In the year 538 CE, Japanese incense came to Japan from China along with Buddhism. From that point on, incense would become an important facet of Japanese culture. The use and tradition of Japanese incense has evolved over fifteen centuries from it's humble begginings, to the refined and sensitive art that it is today. Appreciation of incense peaked with the refined world of the Incense Ceremony, called Kodo (the "way of incense'). Kodo is considered one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement, along with Tea Ceremony and flower arrangement.