User:Cullen328/Sandbox/Kobako

A Kōbako is an incense storage box used in Kōdō (香道, "Way of Incense"), the Japanese art of appreciating incense which involves using incense within a structure of codified conduct. It can be used to store the items needed for the incense-comparing games, called kumikō (組香) and genjikō (源氏香).

Kōbako means "small box" in Japanese, and it is somewhat similar to a Kōgō, an incense box used in the Japanese tea ceremony. However, "the kōbako was usually a little larger than the kōgō, and sometimes had a small tray or small boxes to go with it.

Often decorated with lacquer and showing a high degree of craftmanship, Kōbako are studied and collected by those who appreciate Japanese arts and crafts.

Other meanings
The rugged Sōunkyō Gorge in Japan's Daisetsuzan National Park has an area of "fantastic crags" called Kōbako.