hibi Ten Minutes Aroma

[purchase] I cannot tell you the joy that this tiny discovery has brought me. I just need to look at the box to start smiling. In a nutshell (or a matchbox), the Ten Minutes Aroma incense sticks are matches with a normal match head that you strike, but with the rest of the match body being the incense stick that burns for ten minutes.

I am not particularly a traditional incense fan so I chose ylang ylang because it’s the freshest, least traditionally aromatic of all the scents I tried, but there are lots of different options including Cypress, Cinnamon, Yuzu, Ambergris and lavender.

You get two boxes – one contains the incense matches and one contains a circular heat resistant pad on which you place the match to burn. I’m so invested in the entire concept of these – a ten minute ritual to bring you to a peaceful standstill both literally and metaphorically. It creates a scented space in your day to regroup, to ground yourself, to pause and to re-energise. It’s so typically Japanese where value is placed on ’emptiness’ – I found this explanation, ‘Ma is the space between objects, the silence between sounds, or the stillness between movements. The term describes both time and space, and is much more than a “lack” of something. The emptiness is, in fact, a palpable entity.’

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I enjoyed the ritual of striking the match and watching the incense burn – it feels like a good thing to do to create a space between work life and home and I can imagine myself regrouping from the stress of travel with ten minutes of stillness before stepping into home life.

There are 8 sticks to a box. I bought mine from (ki:ts) which has a shop just outside Selfridges but they’re available on-line for £11 HERE. They’re also at the Japan Centre – a little bit cheaper – and a few others as well if you Google around. I couldn’t love them more.