Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the incense ceremony of the Edo-period - a performative art characterized by the processes of viewing and showing. Within the performance a unique fragmentation of the roles of actor and spectator provides structure and frame for the otherwise tacit olfactory experience.

Paper long abstract:

While the introduction of incense was linked to ceremonial purposes within Buddhist rituals, it was only in the medieval period when the celebration of incense woods itself developed into a complex ceremony. In the Edo-period various treatises describe the performance of olfactory appreciation. Within these sources it is not the sensory experience itself, however, which is the most detailed element but the depiction of materials and the performative structure of the events.

Fundamental for the context of the incense ceremony is the development of a theatrical setting. Although there is no conventional stage which separates spectators from actors, the arrangement of furniture and utensils as well as the participants emphasizes the significance of viewing. Additionally, the high level of detail and the strictness of the choreographies performed by the participants underlines the element of showing. These two processes, however, do not stand in opposition but are closely intertwined: within the strictly defined movements every participant performs in the role of an actor as well as a spectator.

This specific fragmentation of the theatrical setting will become the focus of this paper. By looking at a selection of treatises of the incense ceremony it will be shown how the specific structure of the gatherings creates a sphere of highlighted (sensory) experience. The different processes which in combination form this special kind of narrative and ultimately become the focus of the analysis can be found in (1) the play in front of a decorated setting; (2) the development and significance of the differing roles of the individuals, their presentation, and the representational handling of utensils and incense; and finally (3) the interaction between the participants.

Recognizing these different layers, it ultimately becomes clear how the highly individual perception of smell becomes a visually stimulated collective effort. The objectively perceivable metaphors of movements and decoration do not define, but provide a frame for the otherwise indescribable and tacit experience of scents.