Mother and Children Entering the Pit with Lamps in Hands
1958 - 1963

Kantera o Sagete Nyuko Suru Boshi
[Mother and Children Entering the Pit with Lamps in Hands]
21.1 x 30.3 cm Ink Painting

Text on the Right Side
Her husband sakiyama (hewer) is already mining coal, having entered the pit earlier than them. The wife is entering the pit, having her very young son carry her baby on his back.
When the mother worked on the coalface near the surface, she could exit the pit to nurse her baby. However, when working deep underground, she took her children with her like this. (If the mother carried her baby on her back, the baby would hit his/her head against the roof.)

Text at the Top Left
She had to take care that both she and her children did not slip, shouldering lunch pails or mining tools apportioned between her front and back. It was true that the miner's wife had to live a hard life.

Lyrics of "Gotton Bushi" Song
Nanatsu yatsu kara kantera sagete, konai sagaru mo oya no bachi.
Gotton! Dokkoi, dokkoi!

It was my parents' fault that I had to work underground with a lamp in hand when I was seven or eight. Gotton (Clang)! Dokkoi,dokkoi! (Interjected chants)


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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