Vintage Japanese Cha Tansu Tea Chest, 1946 - 1965 (Mid Showa) | SKU: 26M-C044

Japanese Cha Tansu Tea Chest | Vintage Display Cabinet & Living Room Storage, 1946-1965 (Mid Showa), SKU 26M-C044

A spectacular mid-century cha tansu with boldly figured wood panels and hand-painted landscape drawers -- a rare collector's piece of Japanese antique furniture.

A cha tansu is a traditional Japanese tea storage chest, designed to organize the implements and vessels of the chado (tea ceremony) with both practicality and visual elegance. This exceptional example, dating to the Mid Showa period (1946-1965), showcases the finest qualities of handcrafted Japanese cabinetry: a dark-stained hardwood frame with deeply rounded moldings contrasts dramatically against front panels of boldly grained wood -- most likely kaki (persimmon) or kurogaki (black persimmon) -- whose swirling amber and ebony figuring gives each door and drawer a painterly, almost landscape-like quality. The central section houses a pair of small sliding drawers faced with hand-painted silk or paper panels depicting serene Japanese scenery: a lone sailboat on calm water and a pine-shaded village, rendered in the delicate ink-and-pigment tradition of nihonga. Pull-out drawers at the base are fitted with cast brass ring handles, and the interior woodwork reveals pale, cleanly jointed secondary wood typical of quality mid-century Japanese construction. The asymmetric layout of open shelves, sliding compartments, and pull-out drawers reflects the refined organizational logic of the cha tansu form.

Today, this vintage Japanese tea chest translates effortlessly into a contemporary interior as a striking living room accent or entryway display cabinet. The open upper shelves invite the display of ceramics, books, or small sculptures, while the mix of closed compartments and pull-out drawers provides flexible home office storage or bar cabinet organization. Its wabi-sabi aesthetic and rich wood tones make it a natural fit for Japandi style interiors or any space that values handcrafted character over mass-produced uniformity. A truly unique housewarming gift or centerpiece acquisition for collectors of Japanese antique furniture.

• Origin: Japan
• Era: 1946-1965 (Mid Showa)
• Material: Dark-stained hardwood frame; front panels of boldly figured wood, possibly kaki (persimmon) or kurogaki (black persimmon); hand-painted landscape panels on interior sliding drawers; cast brass ring and disc hardware
• Use: Cha tansu -- traditional Japanese tea chest for storing tea ceremony implements and utensils
• Modern Use: Living room display cabinet or bookshelf accent; entryway console with storage; home bar or home office organizer
• Features: Asymmetric layout with multiple open shelves, sliding compartments, and pull-out base drawers; dramatically figured wood panel fronts with rounded dark molding surround; a pair of hand-painted nihonga-style landscape sliding drawers depicting a sailboat scene and a pine village; brass ring pulls on base drawers and disc pulls on upper compartments; a decorative tassel fitting on one door; pale secondary wood drawer interiors with clean joinery
• Dimensions: 27"W x 11"D x 35"H
• Condition: Excellent

A rare and museum-worthy piece of Japanese antique furniture -- this cha tansu brings the art and spirit of the tea ceremony into any modern home.

We use professional studio lighting to highlight the natural character of the wood. As a result, the tone may appear slightly warmer than under natural daylight.

All vintage and antique items are sold as-is. Each piece may exhibit signs of age, including scratches, wear, or minor imperfections. These are not considered defects but natural evidence of the item’s authenticity and age.