Towards the end of the Seventeenth Century the rich shell-inlaid coffers of the Momoyama period were gradually replaced by a more restrained and elegant style with carefully placed gold lacquer decoration on a plain black lacquer ground. The demands of the Dutch, who exported lacquer chests, coffers and panels, together with much porcelain, from their trading station at Nagasaki, meant that much of the lacquer had to be produced to a fixed price and time; as a result, their thin coats of black lacquer often became grey and oxidised after years of exposure to sunlight, and were sometimes 'refreshed' by a western japanner, using a shellac-based "lacquer".

The present coffer is an exception in both quality and condition, and is superior to most known examples, lacking any retouching and in almost its original state. The subject matter is also exceptional, in that one of the panels on the cover contains human figures; the thickness of the copper gilt kanagu is another indication of quality.

The device of placing the gold lacquer landscapes in assymetrically placed shaped panels is used here with great effect, and the scenes themselves generally follow the triangular type of composition which was such a feature of the period.