki pottery kiln in Ureshino, Saga Prefecture. Many other products have been commissioned by Nippon Kodo.