Hiba Wood Essential Oil - 35ml with glass dropper - Cul de Sac Japan

$59.00

This essential oil is made from Aomori Hiba wood.

The Aomori Hiba is naturally an antiseptic, water-resistant, insect-repelling, and a calming aromatic. Long praised in Japan, Aomori Hiba is a slow-growing, long lived cypress tree whose wood has been used in the construction of temples and notable buildings throughout Japan for centuries. 

Aomori Hiba is a native Japanese tree and one of the three most beautiful indigenous trees including Kiso Hinoki (Nagano) and Akita Sugi (Akita.) Aomori Hiba, the symbol of Aomori prefecture, is widely grown in Shimokita and Tsugaru Peninsulas. Although this Aomori Hiba takes a long time to mature, it is still beautifully preserved. One of the reasons is that the forest has been strictly protected by the government since the Edo period. So, which means the felling of Hiba by the Tsugaru/Nambu clan has to be decided by the head of each clan. They have even drawn up regulations and have prohibited entering a mountain area after felling. In recent years, thinning and planting has been implemented regularly from a preservation perspective, and Hiba is supplied according to a certain plan. Hiba is nurtured slowly under the severe snowy wind in the North of Japan. It actually takes three times longer than that of Sugi. However, Hiba matures into to a fine-grained wood beautifully and sophisticatedly.

Cul de Sac has developed a way to vapor extract the essential oil used in their products from waste lumber harvested from 250 year-old trees, thus recycling this useful and pleasing material. 

Aomori Hiba is historically used to build Japanese shrines and Buddhist temples because of its function, corrosion-inhibiting composition, industrial-strength, antibacterial, and insect repelling traits. In comparison to Hinoki, Ginkgo, or other trees, Aomori Hiba is resistant to water and has an amazing antibacterial effect on a mold and bacteria, and it repels termites. It contains two ingredients, Hinokitiol and β-Dolabrin, both of which have antibacterial, insect repelling, deodorizing, and ataractic effects. Aomori Hiba is the only tree which has these two ingredients in Japan and it is distinctive throughout the world. Building material for shrines and temples come from the first class wood which is over 200 years old, and are thick and straight. But Cul de sac also uses cuttings that are not straight and not usable for building materials. Their aim is to create organic products which make you feel close to nature. They mainly produce their products in a family timber factory which has been running since their grandfathers’ generation in the north of Shimokita Peninsula. The factory is located in a village on the northern tip of Honshu, and now produces only the Aomori Hiba products. 

Cut de Sac uses cuttings as fuel to dry wood and think how to effectively utilize cuttings and scraps from the lumber process to create our products. They can generate uniquely designed products making use of branches which can’t be used for building materials. In addition, they encourage a poplar traditional craftsman techniques. Aomori Hiba has a beautiful white surface and a calming scent. Baskets which are made by Aomori Hiba change color to a fine amber over time.

These are made by Enji Shibata who is a master of Aomori Hiba. Previously he was as a part of a local forestry office assessing the class of timber and know Hiba’s characteristics thoroughly. You will be amazed by his distinctive and excellent technique of wood shaving. Mr. Shibata has a pleasant personality and is the only Hiba basket craftsman. Also, we have produced a Hiba textile made from shaving wood threads which are made by experienced craftsman off site. All those products are impossible to mass-produce, and they are well designed and heartwarming, and highly functional. In order to enforce creative manufacturing, we aim to create a new style of tradition which deeply connects with our everyday lives.

DIRECTIONS: Place a few drops of this essential oil on a diffuser or in bath or laundry.

Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Volume: 35ml / 1.18 fl. oz.

Dimensions: 1.5in x 1.5in x 3.0in