Vintage Japanese Mizuya Kitchen Cabinet - Cypress & Cedar | Midcentury

A vintage Japanese mizuya kitchen cabinet. Made from hinoki (cypress) and sugi (cedar) woods, with keyaki (elm) drawer fronts and iron hardware. Mid 20th century.

This tall cabinet is arranged across four distinct sections: a pair of solid sliding doors at the top with circular ring pulls, a glazed sliding door section below revealing interior shelving, a row of three small drawers in the middle, and a large lower section with two wide sliding doors featuring deeply figured elm panels. Two further narrow drawers run across the base. The contrast between the pale cypress carcass and the rich, swirling keyaki grain on the drawer fronts and lower doors is particularly striking. A substantial piece suited to use as a kitchen hutch, media cabinet, or statement living room storage.

Mizuya were traditional Japanese kitchen storage cabinets, used to store crockery, utensils, and dry goods. The glazed upper section allowed the contents to be seen while keeping them dust-free -- a functional design that translated naturally into display cabinetry.