Kishu Tansu

Pale, light, precise

Paulownia has a refined pale yellow surface and is soft and light, ideal for storage furniture. It takes in moisture when the air is damp and releases it when dry, keeping the contents steady. Wakayama is known for particularly fine and accurate joinery. Kishu Tansu are made in Wakayama city in Wakayama.

Dovetails and natural dye

• Paulownia is leached of tannins, dried naturally and edge-joined to the widths needed.
• Boards are planed and boxes assembled with time-tested joints such as ari-hozo dovetailed tenons and grooves.
• The body, drawers and doors are assembled and each part is finish-planed.
• The surface is coloured with yashabushi, a natural dye.

After the castle fire

In the late Edo period, lightning set the keep of Wakayama Castle on fire and many furnishings were lost. Records say that when the keep was rebuilt four years later, the lost storage trunks and box furniture were remade too. Mid-19th-century documents and chests found in town houses across Wakayama show that chests were already made there as wedding furniture for families beyond the samurai.