Pit Workers (Dog Killer)
1958 - 1963

Yamabito (Inu-goroshi)
[Pit Workers (Dog Killer)]
23.4 x 35.5 cm Ink Painting

The miners called gezainins in the Chikuho region were always exchanging blows with swords or fists. [Translator's Notes: "Gezainin" means "ex-convict." Some of them were real ex-convicts but most of them were not.] Contrary to their brutality, they hated a dog killer come to the pit. Some second shift miners even took a day off (noson) when they saw such a man killing dogs before entering the pit (not out of sympathy for the dogs but out of fear). Why did they hate killing dogs? It was because miners regarded death and blood as extremely unclean. Therefore, they believed and handed down the tradition that some miners would surely be killed or injured because the pit deity would not accept unclean miners.
Additionally, they also hated seeing black smoke divided into two columns coming from a chimney because they considered such smoke as an omen of disaster.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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