Antique Japanese Chests

Treasure-hunting for tansu

text by Katharine Markulin Hama

When foreigners enchanted with Japan develop a love of antiques, their most compelling desire is often to acquire tansu—traditional, handcrafted chests made of fine woods with metal fittings. But with worthy pieces becoming scarcer, the best strategy to bag a real trophy is to visit a well-regarded dealer.

"Some types of chests are simply gone," admits John Adair, Jr., an American who has been selling choice tansu for more than 25 years. Yet he maintains that determined collectors can still find quality if they are prepared to spend time with specialists, learn the difference between genuine and imitation, and pay the price.

step chest
Step chest (kaidan-dansu)
These functioned as stairs with storage beneath. Most open only on one side. This example with cypress frame and keyaki front is from Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. document chest
Document chest (chobo-dansu)
Used in shops, these were often richly decorated to impress customers. This one from Aizu-Wakamatsu is beautifully formed with a rare, solid keyaki front, handsome hardware. Date: 1918

Joanne Butterfield is one such collector. Her love for old Japanese tansu began in the unlikely locale of Anpachi, Gifu Prefecture, where she spent a year as a teacher. Though Gifu was not far from Tokyo, where most desirable antiques end up, it showed her the real Japan. "I saw furniture in authentic settings—staircase chests that people actually used to climb to the second floor and kitchen cabinets that were filled with cooking utensils and supplies." Entranced by their combination of beauty, functionality, and history, she began collecting for her residence in Tokyo when she returned with her lawyer husband a few years later.

"I love the fact that every tansu tells a story. Its configuration, wood, and fittings reveal its purpose, where it was made, and sometimes even the original owner's wealth and status."

These things also determine market value. Expect to pay much more for a small sea chest made of prized zelkova (keyaki) wood and adorned with extensive iron hardware than for a large ordinary clothing chest. Tansu frames were generally constructed of semi-hardwoods such as red cedar (sugi) or cypress (hinoki). Paulownia (kiri) was used for drawers due to its resistance to moisture. Richly grained zelkova, chestnut (kuri), or other hardwoods were reserved for chest fronts. The most treasured pieces were built entirely of a single wood such as kiri (admired for its elegant flaxen hue) or lustrous zelkova.

sword chest
Sword chest (katana-dansu)
Two long drawers stored blades (without the hilt), while small drawers held fittings. This unusual, late-Edo example is cedar with the lavish hardware you would normally expect on a sea chest; from Sakata, Yamagata Prefecture.

kitchen chest
Kitchen chest (mizuya)
Generally in two stacking units with sliding doors, these cabinets stored kitchen goods and utensils. Drawers held small items. Widths range from 90 to 270 centimeters. This late-Edo example from the Kohoku region in Shiga Prefecture has an exquisitely burled keyaki front with rich patina.

Metalwork indicates where a chest comes from. Fittings were restrained in southern and central Japan, while exuberant ironwork with motifs of flowers or pines or auspicious animals like cranes and turtles could take over the entire surface of tansu made along the Japan Sea coast and in northern areas such as Sendai.

Knowing how to "read" an antique helps you understand what you're buying and that's where experts can help, Butterfield says. "You need to spend time and talk with top dealers. I wouldn't make a serious purchase at a street market. They are good places to learn—I show my daughter how to look for cracks and so on—but the finest tansu are in shops."

clothing chest
Clothing chest
(isho-dansu)
These are the most common chests with drawers. This one with top-quality Yonezawa hardware is an outstanding example from a cabinet-making family in northern Japan. Date: 1900-1920. wheeled chest
Wheeled chest
(kuruma-dansu)
These were generally large storage chests with iron fittings, made on wheels to be rolled to safety in case of emergency. This keyaki-fronted chest has splendidly matching grain.

She also stresses that Japan is the best place to collect. "We have a house in Massachusetts and I've looked at antique tansu in Boston and New York. Prices are triple what you would pay in Tokyo and the quality is not as good—most pieces are heavily restored and refinished."

Ultimately, she says, a tansu is a flexible piece of furniture but it's also a thing of beauty to hand on to the next generation. "People should buy what they love rather than buying to fit a space or need. Design and craftsmanship are what set tansu apart. So buy the best quality that you can afford."

Tansu features identify the source

Sendai Sendai
This keyaki-fronted bridal chest has the elaborate, high-quality iron fittings and fine workmanship characteristic of tansu from the well-known city of Sendai and its surroundings in Miyagi Prefecture, Tohoku. Date: Late Meiji period (c. 1900).

Soma Soma
This late-Meiji bridal chest (yome-iri dansu) from the port city of Soma in eastern Fukushima Prefecture, Tohoku, has large but subdued hardware.

Nihonmatsu Nihonmatsu
The brass appliques of turtle and crane on the lock plates symbolize longevity and, though hard to find today, are typical of Nihonmatsu bridal chests. From Nihonmatsu in central Fukushima Prefecture, Tohoku. Dated 1919.

Yonezawa Yonezawa
Rare lock plates in the shape of a noshi (ceremonial knot or bow) and hoju (sacred jewel) adorn the boldly grained chestnut front of this bridal chest from the Nagai-Miyauchi area in Yamagata Prefecture, Tohoku. Date: mid-Meiji (1890s).

Sado Sado
This rare, solid keyaki merchant's chest is from Sado Island off the coast of northwestern Japan's Niigata Prefecture. Typical of pieces from this well-known source of sea chests, it's loaded with iron hardware. Date: late Edo period (mid-1800s).

For tansu, see our listing for Kurofune antique shop.

Articles from the 2004 SPRING issue:

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