Striking wooden Matsumoto ishô’dansu 衣装箪笥 (cabinet of drawers), in two sections, clad with iron hardware and housing a little secret. Fully restored, cleaned and waxed in Japan. Made of indigenous kiri (paulownia) wood with a glossy black lacquer finish in front, and a translucent warm brown lacquer finish on top and on the sided still showing the lovely natural wood grain. The upper section constructed with two full-width drawers, and the lower section with three drawers of different size and a hinged door, revealing three more drawers. A secret compartment is hidden behind one of the small drawers, please look at the photo’s for an example. These smooth running drawers are very deep and have a lot of volume, for easy storage. The drawers are equipped with large open work decorative iron lock plates shaped like auspicious well-filled money bags decorated with a dotted pattern. A feature added to cabinets distinctive to Matsumoto (Nagano prefecture). The raised knobs on top shaped like chrysanthemum flowers 菊 (kiku). Flanked by sturdy iron ‘mokkô’-shaped bail handles with en-suite escutcheons. Each side equipped with two ‘warabite’-shaped grip handles (totte) and a pole-carrying handle for easy transport and “locking” the upper section to the lower part. Period: Japan – Later Meiji period (Around 1900). Dimensions: Height 106 cm, Width 88.2 cm, Depth 42.7 cm. It is in a very good completely restored condition. No keys included. Please look at the photos for a condition reference. When shipped we will add a certificate of authenticity.