Okawa paulownia chest is traditional furniture made in Okawa City, Fukuoka Pref. Furniture production in Okawa City has a history of 470 years and the city is Japan’s largest furniture production center. Okawa, which is located on the downstream of the Chikugo River, used to be a distribution center of lumber. Furniture production in this area started in the Muromachi period (1336-1573), when Kumenosuke Enokizu applied his knowledge of ship carpentry to wood work. Then in the late Edo period, Kasaku Tanoue, who learned furniture making techniques of China and Holland, established the foundation of furniture-making in Okawa. The Paulownia chest is generally known for its damp-proof and fire resistive properties together with the beautiful grains. In addition to these merits, Okawa paulownia chest has a burglar-proof mechanism inside, giving special contrivance to metal hardware. Okawa paulownia chest is made of the top quality straight-grained boards, which gives massive appearance. It is a high-finished traditional product.