Kōro
A kōro is an incense burner. The word, written with the characters for incense and brazier, is also a Chinese term, xianglu, and in Japan the kōro is used in the tea ceremony, in Buddhist temples and on household altars. In our handling, censers are among the most common Chinese and Japanese objects to survive in Japanese houses.
Definition
A censer is a vessel for burning incense. Kōro range from small table pieces a few centimetres high to temple vessels of great size, in bronze, ceramic, cloisonné, jade and other materials. Many use openwork covers to let air flow. Indirect-burning incense is placed on or near glowing charcoal in a bed of ash; in Japan, several Buddhist sects use a long-handled brass censer, the egōro, in which powdered incense is lit in a depression in the ash.
Origin
The earliest Chinese vessels identified as censers date to the Warring States period, between the mid-fifth and late fourth centuries BC. The hill censer, boshanlu, popular under Emperor Wu of Han, who reigned from 141 to 87 BC, was shaped like a sacred mountain with apertures for the smoke. Other Chinese censers took the form of birds or animals, sometimes so that the smoke issued from the mouth, and censers became central to Buddhist and Daoist ritual. These forms came to Japan with Buddhism and tea; Chinese censers were among the karamono of the Japanese tea room.
Censer, perfume burner and pastille burner
In English, censer is often used for pieces made for religious use, especially those swung on chains, while perfume burner names pieces for secular use. A pastille burner was made for small compressed cakes of aromatic plant material and charcoal, popular for home use until the early 19th century, and such burners were often ceramic. In Japanese the one word kōro covers all of these. In our reading, the context of use, temple, tea room or parlour, is the best guide to how a piece was made and decorated, and we describe it where the object makes it clear.
Key facts
| Chinese term | Xianglu |
|---|---|
| Earliest censers | Warring States period, China |
| Hill censer | Boshanlu, Han dynasty |
| Japanese uses | Tea ceremony, Buddhist ritual, household altar |
| Long-handled form | Egōro |
How to identify it
- Form. Tripod, quatrefoil, square on four feet, or animal-shaped, with or without an openwork cover.
- Finial. Covers are often topped by a lion or a mythical beast.
- Use. In our handling, ash and smoke stains inside are signs of use, not damage, and we note them.
- Base. Any mark is read as a mark; our entry on the reign mark explains.
Where it appears in the collection
Examples include a gilt-bronze Buddhist incense burner, a Satsuma ware export kōro and a Japanese bronze incense burner with a lion, on the Asian antiques shelf and the Japanese arts and antiques shelf. Our guide to Buddhist altar implements sets the kōro in its place.
Related entries
- Cloisonné: the enamel of many Chinese censers
- Jadeite: the stone of late Qing censers
- Gilt bronze: the gilded metal
Sources
- Censer, encyclopaedia entry, for the definition, censer, perfume burner and pastille burner, materials, indirect-burning incense, Chinese censers, the boshanlu, the Japanese kōro and the egōro. wikipedia.org
- Karamono, Japanese-language encyclopaedia entry (our translation), for Chinese objects in the Japanese tea room. ja.wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.