Staggered shelves. Considered part of the *shoin 書院 style decoration. One of the room ornaments which became established together with the decorative alcove *tokonoma 床の間 and attached desk *oshi-ita 押板 at the end of the Muromachi period, in the formal reception room *zashiki 座敷. Usually located at the side of the decorative alcove. Two shelf boards are fixed at different levels, a small pillar *ebizuka 海老束 is inserted between them, and small edge-strips *fudegaeshi 筆返し, are attached at the edge of the top shelf. A doored shelf is provided at the top or below the shelf boards, or both. Upper doored shelves are called tenbukuro 天袋 (see *fukurodana 袋棚) and lower ones *jibukuro 地袋. Shelves in dwellings were originally practical, used to store personal belongings close at hand.
In the Muromachi period, ornamental shelves began to be developed at Ashikaga Yoshimasa's 足利義政 (1436-90) mansions, Ogawa gosho 小川御所 and Higashiyama dono 東山殿. The Muromachi-period text Okazariki 御飾記 describes room ornaments in those two mansions, with drawings of shelves together with oshi-ita, and descriptions of the methods of making shelves and ways of decorating. The chigaidana in the meeting room of Higashi goten 東御殿, Ogawa gosho, for example, was constructed at right angles to the oshi-ita, one bay wide (just under 2 m), with upper and lower doored shelves, and there were two layers of staggered shelves (an arrangement called *shikiri chigaidana 仕切違い棚). On the top shelf was an incense burner, a tea container on a small tray, a small bowl on a tray, and on the bottom shelf were implements associated with the presentation of kaiseki 懐石 food (refined Kyoto cuisine). These were typical of items displayed on chigaidana, which also included ink stone *suzuri 硯 boxes and writing paper, books, and tea ceremony implements like tea bowls *chawan 茶碗, and bamboo tea whisks.
Around this time many art objects were imported from China, so chigaidana had an important function in displaying these. The oldest extant example of chigaidana can be seen in *Tōgudō 東求堂 at Jishōji 慈照寺 (1485), Kyoto. The chigaidana, half a bay wide, is built alongside the attached desk in a 4 1/2 mat room called Dōninsai 同仁斎. This set of shelves has a bottom board ji-ita 地板 with a jibukuro on top of it, a staggered shelf in the middle and one shelf board on top.
After the Momoyama period, shelves were usually constructed alongside the alcove, and there were many variations in the shape of the shelf boards. Tenbukuro and jibukuro were sometimes included. Shelves at Katsura Rikyū 桂離宮 (17th century), and Shugakuin Rikyū 修学院離宮 (1659), both in Kyoto, for example, have complicated structures and are constructed with great technical skill.
