Asian Loft - Japanese Products - Kuruma Dansu (wheelchest)

KURUMA DANSU
Although the Japanese put wheels on cabinets for entirely utilitarian purposes, these wheeled chests today are favourites among collectors, who find them an interesting contrast to the many other styles of Japanese tansu.
Wheeled chests were used in both shops and homes, so a variety of styles evolved with the basic form of a box on wheels. Those built for use in rural areas are plain but lovely, while those used by wealthy merchants or in the homes of the rich were more elaborately constructed, with the addition of purely decorative wood carving and/or metalwork.
Wheeled chests emerged between early and middle Edo (1603-91/1691-1780), making them some of the oldest chests still found today. They were built in great quantities until the middle of the Meiji era (1868-1912) when productions levelled off quickly with the emergence of mass production techniques, which were used to create other, more easily constructed tansu instead of these massive, old-fashioned chests. Early pieces are identified by thick, solid boards of zelkova wood and simple, heavy, impressive ironwork. Old rural pieces are primitive, but solid, in appearance, most often with the series of horizontal slats on the sliding doors continuing around the sides of the chests.
Wheeled chests were produced at major tansu-production centers throughout Honshu, but the majority originated in northern Yamagata and Iwate prefectures.