Treasures of JapanA catalogue of Japan's designated cultural properties
2,690 works catalogued

Home › Browse › Art Objects › Asuka period › Incense Wood (Jinsuikō)

Important Cultural Property

Incense Wood (Jinsuikō)

沈水香
Incense Wood (Jinsuikō) (沈水香)
PLATE IImage: Tokyo National Museum, via ColBase — CC BY 4.0
At a glance — Art Object · Asuka period · held by Tokyo National Museum · designated Important Cultural Property of Japan.

Fact Sheet

Designation
Important Cultural Property (重要文化財)
Category
Art Objects
Date
601–800
Location
Ueno, Tokyo
Catalogue ID
cobas-117760

Find more

This is a special type of incense produced by burying tropical agarwood in soil and allowing it to decay. Its name in Chinese characters means “submerged water aroma” in reference to the practice of submerging it in water. It was historically offered to Buddhist deities, and depictions of figures offering it up often appear in Buddhist paintings.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.

Record & Sources

Cite this page: “Incense Wood (Jinsuikō)（沈水香）.” Treasures of Japan, catalogue no. cobas-117760. Tokyo National Museum. https://treasures.yamato-kenkou.com/treasures/incense-wood-jinsuik/ — entry last verified 1 November 2026.
Full record data (as published in the official catalogue record)
  • Cultural property designation: Important Cultural Property
  • Genre: Collection of Hōryūji Treasures
  • Material: Aloe wood
  • 員数: 1材
  • 分類: 法隆寺宝物
  • 品質形状: 沈香材
  • 法量: 長98.8

Also at the Tokyo National Museum More →

National Treasure
Gigaku Mask: Gojo (伎楽面 呉女)

Gigaku Mask: Gojo

伎楽面 呉女
Art Objects · Asuka, 7th centuryTNM

More art objects of the Asuka period More →

National Treasure
Gigaku Mask: Gojo (伎楽面 呉女)

Gigaku Mask: Gojo

伎楽面 呉女
Art Objects · Asuka, 7th centuryTNM
Advertisement