It is said that in the early Edo period, craftsmen who gathered to build the Nikko Toshogu Shrine settled in Kasukabe, a post town on the Nikko Kaido road, and began making joinery and small items using paulownia wood that was available in the surrounding area.
Documents from the mid-Edo period mention around 10 dealers, and a paulownia chest with the inscription "Meiwa 9 (1772)" still exists, suggesting that the production area was already beginning to take shape.

• Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques

  1. Drying should be done by natural drying.

   

  2. The boards used shall be solid wood. In this case, the thickness of the boards shall be 19 mm or more for the top board, side boards and shelves, 10 mm or more for the support boards, and 7 mm or more for the base board, back board and drawer bottom boards.

   

  3. The top and bottom panels shall be joined to the side panels by dovetail joints of five or more panels, or by dovetail joints or wrap-around dovetail joints of eleven or more panels, and the shelves shall be joined by mortise and tenon joints.

   

  4. The drawer components shall be joined by dovetail joints, mortise and tenon joints, or mortise and tenon joints.

   

  5. When installing doors or sliding doors, the following techniques or methods shall be used:
  (1) In the case of boards, the thickness of the board material shall be 24 millimeters or more, and the frame of the core material shall be joined by a miter joint.
  (2) In the case of framed structures, the thickness of the board material shall be 20 millimeters or more for frame members and 8 millimeters or more for door panels, and the frame members shall be joined by miter joints or mortise and tenon joints.

   

  6. Use "leg nails" to join the side panels to the legs.

   

  7. The finishing process involves polishing using a clay brush and applying alder bark coloring, followed by wax polishing.

   

  raw materials

  1. The wood used should be paulownia.

  2. The nails shall be made of Deutzia wood or a material of equivalent quality.

  3. The metal fittings shall be made of copper, copper alloy, or iron.

• Work scene

  Work scene

  The origins KASUKABE Kiri Tansu (Paulownia Chests) date back to the early Edo period, when craftsmen who participated in the construction of Nikko Toshogu Shrine noticed the abundance of paulownia trees growing in the Kasukabe area, a post town along the Nikko Kaido road. They settled there and began making furniture called "sashimono" using paulownia wood. By the mid-Edo period (around 1770), a production area had been established, and due to its proximity to Edo, it became a major production center for paulownia chests and small paulownia boxes around the Tenpo era (around 1830). KASUKABE Kiri Tansu (Paulownia Chests) have been continuously passed down to the present day. Although there are hardly any paulownia trees left in Kasukabe today, the techniques used are highly refined and have been perfected through continuous effort and dedication.

  Step 1: Cutting down the logs

  The main raw material is high-quality paulownia wood from Aizu and other prefectures in the Tohoku region. Secondary materials include magnolia, mulberry, and deutzia from Hokkaido. First, the logs are cut in a way that maximizes their potential for use in paulownia chests. The straight-grained logs are cut into 9 to 21 mm thick boards, while the quarter-sawn logs are cut into quarters and then cut into 5.5 mm thick boards.

  工程2： 乾燥

  The planks are assembled upright and exposed to the elements using methods such as crisscross stacking, allowing them to air dry naturally for about three to four months, and then further dried indoors.

  Process 3: Wood cutting process

  Next, we perform the cutting process to cut the paulownia wood to the same size. We cut it slightly longer than the dimensions of the parts and then trim it to fit the width. For the quarter-sawn boards used for the surface material, we correct the curvature and unevenness of the grain to make it straighter and more evenly spaced before trimming it to fit the width.

  Step 4: Correction process

  If a board is warped or bent, it is heated over a flame and a lever is used to correct the warp or twist. Each corrected board is then finely adjusted with a hand plane and glued together to form a single board of the correct dimensions.

  Step 5: Machining process

  Once the boards are finished to the correct dimensions, they are further polished with a plane.

  Process 6: Assembly Process

  The assembly does not use iron nails; instead, the pieces are joined using mortise and tenon joints and securely fastened with wooden nails made from Deutzia wood.

  工程7： 仕上げ

  The finishing process begins by applying water to the surface of the wood with a brush to restore any warping, and then making subtle adjustments to the shape and any imperfections. This thorough and delicate work ensures that drawers and doors open and close smoothly and securely. Once the adjustments are complete, the surface is planed to finish the job. Then, the wood grain is beautifully brought out using a brush made from kaya root. Next, a mixture of a decoction of alder cone and polishing powder is used to seal the grain and apply a second coat of color. The wood grain is then beautifully brought out again using a brush made from kaya root. Finally, wax is applied to give it a shine. After that, the necessary hardware is attached, the whole piece is adjusted and inspected, and the work is complete.

   

• Close-up

  Close-up

  Anecdotes

  The Paulownia Chest of Drawers Revived

  Paulownia wood chests are passed down from parent to child, and from child to grandchild. It is said that their quality remains unchanged for 300 years. However, since they are made from natural materials, it is inevitable that they will age due to sun exposure and stains. But before you think it's time to move on, wait a moment. KASUKABE Kiri Tansu (Paulownia Chests), made from high-quality domestic paulownia wood, can be beautifully restored in the hands of a craftsman. First, the old metal fittings are removed. Then, with meticulous care and skill, the wood is thinly shaved off using a plane, taking care not to shave off too much. This is a job that requires many years of experience and skill. And what do you know, the beautiful wood grain is restored once again. This is a feat made possible by the regenerative ability of high-quality paulownia wood and the skill of the craftsman. When you pass it on to your children, or when you move, why not recycle your old paulownia wood chest to a craftsman of KASUKABE Kiri Tansu (Paulownia Chests)? It will be restored to like-new condition and become a valuable asset once again.