Edo period – class-determined During the
Edo period (1603–1867), the type of a person owned and used was largely determined by social class.
Meiji period – regional diversification During the
Meiji period (1868–1911), the design of developed further, seeing more regional diversification following the abolition of the
feudal class system in Japan.
Other types ======== were used by the captain or owner of small coastal trading vessels licensed by the feudal
shogunate to transport rice. These vessels would travel from the bountiful but remote countryside to the teeming cities on the route between
Osaka and
Hokkaido through the Inland Sea and up the Japan Sea coast. With the
enforced closure of the country in 1633 and a prohibition against the construction of ships with a keel, more than two masts and a cargo capacity exceeding (2,550 bushels of rice) in 1636, the inadvertently crippled the transport of rice grown on Japanese lands, resulting in shortages and even riots in some urban areas. The problem was largely alleviated through reforms of the coastal navigation infrastructure and regulations suggested by Kawamura Zuiken in 1670. Among his implemented recommendations was the designation of reliable sea transporters of government rice as (merchants representing the interests of the shogunate). As well, he convinced the authorities to allow properly designated vessels to trade for their own account at coastal towns en route. Though most certainly an inducement to shipping traders, there was a physical constraint that stood in the way of predictable success. The ships, though impressive in construction, were usually under in length, with a scant crew of eleven or less. Coastal townspeople were not always impressed when these mariners arrived. There is evidence that from the
Kyōhō era of Edo (1716–1735), specific designs of elaborate cabinetry began to be used on the route. Well into the
Meiji period, when a (1,000 ship) would arrive at a coastal town for trading, the crew would ceremoniously off load the captain/owner's personal tansu to be then positioned strategically at the place where negotiations would be held, thus lending a calculated air of affluence and respectability to the visitor's aura. evolved into three categories of design: • : A seals and money chest with a single hinged door often covered by intricate iron plating, with multiple interior drawers or door covered compartments. • : A clothing chest with a single drop-fit door. Often made as a set of two identical chests, designed so one could be placed on top of the other, then locked together. • : A chest for accounting and writing related materials. Often rendered in many different configurations, some of which included the following features: • : A drop-fit door cut into the case, used to hide a money box. • : A small swinging door in the lower-right corner. • : Double doors with half-faced hinges on the lower half of the box. • : One or two drawers, exposed to the exterior. • : Removable double sliding doors, running the full width of the box, appearing on the top third or middle third of the box. • : Removable single sliding door in the lower half of the box, in the lower-left. Typically appeared with a . that were intended for shipboard use were always constructed of for all exterior exposures, with Paulownia wood for interior compartments and drawer or box linings. ==Types of hardware==