Antique Japanese Keyaki Sugi Merchant Tansu Sliding Door Cabinet Meiji 54"W

Antique Japanese 商家箪笥 Merchant Tansu — Keyaki & Sugi Two-Section Cabinet with Joined Sugi Panel Doors, Meiji Period

Japan, Meiji Period (1868–1912)

Dimensions: 54″W × 20.5″D × 68″H (137 × 52 × 173 cm)

Weight: 95 lbs / 43 kg. Please ask for details on White Glove service shipping. 

This commanding antique Japanese merchant tansu (商家箪笥) is built in the classic two-section kasane format, combining a sugi cedar case and interiors with richly grained keyaki (zelkova) drawer faces throughout. Each section features large sliding doors paneled in narrow edge-joined sugi strips secured with rows of iron nail studs — a construction technique prized for dimensional stability and the warm, rhythmic visual texture it imparts to the door face. The interiors reveal clean sugi shelving with a fixed shelf, offering generous, well-organized storage.

Flanking and below each sliding door section, columns of keyaki-faced drawers fitted with forged iron bail handles provide abundant smaller storage, their boldly figured grain contrasting beautifully against the warm sugi framework. The iron hardware is appropriately robust — shaped bail pulls on recessed iron mounts — practical and proportionate to a piece of this scale. The 指物 (sashimono) joinery throughout reflects the confident hand of a skilled regional workshop.

Merchant tansu of this type served the prosperous trading households of Meiji-era Japan, functioning as the organizational backbone of 商家 (shōka) commercial life — storing documents, textiles, ledgers, and household goods in a single imposing cabinet. The combination of sliding door compartments with flanking drawer columns reflects a practical hierarchy of storage that remained in continuous use across generations.

At 68 inches tall and 56 inches wide, this is a genuinely architectural piece. The interplay of joined sugi panel doors, boldly figured keyaki drawer faces, and iron nail stud detailing gives it a presence that reads equally well in a traditional, industrial, or contemporary interior.

Condition: Overall good antique condition consistent with Meiji-era age; keyaki drawer faces show natural figuring and minor age marks; sugi interiors clean; iron hardware shows expected oxidation patina; casters are a later practical addition. Restored with the conservative approach we've practiced for over four decades: retaining the authentic patina and aged character that collectors prize, while stabilizing and revitalizing wood and metal surfaces throughout."

A rare large-scale Meiji merchant tansu with exceptional material contrast and original iron hardware — an impressive statement piece offering both collector significance and genuine everyday utility.