Japanese Wax Candles

Traditional Japanese candles or warosoku are handmade using only plant-based wax such as rice or sumac and contain a hollow washi paper wick. These candles are made in an array of sizes and forms for everyday use to mindfulness and mediative practice. The traditional process of creating these special candles begins with crafting the hollow wick (toh-shin). Unlike Western cotton wicks, traditional Japanese wicks are thick, rigid, and hollow to allow oxygen to feed the flame, in the manner of a chimney. To begin, a tube is rolled in Japanese paper (washi). Dried rush weed (igusa pith) is then wound tightly around the paper. Delicate silk fibres are wrapped around the weed to keep everything secure.

The next stage of making involves preparing and melting the wax. Artisans use natural plant waxes, most commonly mokurō (tree wax extracted from the fruit/berries of the Haze tree or Japanese wax tree), though rice bran or sumac are also used. Blocks of this wax are melted in pots over low heat (traditionally charcoal fires) until molten at around 40–45°C. Once this is complete, the maker moves on to layering the wax (known  as the Tegake method), wherein craftsmen hold bamboo sticks or jigs with the wicks attached, scooping the warm melted wax with their bare hands or specialised tools to smear and roll sequential layers onto the wicks. The candles are left to dry briefly between coats and the process is repeated multiple times. Because of the layering technique, the cross-section of a finished wa-rosoku resembles the growth rings of a tree. The warm wax is smoothed and hand-pressed into traditional forms, such as cylindrical (bo-gata) or tapered (ikari-gata) designs meant to prevent dripping. Once set, the final surface is lightly polished by hand friction to give it a soft, natural texture rather than a glossy shine.