Tansu

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Tansu are traditional Japanese chests, handcrafted and made of fine woods, such as cypress, keyaki, Japanese cedar and koa. The beautiful ornament in the metal fittings and inventive techniques employed to offer storage space make tansu chests quite desirable to foreigners. Tansu are considered the most prolific and important element of the highly regarded Japanese interior design styles.

Many collectors focus on finding antique Tansu. These are much prized and may well be out of the budget of many who would desire such a piece for their home. There are many workshops producing Tansu in imitation of the classic antiques. These can still be of excellent quality and craftsmanship, and some are made of excellent reclaimed wood, causing the new Tansu to retain a more aged look that some people seek.

1 Types of Tansu
2 Types of Tansu Hardware
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Types of Tansu

Choba-dansu chests display elaborate metal hardware, and were traditionally used in shops to impress customers. These chests do come in many sizes, serving everything from storage for sewing supplies, sea chests, merchant chests, and up to large ones for storage of futons and kitchen equipment. Sometimes these chests open only on a single side, but others are notable for being accessible from both sides, leading to quite a wide variety of options in interior design.

The Kaidan-dansu (or step-chests as they are sometimes called) were often designed in several modular pieces. This was used to avoid taxation on other areas of a home when taxes were levied based on the size of ones home. When the tax collectors were coming around the chest that functioned as stairs up to a separate level could be moved so that their function could be hidden.

Sendai-dansu are chests used to store kimono and clothing. They originated from craftsmen in the Sendai region, and are often made of zelkova wood with drawers lined in cedar. Sendai-dansu are characterised by one long top drawer, with three slightly smaller drawers underneath. There is usually a lockable door containing two smaller drawers. Sendai-dansu are known for their elaborate ironwork - commissioned from former sword makers after the Samurai were disbanded in the Meiji era.

Sendai-dansu for kimono, zelkova wood, note the elaborate ironwork, handles on side for transportation, and lockable compartment

Detail of lockable compartment of a Sendai-dansu

Funa-dansu, literally "ship chests", were used as shipping containers from the Edo period into the Meiji Era. These came in three basic designs:

kakesuzuri - a small chest witha single swinging door, with multiple internal drawers inside
hangai - literally "half hitsu" (coffer), a small chest used for clothing storage. Often made in sets of two, with one stacked above the other.
cho-bako - "account box", which had many forms, but could include:
- kendon-buta - a drop-fit door cut into the case, used to hide a money box
- kobiraki-do - a small swinging door in the lower-right corner
- ryobiraki-do - double doors with half-faced hinges on the lower half of the box
- dezura hikidashi - one or two drawers, exposed to the exterior
- hiki-do - removable double sliding doors, running the full width of the box, appearing on the top third or middle third of the box
- zuri-do - removable single sliding door in the lower half of thebox, in the lower-left. Typically appears with a kobiraki-do

[edit] Types of Tansu Hardware

herikanagu - edge hardware, lining the edges and corners of a tansu
obikanagu - "sash hardware" which spans a face of the tansu, such as the top, or the face of a cabinet door
sumikanagu - drawer or drawer-corner hardware, appearing at the corners of drawer faces. Generally these match their associated edge hardware.
mochiokuri - a carrying handle, generally a loop appearing on the side near the top
sao-toshi - a different type of carrying loop, usually sliding, which was designed to hold a pole when used with its mate on the other side
meita - a lock jamb plate
jomae - a lock plate, a metal, lockable plate affixed to a drawer face
sashikomijo - a sliding-door lock
bo - a vertical locking bar
hikite - drawer pull
zagane - an "escutcheon," or flange, surrounding the contact point of a drawer pull
toshi-zagane - a back plate for a drawer pull
choban - hinge
kasugai - a staple affixing hardware to the wood
jomon - family crest, identifying the merchant
yago - a trademark, identifying the merchant