I first learned of tansus in a Japanese literature class. I knew of them because of the Tokyo fire that prompted the illegalization of kuruma tansu, chests with wheels that can be rolled about. Fires were not uncommon in Tokyo and other cities. People would wheel their tansus into the street making them impassable for the fire brigades. That’s all I knew of them until the later 1970s when Adi Da Samraj asked that a tansu be provided for him to put his clothing into in his bedroom.
Tansus weren’t fashionable yet, not that many people in the U.S. had been introduced to them. It seemed that they were just beginning to be imported in greater numbers. I and another devotee drove to San Francisco from the Mountain of Attention sanctuary. There was a store above Ghirardelli Square, on North Point, I think. It was a large retail space which was stuffed with tansus, wall-to-wall. 
It was more a storage space than showroom. I was immersed into the world of tansus. Most of them were older, many of them over three hundred years old. These were the ones I was most interested in. They showed their age, but most were entirely serviceable. They were covered in a combination of cast and forged hardware. I had never seen an approach to cabinetry like this.
The woodworking, itself, was simple enough, no complex joints for the most part. The drawers were simply and practically constructed. They were done well. Most of them, even the old ones, were still in good shape even though many of them obviously had a history. The finishing was done beautifully with cashew lacquer, many of the chests stained with red dye.
What really stood out about these chests, however, was the hardware. The Japanese have a way with steel. Most of the tansus were outfitted with elaborate cast and forged hardware. Some, particularly the modern ones of the later 19th and 20th centuries, were more modestly appointed. But they all had drawer pulls and corner braces and if the chest called for it, an escutcheon.
I returned to the tansu store several times to take Polaroid photos of the different tansus until Adi Da selected one. Other than that I had little to do with Adi Da’s tansus other than polishing or a minor repair now and again.
I returned to Naitauba Island in 2008 to attend Adi Da Samraj’s Mahasamadhi vigil. It was a difficult and sobering moment. I felt the loss. It was then that I determined that I needed to build a murti tansu. We lived in a one-room cabin, and, though it was reasonably spacious and comfortable there was no way to have a meditation hall. There was no space to set aside for communion, no room for His Room, if you will.
So, when I returned to California I began the process of building a murti tansu for Adi Da, a place that could be set apart for him no matter where we were living…His Room! And it was a good thing to do. I used hard maple for the case, and Big Leaf Maple for the top and doors, reinforcing the doors with Macassar Ebony. I modeled the dais inside of the tansu after the dais in Western Face Cathedral at the Mountain of Attention Sanctuary, a place where we had sat in darshan and meditation with Adi Da many times. I used custom made steel hinges and other hardware that was made in Japan. I bought some old tansu doors from Japan on Ebay retrieve the hand-forged steel brads from the broken doors. I wanted the tansu to have an authentic, traditional look.that were traditionally used to mount the hinges and other hardware.
I made it as a gift for The Great One. I made it as fine and honorably as I could. Whatever I made for Adi Da I did the best that I could manage. I was often out of my depth, but I always endeavored toward a particular excellence when working on projects for the Guru. If you want to get good at something it usually takes practice, practice, practice. That’s the way it’s been for me.
It took nine months to complete the tansu, from selecting the woods to installing it. Nara and I spent weeks hand rubbing the finish, layer after layer. It was puja.
We hand-hooked some miniature tiger rugs and found vases and other items to appoint the altar with that we felt would please Adi Da.
