Kaori Leather Cowhide Incense Holder

Cut from vegetable tanned Shonan cowhide, tanned in Himeji, a region that has shaped hide into leather for well over a thousand years, once producing the tough, weather resistant leathers worn into battle by samurai and now responsible for the majority of Japan's finest cowhide. The craft runs deep here, carried in the water of the region's rivers and in hands that have refined the process for generations.

Cut from a single piece of leather, the holder curves gently at one end, secured in place by a giboshi stud, a traditional Japanese hardware form once used on temple railings and sword fittings, here fastened through the leather to hold its shape and keep the incense upright. The tray runs long and low, edge finished with a hand skived bevel and hand burnished to a smooth, closed finish, catching ash cleanly along its length. Offered in natural leather with brass hardware, and black leather with nickel hardware, each pairing developed to age differently with wear over time.