ISSH Incense & Holder Set

20 minutes out of 1,440 — made visible by smoke

A small ritual, measured in smoke.
Light the incense. Watch the smoke rise. The stick burns down against a brass scale, its gradations not marking length but time — five minutes, ten, fifteen, twenty. When it is gone, twenty minutes have passed. That is the whole idea.

The name comes from an old unit of time.
In Japanese, the time it takes for a single stick of incense to burn is called isshu — written with the character 炷, meaning "one burning." For centuries, Buddhist monks used incense sticks to measure the duration of zazen meditation, marking time not by a clock but by what disappeared. ISSH takes its name from that practice — and turns it into an object for daily life.

The question behind the brand.
ISSH was created by Saya Horiguchi, brand director and designer at Daikoh Co., Ltd., one of Japan's foremost incense manufacturers. The premise is simple and difficult: in a full day of 1,440 minutes, finding even 20 for yourself is harder than it sounds. This incense was designed to make that easier — to give the 20 minutes a form, a scent, and a visible end.

Everything in the set is made to last.
The holder is walnut — a wood that deepens in tone with use. The scale is brass, etched by a special process that gives it the texture of a hand-carved vintage tool. The 20/1440 symbol printed on each incense box is made with a wooden stamp; look closely and no two impressions are exactly the same. The wax-sealed box is assembled by hand. The glassine paper wrapping slows the release of fragrance until the moment you open it.

A brass pin for the stub.
After the incense burns down, a small amount of ash and stub remains in the holder. The set includes a dedicated brass pin — inserted through a hole in the base of the holder — to push the remnant cleanly out. It is a minor detail. It is also the kind of detail that tells you everything about how something was designed.

20 minutes of your own, each day

The brass pin — for removing incense stubs cleanly

The wax-sealed box, assembled by hand

Six fragrances named for states, not times.
Each fragrance was developed over approximately one year, with a perfumer, from original compounds — built to express a specific quality of attention rather than a specific hour. The names are deliberately open-ended, so each person can place them where they fit in their own day.

NEIJITSU SET — for the active hours
Three fragrances for the forward-moving part of the day.

Prepare — A morning scent. Calm hinoki drifting through still air, with a clean cut of spice that arrives like light.

Clear space — A purifying scent. Deep woody notes receding into the distance, with transparent jasmine left lingering in the room.

Breathe — A clarifying scent. Camphor moving clean through leaves and branches, like wind through deep green growth.

NEIJITSU SET

ANNON SET — for the quieter hours
Three fragrances for the slower, inward part of the day.

Compose yourself — A refined scent. Soft sandalwood warmth layered with the gentle sweetness of amber — modest and elegant.

Settle in — A roasted scent. The bitterness and aroma of freshly ground coffee, rich and grounding — the scent of dusk.

Close the day — A deep, smoky scent. Layers of woody notes with a quiet sweetness that leads toward the bottom of the night.

ANNON SET

A tradition of incense — brought into daily life

1,440 minutes. Yours for 20 of them.