Tansu

Tansu ( Japanese 箪笥 , German " chest , chest of drawers , cupboard "). It is a traditional antique Japanese piece of furniture made from lightweight woods. Characteristic for this are artistic metal fittings and locks with floral patterns or ornaments and an asymmetrical division.

History and purpose

Most ancient tansu were portable, either carried on shoulder bars, with handles, or rolled on built-in wooden wheels. Wealthy families kept most of their possessions in large kuruma tansu ("rolling chests"). In the Edo period (1603–1868) nobles and samurai used tansu to represent their noble status. Some stored books and sword blades ( katana- tansu), other tea utensils (cha-tansu) and medicinal herbs (kusuri-tansu) or business books. Many tansu, with their deep drawers, were used to store the special, sweeping ceremony clothing (isho-tansu). A kiri tree ( bluebell tree ) was planted in noble families on the occasion of the birth of a daughter . On the occasion of her wedding, a tansu was made from its rapidly growing wood, which represented the status of her family and in which she sent her belongings to the husband's family. Traders and seafarers adapted the chests to store their records (Choba-Tansu). To protect these chests on their travels, the endangered areas were shod with iron - a stylistic device that found widespread use: in order to impress customers and visitors, the chests were given more and more elaborate ornaments. Tansu for kitchen utensils and cutlery (Mizuya-Tansu) and Kaidan-Tansu (so-called “staircases” for climbing up the roof) were other common uses.

Materials / craft

A tansu traditionally emerged from the collaboration of three craftsmen: a carpenter , a varnisher and a blacksmith . The carpenter was responsible for the entire processing and for the selection of the wood: bluebell trees ( kiri ), sickle fir ( sugi ) and zelkove ( keyaki ) were common. The use of plywood was unthinkable and the chests had very few seams. Sickle fir and bluebell trees were used for the housing and drawers, and also used as the front wood. The scent of crescent fir repels moths and the light-weight bluebell tree wood adapts to Japanese peculiarities such as humidity and the ever-threatening danger of an earthquake without bursting thanks to its inherent flexibility . In the case of very magnificent and representative chests, zelkove wood with flame-like wood fibers and a glowing orange-brown color was used for drawer fronts and front views. The painter refined the surface with a transparent varnish made from natural components, the urushi . The interior was usually left untreated. The blacksmith made black iron fittings and locks, which in addition to reinforcement and fastening also enhanced the aesthetic effect.

Regional styles

Tansu were made and used in many regions of Japan. Larger cities, trading centers and administrative districts developed their own distinctive style. Most tansu from one region are similar e.g. B. as regards the design of the fittings or the drawer arrangement. The choice of wood and paintwork can also be characteristic of the region.

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David Jackson, Dane Owen: Japanese Cabinetry. The art and craft of Tansu. Gibbs-Smith Publisher, Salt Lake City UT 2002, ISBN 1-586-85113-6 .
Ty Heineken, Kiyoko Heineken: Tansu. Traditional Japanese cabinetry. Weatherhill, Trumbull CT 2004, ISBN 0-8348-0548-0 .