One of 154 shrines at Ise Jingu
Perhaps by now, you have become familiar with the unique fragrance and properties of Hinoki Japanese Cypress. Te Plus Te Hinoki products are made with unblended hinoki essential oil and that pure woody scent makes the entire collection unique in its refined simplicity. Aside from the smell alone, Hinoki is also a wood of deep cultural significance in Japan with many spiritual aspects attached.
Ise Jingu, for example, is a Shinto shrine located in Mie prefecture in Japan. It is built entirely out of hinoki wood and structured traditionally without the use of any nails. The reason why this shrine only uses hinoki wood instead of any other is because of its unique spiritual properties. Thousands of years ago, before shrines were even built, Amaterasu, the female Shinto god was worshipped in the form of the sacred hinoki tree. Over 2,000 years ago, Ise Jingu shrine was originally built entirely out of 12,000 200-400 year old hinoki cypress logs. Even when the wood is cut down or milled, it is still thought to maintain its spiritual essence. Ise Jingu is rebuilt and torn down every 20 years in an 8 year process called Shikinen Sengu. Rebuilding the shine gives it new energy and pieces of the old shrines are distributed to other shrines across Japan to instill new energy into them. The process of taking down and rebuilding also is a passing of knowledge, ritual, and construction techniques from generation to generation.
We hope that Hinoki products can become a sacred and special part of your day to add a little piece of nature and bliss into your cleaning routine!