Japanese Cabinetry: The Art & Craft of Tansu

From Publishers Weekly
Tansu are, in a simple sense, wood furniture pieces, but Jackson, a conservator and collector of tansu, and Owen, a gallery owner, make the case that tansu should be seen in the U.S. as an art form. Tansu, they argue, represent the height of Japanese craftsmanship in the Edo and Meiji periods, reflecting increasing societal wealth and evolving tastes. The authors compare the simple, elegant cupboards and chests to Shaker objects, which "are now feverishly collected as art, yet would not be without respect for the traditions and skill they embody." The 300 color photos support their contentions-the pieces are delicately finished with lacquer and hand-forged iron and are made of more than one kind of wood. Hand-tinted Meiji-era photographs accompany synopses of period history: in one, a doctor feels a patient's hand; in another a young woman prepares tea. An unusual chapter places tansu among Western settings, while others outline personal household uses of tansu, or how to restore and collect it. The book's design echoes a museum catalogue, with captions and explanatory text. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Natural Home magazine, January 15, 2003
Simple, beautiful, and calming, the Japanese aesthetic of Tansu-the cabinetry tradition that originated during the Edo period (1603-1868)-can be incorporated


Santa Fe New Mexican, January 1, 2003
This is a great book, of interest to fans of architecture and design and of Japanese styles as well as


Book Description
Originating from Japan's Edo period (1615-1867), tansu refers mostly to wooden cabinets, boxes and chests. The gifted creators of this art were deservedly esteemed by Japanese society, leaving a rich and influential legacy. Their work was almost anonymous, though, and the history has remained in the shadows-until now. Japanese Cabinetry: The Art and Craft of Tansu is the first truly definitive volume on tansu, giving voice to the long-overlooked craftsmen and overdue respect for the craft itself. This book provides a broad representation of cabinetry designs along with contextual history, gleaning insights from the cabinetry itself. From trunks with wheels to shipboard safes, from kitchen cupboards to clothing chests, tansu were the receptacles of an age of economic expansion. Japanese Cabinetry chronicles not only the physical characteristics and details of tansu, but also the historical eras and societal factors that influenced the craft. David Jackson has been buying, collecting, and conserving tansu since 1990. He lives in Sante Fe. Dane Owen founded Shibui, a gallery of Japanese antique furnishings. Mr. Owen is a frequent visitor to Japan, searching for objects for his customers and his private collections. He lives in Sante Fe.


From the Inside Flap
Tansu are the realization of three craft traditions of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Japan. Prior to industrialization, the joiner, blacksmither, and finisher created chests of select woods, hand-forged iron, and opaque and transparent lacquers. Each chest was handmade in every aspect of its production. Just as these chests held items ranging from clothing to account books, they reflected the changing social conditions of the Edo and Meiji periods. By the early twentieth century, the heyday of tansu had largely passed and craftsmen's lives making handmade furnishings were profoundly changed forever by modernization. Tansu provide us a glimpse into the lives of townsman and samurai. They were cabinets that held kimono, lacquer, tea wares, swords, books, and the inventory of the thriving merchant class. They provide evidence of the intertwined lives of three craftsmen who mutually created storage for the masses. Tansu further provide a gateway into understanding the Japanese use of residential space and what objects actually filled the role of "furniture." The cabinetry of Japan is one of the least recorded aspects of Japan's fertile woodworking history. In concert with historical imagery and vintage photos, Japanese Cabinetry: The Art & Craft of Tansu answers the call for greater documentation, provides examples of merchant, household, and personal cabinetry never before seen, and illustrates essential details of craft. It is a reference for the craftsman and historian, a source for the interior designer, and a guide for the perspective buyer.


From the Back Cover
Japanese Cabinetry: The Art & Craft of Tansu is the first volume one the handcrafted tradition of tansu to be published in more than twenty years, and includes exquisite examples from all regions of Japan.


About the Author
David Jackson has been buying, collecting, and conserving tansu since 1990. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland and compelted graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982, where he studied sculpture and woodworking. He authored an article entitled "Tansu Exposed," which appeared in the June 1997 issue of Woodwork magazine.


Excerpted from Japanese Cabinetry: The Art & Craft of Tansu by David Jackson, Dane Owen. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Japanese style is, undeniably, currently in vogue in the West, and not for the first time. The Western World has many times fallen under the spell of the apparently simple elegance of Japanese style. In the past 150 years, this style with its deceptively minimalist aesthetic and emphasis on craftsmanship, has surfaced time and again to captivate the public and influence new generations of collectors, designers, and artists. The reason that Japanese style returns, again and again, is clear: it is simple, beautiful, and calming. The aesthetic is as appealing in our hectic, technology-driven era as it was during the age of dawning industrialization, when Japan officially reopened to the West.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

Tansu-the craft of wooden boxes and chests, originally designed during the Edo period of Japanese history (1603-1868)-is as recognizable as the Shaker style of oval boxes. Jackson, who has been collecting and conserving tansu works since 1990, and Owen, a gallery owner and goldsmith, have together produced a fine exposition of this obscure corner of woodworking history and culture. This lavishly illustrated volume is printed on heavy, glossy paper and presents breathtaking examples of the woodworker's art on every page. The authors present historical context in a rather disjointed fashion that will confuse newcomers to the topic, and some of the captions contain gratuitous editorializing, which detracts from the joy of discovery throughout most of the book. Still, with eight chapters on the various aspects of tansu (including commercial and household uses); 300 color illustrations, with examples from all regions of Japan; and such useful resources as endnotes, a glossary, a bibliography, a chronology, and a list of sources, this is the most comprehensive exploration of the topic currently available. Ultimately for designers rather than woodworkers or vernacular historians, this book is recommended for large decorative arts collections.-Alex Hartmann, INFOPHILE, Williamsport, PA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices