Pit Workers in the Old Days #11: Verbally Abusive Pottery Selling
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yamabito #11: Setomono Seri/Akko-uri
[Pit Workers in the Old Days #11: Verbally Abusive Pottery Selling]
21.3 x 30.3 cm Ink Painting

"You see, I'll sell you these ten rice bowls at 40 sen (0.4 yen). You can't buy one even at 10 sen at any stores in town. You must pay 1 yen for one in cities. Listen to this clinking sound. Children of the poor families wake up to hear the clinking sound of rice bowls. Buy these bowls, now. Do all the members of your family eat rice in turn with only one rice bowl? You can eat takuan konkon (pickled Japanese radish) with your fingers, but they'll be scalded if you try to eat hot rice porridge with them. Now, if you want to buy 5 bowls, I'll sell them at 20 sen because 10 divided by 2 is 5. Decide who use which properly like this; the first one is for your cowardly papa, the next one is for your mean mama, the third one is for your delinquent son, the fourth one is for your thieving daughter, and the fifth one is for your sniveling kid."
Such fire sales reportedly began around 1887 and people would gladly buy the China from the vendor in spite of his abusive sales talk.
("Each of you buying my china must immediately quarrel with your husband or wife and break a lot of pieces of it.")


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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