also: もんこう
noun
incense smelling; incense-smelling party
Refers to the traditional Japanese practice of appreciating incense by smell, often in a formal gathering or game where participants distinguish different scents.
聞香の会に参加して、香木の香りを楽しんだ。
I attended an incense-smelling party and enjoyed the fragrance of aromatic woods.
聞香では、香炉から立ち上る香りを静かに味わう。
In incense smelling, one quietly savors the scent rising from the incense burner.
香道 is the broader art of incense appreciation, while 聞香 specifically refers to the act of smelling incense or a gathering for that purpose.
Compound of 聞 (hear, but here meaning 'to smell' in a refined sense) and 香 (incense). The reading ぶんこう is the more common on'yomi combination; もんこう is an alternative on'yomi reading.