Let’s get back to tansu, shall we? I want to generally talk about kaidan dansu (step chests) also lessor known as hako kaidan (box stairs), verses a critique of a particular piece, just to give an overview of the style. You may already be familiar with these pieces due to their popularity in east/west interior design, but you may not know how they came about. Traditional Japanese homes, Minka, were originally single story structures inhabited by the non-Samurai castes, peasants, merchants, and craftsman (minka now implies to any house from a particular historical era). Anyway, there were edicts as to how fancy your house could be and you were taxed upon the size of your dwelling as well as the fixtures within it. One possible explanation for kaidan dansu is that in these lower caste houses, these chests were used to reach a clandestine living or working area of the house so as not to be taxed for that space (in some regions the attics were used for silk worm cultivation, a highly profitable trade, one which a daimyo (lord of the fief) might want to get his hands on). The chests were usually constructed in two or three pieces for ease of dis-assembly as this would render them less a permanent structure, therefore less likely to be taxed. And if you didnt see them stacked, who would know you’ve got a whole cottage industry hanging out (literally) upstairs. Score one for the downtrodden peasants! Another possible origination of kaidan dansu could be in the more metropolitan areas. Kura (storehouses) were some of the first two story buildings constructed. Used for storage by merchants, these were sturdily made and usually fireproof, an important attribute in towns that were primarily made out of wood and paper. Evidence exists of how kura were used for extended living spaces, and how else were you going to get upstairs, by ladder? Another type of urban dwelling known as machiya (townhouses) also could have benefited from a set of stairs. In areas where space was at a premium, a lot of times the only way to go was up, facilitating the need for some stairs with a handy set of space-saving drawers and cabinets underneath. Whatever way they originated, kaidan dansu have come to be one of the most recognizable and sought after forms of tansu. I always wanted to build a house with one of these pieces as the actual staircase, try getting that one by your local building codes.