Rare Japanese Keyaki Wood Kaidan-Dansu Step Chest. More aesthetic style than purely functional, with two drawers, two chests with sliding doors, and two twisting steps in the middle that are purely steps, with no storage. The top two steps can be separated from the bottom section. 

Size: 19 x 41 1/2 x 63 in. 

Kaidan-dansu (also known as hakokaidan) are perhaps the rarest form of the tansu chest concepts that arose in Japan as early as the Sengoku period (1573-1603 AD). Tansu, commonly used for storage of clothing and accessories, were portable cabinets with many drawers, consistent with the Japanese aesthetic of interior design featuring numerous movable parts and partitions for ease of travel or accommodations. However, the kaikan-dansu (literally translated as “stairs-chest”) arose as the economy of space became more and more important in the aftermath of the Japanese Civil Wars, allowing access to second floors and lofts while also providing storage. These hybrid cabinets, often of modular construction, incorporated drawers and sliding doors, but primarily held tableware, stationary, and other items besides clothing that would be used frequently throughout the day. Though they reached the height of their popularity in the late Edo Period, the kaidan-dansu is considered an archaic form now, although they are still incorporated into some Japanese modern home designs and older surviving pieces are often kept as heirlooms and sought by collectors for their unique space-saving qualities. 

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