Women at Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days #4: Coal Sled (Lowered by a Woman Helper)
1958 - 1963

Mukashi Yama no Onna #4: Sura (o Sageru Onna no Atoyama)
[Women at Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days #4: Coal Sled (Lowered by a Woman Helper)]
20.6 x 29.0 cm Ink Painting

Text at the Right End
It was very hard for the hewer's helper to support a coal sled (sura) carried down from an ascending coalface (nobori-kiriha) with the inclination (bangayari) of more than 17 or 18 degrees. The female helper supported her coal sled with her head and controlled the line of the sled with her arms. If she missed her step, a serious accident could be caused. She could injure others in this case, because the haulage way was shared with other helpers and it had no room for them to step aside. Even a strong man could not support a loaded coal sled with only his arms. Women miners were cleverer and more skilled at this work. The capacity of the shown coal sled was 250 kg (more than 400 kin).

Text at the Bottom Left
Both side panels of the box-type coal sled were tin plates made of oil cans cut and flattened. Each miner made his/her coal sled as light as possible and put thick metal skids on the bottom of it. He/she put additional panels around the edge of the box on the sled in order to load it with more than 200 kg of coal.

Lyrics of "Gotton Bushi" Song at the Top Right
Karatsu gezainin no sura hiku sugata Edo no ekaki mo kakyakiranu. Gotton!

Even painters in Edo can't paint us ex-convicts from Katatsu towing coal sleds.
Gotton (Clang)! (An interjected chant)

[Translator's Notes: Gezainin stands for ex-convict. Some miners were real ex-convicts but other miners also sometimes humbly called themselves this.]


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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