HA KO. Six leaf-shaped paper incenses pressed from washi paper, each scent on its own tinted leaf, packed in a hinoki wood box. The smolder lasts ten minutes. The room holds the note for an hour.

You burn one in the morning before the day begins. After the meeting that ran long. Before the friend arrives. The interval is short on purpose.

A gift for the friend who keeps her phone in another room. The host who lights candles before pouring drinks. The mother who would rather have an object than a story.

Morihata International was founded in 2005 by Yuka and Kaz Morihata, who met at RISD. HA KO is made on Awaji Island, where 70 percent of Japan's incense is produced. Won the Good Design Award in 2019.