Hi George. You are correct the Chinese chest is larger - well higher, but the internal volume isn't that much different. Having said that the Chinese chest is almost 100mm /4inch taller, but the Japanese chest is 85mm/2.5in deeper.
The Chinese chest does have more items. - The Tea Tray in the bottom is extra. - The Chinese set has 6 small cups the Japanese only one larger one. - The Chinese set includes aroma cups the Japanese don't use them. But the Japanese items are generally larger. The Japanese tea set chest seems to have been a traditional family item judging by the numbers from the early 1900s you can see on Etsy. And by the way there are two main styles my Chabako and a much taller one that you can see on the Etsy link. There were only a few Chinese chest on the net when I was researching, and they were much newer and more like a small suitcase! So my Chinese isn't really typical, as it is based on the Japanese Chabako design.
