What Is Tansu?

Tansu refers to traditional Japanese storage chests. These pieces of furniture were made to be moved. People mostly used them to store clothes, especially kimono. They were a normal part of Japanese homes and daily life, but they weren’t just furniture. They were tools for living.

Where Tansu Came From

Tansu showed up in records during the Genroku period, which ran from 1688 to 1704, inside the larger Edo period from 1603 to 1867. The word “tansu” uses two Japanese characters. The first, tan, once meant food storage. The second, su, was used for carrying firewood. Both characters include the bamboo symbol, which hints that bamboo was the original material. So, early tansu may not have been made from wood at all, but from bamboo.

What Tansu Were Made From

As these chests became more common, Japanese craftsmen, known as tansuya, began to make them from wood. They often used more than one type in a single piece. Hardwoods and softwoods were combined for strength, beauty, and function. The types of wood included keyaki, which is a Japanese elm, and kuri, the Japanese chestnut. Other woods were ezo matsu (pine), sugi (cedar), kiri (paulownia), and hinoki (cypress). These woods were chosen for their weight, durability, texture, and how well they resisted moisture or fire.

Why People Collect Tansu Today

Tansu are now popular with collectors. Many people look for real antique tansu, not reproductions. But originals are rare, especially in good condition. Because high-quality wood is expensive and old tansu are usually cheap, very few craftsmen still make new ones in the old style. Some people cut down large chests to make them easier to fit in modern homes. Futon chests, step chests, and deep-drawer tansu often get resized this way. In some cases, copies of antique tansu are made in Korea, using elm veneer.

Tansu Were Made to Be Moved

These weren’t meant to stay in one spot. Traditional Japanese homes had sliding walls and moveable partitions. Rooms could change shape or size depending on the day or the need. Because of that, tansu had to be easy to carry or roll. They weren’t usually out in the open unless needed. You wouldn’t see one sitting in the middle of a room. Most of the time, they were tucked away until a specific moment called for them.

Where Tansu Were Stored

People kept their tansu in storehouses called kura, next to homes or shops. Some were placed in nando, which were storage rooms. Others stayed in oshiire, a type of closet, or on a raised shop platform called choba. Some were even carried on sengokubune, coastal trade ships. Many had iron handles or wheels. Some had rails that stuck out at the top so they could be lifted. All of this was designed to make them easy to move.

Tansu and Japanese Society

Japan during the Edo period was a tightly controlled, class-based society. Everyone, from farmers to samurai, had strict rules on what they could own and show off. Travel was restricted. People weren’t allowed to spend in ways that seemed flashy. These rules were called sumptuary laws. Because of that, tansu from the Edo period weren’t flashy or original. They reflected the owner's class and job more than personal taste or regional style.

That changed after 1868. When the Meiji Restoration ended the old class system, craftsmen started to add regional flair to their tansu. Local traditions and materials started shaping the design. Tansu began to show more variety depending on where they were made.

 

Types of Tansu in the Edo Period

Back in the Edo period, between 1603 and 1867, the kind of tansu someone owned depended a lot on their social status. Merchants, samurai, craftsmen, and others all had different needs. Their chests reflected that. You could often tell someone’s role in society just by looking at their tansu. Each style served a specific purpose and was built with function and class rules in mind.

Choba-dansu: Merchant Shop Tansu

Choba-dansu were merchant chests. They sat on the choba, the raised platform inside a shop, and held account books, business records, and other work-related items. These were working tools, but they also faced the public. If customers could see them, the front panels and metalwork were often dressed up with nicer wood and hardware. This helped the merchant look more established and trustworthy. These chests came in all sizes. Most had just one section with a mix of drawers, compartments, and sliding panels inside. Layouts varied depending on the merchant’s needs.

Kaidan-dansu: Step Chests for Storage and Access

Kaidan-dansu were step chests. They had a shape that mimicked a staircase and included drawers, cupboards, and sliding doors. Even though they were built as part of a house’s structure, they were still designed to be movable. In the Tōhoku region north of Tokyo, people placed them in farmhouses where they doubled as attic stairs. Farmers also used the upper areas of these homes to raise silkworms during the season. The kaidan-dansu made smart use of dead space. You got both vertical access and hidden storage. This concept is similar to how the Shakers in 19th-century America used space in a very efficient way.

Katana-dansu: Sword Blade Storage

Katana-dansu were made for storing sword blades. These chests had long, shallow drawers, arranged in a stacked layout. They were mainly used by people who polished and maintained blades. The wood of choice was paulownia, known in Japan as kiri. This wood helped protect the blades from rust, especially during the humid summers. It’s also light, which made these chests easier to carry between samurai clients. Function and portability were key.

Kusuri-dansu: Apothecary Chests

Kusuri-dansu were used by medicine sellers. These were small chests with lots of tiny drawers for holding herbs and remedies. Since many sellers traveled by foot, the chests had to be light. Makers used kiri or sugi wood to keep the weight down. Metal fittings were kept minimal to avoid adding bulk. These chests were practical, compact, and tailored for people on the move.

Nagamochi Kuruma-dansu: Rolling Storage Chests

These large chests on wheels are the earliest known form of mobile Japanese furniture. They were seen as early as the mid-1600s. One record comes from a Dutch trade delegation from Dejima Island who visited Edo in March 1657. They wrote about huge chests on four wheels that clogged the streets so badly people couldn’t get through. These chests happened to be in the streets during the Great Fire of Meireki, where over 100,000 people died. That tragic event became part of the history of these rolling tansu, which had originally been built for transporting goods.

Ryobiraki Kasane-dansu: Women’s Clothing Chests

Ryobiraki kasane-dansu were chests used by merchant-class women to store clothing. They were made of two stacked sections and had double doors. These started gaining attention around 1789, during the Kansei Reforms. The shogunate set rules on what merchant women could own, and this style of tansu was approved, though only if it wasn’t lacquered. The unfinished surface made it look simpler and more modest, which aligned with the era’s strict rules. Still, the form of the chest was already common in Edo homes, so the limitation probably didn’t feel like a major loss.

 

Tansu in the Meiji Period: How Design Changed After the Class System Ended

After the fall of Japan’s feudal class system in 1868, the Meiji period brought big changes in how tansu were made. Freed from strict rules that had once limited creativity, craftsmen started to develop new designs based on where they lived. This led to clear regional styles, with local woods, hardware, and finishes shaping how tansu looked and functioned across Japan.

Hikone Mizuya-Dansu: Kitchen Chests from Lake Biwa

In the town of Hikone, near Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, tansu makers built a unique style of mizuya-dansu, or kitchen chest. Even though this type of cabinet had been around since the mid-Edo period, the ones from Hikone stood out. They were built to fit perfectly into the kitchen alcoves of traditional homes, which were designed using the old shaku measuring system. Craftsmen used hinoki cypress for the main frame and put the pieces together with mortise and tenon joints - no nails. To soften the heavy look of the chest, they finished the drawers and doors with a light, see-through lacquer called kijiro nuri. Instead of iron, they used copper for the hardware, which gave it a warmer and more subtle appearance.

Kuruma Choba-Dansu: Merchant Chests on Wheels

By the time the 1860s came around, wheeled tansu became popular with merchants. These kuruma choba-dansu were first made during the Edo period, but fear of punishment under sumptuary laws kept them from catching on. That changed in the Meiji period. Chests with wheels made from high-grade wood became status pieces. Even today, many of these are kept in the best rooms of old merchant homes, but originally, they weren’t meant for show. Merchants kept them on the choba, a raised part of the shop floor, right beside where they did business. They held account books and other important papers. Sometimes they were chained to posts to prevent theft.

Kyoto Isho-Dansu: Refined Lacquer Work and Symbolic Motifs

Tansu from Kyoto were known for their lacquer. Craftsmen used a polished, solid finish called tama nuri, which gave the surface a smooth, deep tone. Some were decorated with lacquered flowers and lucky symbols. These designs were done by skilled hands from Wajima on the Noto Peninsula, a place famous for high-end lacquer work. In Kyoto, these tansu weren’t just storage. They were signs of taste and wealth.

Sado Shima-Dansu: Sea Chest Craftsmanship from the Coast

On Sado Island, in the port town of Ogi, craftsmen with experience making funa-dansu (sea chests) applied that same skill to household tansu. These ogi-dansu were different from inland styles. They often had thick iron fittings with a cut-out pattern of four diamonds on the drawer plates. The joinery used on these was more like what you’d find on ships (strong and weather-resistant). Later on, in the town of Yahata, also on Sado, craftsmen used paulownia wood to make chests for merchant daughters’ bridal trousseaus. Their ironwork had a distinct look that matched early 20th-century trends.

Sakai Choba-Dansu: A Merchant Chest that Traveled Far

Even though Sakai had been landlocked for centuries, people still saw it as Osaka’s main port. The choba-dansu design from Sakai started spreading across Japan during the Meiji period. These chests used raw, unfinished cypress wood for the drawers and doors, and cedar (sugi) for the frame. The way the drawers and compartments were laid out gave the piece a balanced and pleasing look. That attention to proportion became one of the signature features of the Sakai style.

Sendai Isho-Dansu: Elegant Ironwork and Practical Locks

Tansu from Sendai were built to store out-of-season clothes. The most well-crafted ones used open-grain keyaki (Zelkova elm) for the fronts, with cedar for the case. A common feature was a long top drawer with either a double-action lock called urajyo or a long vertical locking bar. The hardware was another standout. It was often made by former sword makers, which explains the fine detail and strong build. That level of craftsmanship made Sendai tansu highly respected.

Yonezawa Isho-Dansu: Cherry Blossoms and Chest-on-Chest Design

In Yonezawa, a castle town in the Tōhoku region, tansu makers created a chest-on-chest design for clothing storage. These chests were influenced by lacquer techniques from Mikune, a coastal area on the Japan Sea. One of the key features was an engraved lock plate that showed a five-petal cherry blossom surrounded by ivy. Another detail was the placement of the kobirakido, a small hinged door compartment. Unlike most other styles, Yonezawa craftsmen put this feature in the top chest instead of the lower one, giving the design a unique structure.

 

Funa Dansu: Traditional Japanese Ship Chests

Funa dansu, meaning “ship chests,” were used by the captains or owners of coastal trading boats in Edo-period Japan. These boats had government licenses to move rice, a major part of the economy at the time. They followed the kitamae route, which ran from Osaka to Hokkaido, cutting through the Inland Sea and then moving up along the Japan Sea coast. The ships carried rice from remote farming areas to large urban centers that relied on regular deliveries.

Rice Transport and Shogunate Rules

In 1633, the shogunate closed the country to outside trade. Just three years later, it passed a law that banned ships with keels, more than two masts, or any cargo capacity over about 89,760 liters. That’s around 23,710 gallons in U.S. terms. These limits were meant to keep ships small and easier to control. But the rule made things worse. The rice grown across Japan couldn’t move fast enough to the cities, and the result was serious. Food shortages hit hard. In some places, they sparked riots.

Fixing the Shipping Crisis

In 1670, Kawamura Zuiken stepped in with a set of reforms. He came up with a plan to reorganize coastal shipping. The government approved his ideas. One of his biggest changes was to create a system of trusted rice transporters. These merchants were called goyochonin, and they worked directly for the shogunate. Kawamura also pushed for a change in trade rules. He got permission for these shogunate-backed ships to sell their own goods at the towns they passed, not just deliver rice. That gave merchants a new reason to take part.

But there were limits. Most ships were under 90 feet long. Crews were small, usually eleven men or fewer. So while the trade system improved, ship size still put a cap on how much rice could move. When these boats pulled into port, the townsfolk didn’t always find them impressive.

Funa Dansu on the Kitamae Route

By the early 1700s, during the Kyōhō era, funa dansu started to take on a more distinct and polished look. These weren’t just storage boxes anymore. They became part of the image and presence of the ship’s captain or owner. During the Meiji period, it became normal for captains to unload their personal chest as soon as they docked. The chest would be placed at the spot where trade talks would happen. It worked as a visual tool to create an air of wealth and authority. It showed the merchant meant business.

Types of Funa Dansu

Funa dansu came in three main types. Each was made for a different purpose on board the ship.

The kakesuzuri was built for holding money and official seals. It had one hinged door. The outside often had heavy iron plating, and the inside was filled with drawers or small hidden compartments.

The hangai was made for clothing. It had a single drop-in door. These chests usually came in matched pairs. You could stack one on top of the other and lock them together.

The cho-bako held account books and writing tools. This style came in many forms. Some had special features to hide valuables or to keep things secure.

One feature was the kendon-buta, a fitted door built into the case to conceal a money box. Another was the kobiraki-do, a small swinging door in the lower right corner. There was also the ryobiraki-do, which had two small doors with half-face hinges on the lower front of the chest. Some chests had one or two open drawers, called dezura hikidashi. Others had hiki-do, sliding double doors that stretched across the top or middle. There were also chests with a single lower sliding door on the left, called zuri-do, which often came paired with a kobiraki-do nearby.

Materials Used in Funa Dansu

All shipboard funa dansu were made to handle the harsh conditions of sea travel. The outer body was always made from Zelkova serrata, also known as keyaki. It’s a dense, strong wood that handles moisture and impact well. Inside, the craftsmen used Paulownia wood. It’s lightweight and fire-resistant, making it ideal for drawer linings and compartments. This mix of heavy outer protection and light inner wood kept the chest strong and easy to carry.

 

Tansu Hardware: Function First, Design Second

Most of the hardware used on traditional tansu chests was made for function, not looks. Today, people might see it as decorative, but that wasn’t the original point. Up through the Meiji period, the fittings had a job to do. Since the chests were built with simple joints meant to flex during movement, the hardware had to hold things together in all the right spots. It helped reinforce weak points and made sure the chests could handle being moved over and over again without breaking.

Before the 1880s, all iron hardware was hand-forged. That changed when pressed iron plates from England entered the picture. Once Western metalworking tools arrived in Japan, makers could start experimenting. Hardware didn’t just serve a purpose anymore. It could be shaped, styled, and decorated while still doing its job. That’s when design details started showing up more often.

Common Tansu Hardware Types

One common piece was herikanagu, which covered the edges and corners of the chest. These protected the frame and stopped wear over time. Then there was obikanagu, which stretched across wider surfaces like the top or front of a cabinet. These helped stabilize bigger panels.

Sumikanagu were found on drawer corners. These usually matched the edge hardware around them for a unified look. Mochiokuri were looped carrying handles near the top of the sides, while sao-toshi were sliding loops. These were used for inserting a wooden pole to lift the chest like a stretcher.

Meita was the plate where a lock sat. Sashikomijo referred to locks for sliding doors, and bo was a vertical bar used for locking. For drawers, the handle itself was called hikite, and the flange behind it was the zagane. If there was a plate behind the pull, it was called toshi-zagane.

Hinges were choban, and staples used to attach fittings to the wood were kasugai. Locking systems came in two types. The omotejo was a simple one-way lock that used a split spring. It could only be opened, not locked from outside. The urajo was more complex. It was a two-way lock with a foreign-style mechanism. It started showing up in Japan around the 1860s.

Tansu Finishes: Lacquered or Dry

There were only two types of finishes on traditional tansu. One was dry. The other used lacquer. A dry finish meant rubbing chalk or clay into the wood surface. This was usually done on softer woods like paulownia, cedar, or cypress. After applying the powder, the surface was burnished smooth using a whisk made from Eulalia grass root.

The other option was lacquer. This came from the Rhus verniciflua tree. Lacquer was either used as a clear seal to show off the natural grain or built up in layers to form a smooth, solid finish. Both methods protected the wood, but the look could vary. Some chests looked raw and natural. Others were deep, dark, and sleek.