Japanese Mizuya Dansu or Kitchen Tansu

A wall of panels with nowhere for clutter to hide. The Japanese kitchen had standards.

This mizuya dansu or kitchen tansu comes from Japan and dates to the 19th century, made of elm wood. Mizuya dansu were the working cabinets of Japanese kitchens, holding dishes, utensils and food stores behind sliding and hinged doors, often built in sections to suit the room. Three tiers of paneled doors fill the face here, with figured elm grain showing in each panel. The middle row has small iron hinges and slim pulls. The warm reddish finish sits under dark corner fittings. Sixty inches long and forty-eight high.

Dinner has seldom been kept in better order.