Pit Workers in the Old Days #18: Popular Song
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yamabito #18: Ryukoka
[Pit Workers in the Old Days #18: Popular Song]
20.9 x 30.1 cm Ink Painting

A serious incident happened during the peace conference of the First Sino-Japanese War. This song about the incident had been sung by the people in the pit until around 1936, though it happened on March 24th in 1895.

Lyrics of "Kimpo Bushi" Song
Tokoro wa Bakan no Shunpanro,
Shina no taisho ga joriku su.
Sono toki shosei ga arawarete,
kakushi mochi taru pisutoru de,
taisho mikakete uchihanasu.
Sono tama hidari no me no hita ni,
atarite Bakan ga osodo.
Amano kempei nukemenaku,
tadachini shosei o hobaku shite,
"Kisama wa yoppodo bakana yatsu!"
Sokode shosei ga yu koto ni: (Ika Sanosa Bushi)
"Utta boku ga ne baka nareba,
utareta taisho wa honto (1, 2) Ri Kosho. Oh!"

The incident happened in front of the Hotel Shunpanro in Bakan [Shimonoseki].
The leader of China landed there.
Then a student suddenly appeared.
He shot the leader with his concealed gun.
His bullet hit the leader's face below his left eye.
And Bakan was thrown into an uproar.
Amano, the keen military policeman, immediately arrested the student.
He said to the young man, "What a foolish man you are!"
The student replied as follows (The rest was sung to the melody of Sanosa Bushi):
"Yes, I am a fool to shoot the Chinese leader.
And the leader I shot is a real (count: 1, 2) Ri Kosho. Oh!"

[Translator's Notes: The name of the ambassador plenipotentiary this time "Li Hung Chang (Li Hongzhang)" is pronounced "Ri Kosho" by Japanese. The writer of this song used this name as a pun to mean "a clever (riko) leader (sho)"]

A very patriotic student named Rokunosuke Koyama sniped at the ambassador plenipotentiary of China who came to attend the peace conference. Some people at that time pitied him a little for his spirit, but Japan was severely condemned by foreign countries because his crime was regarded as a demonstration of our narrow-minded insularity. It was said that the Japanese government had to apologize to the ambassador and could not favorably negotiate with him.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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