Pit Workers in the Old Days #7: Monkey Trainer
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yamabito #7: Saru Mawashi
[Pit Workers in the Old Days #7: Monkey Trainer]
25.5 x 35.6 cm Ink Painting

"Yama no hito wa, ha, saru saru iinsaru to kirainsaru [The people in the pit (yama no hito) hate to call the monkey (saru) a monkey]." This humorous saying was spoken by a migrant miner from Hiroshima Prefecture around 1897, and was popular among the miners at that time. Even children could not call the monkey a saru, but had to call it a yaen (wild monkey), or they were beaten. Why did miners hate monkeys? It was because most of them were gamblers. It seems that they disliked being arrested and having a cord tied around their waist (like a monkey used by the monkey trainer) or having their luck leave them.
[Translator's Notes: "Saru" is also used as a verb that means "to leave."]
In spite of their strong hatred toward monkeys, the monkey trainer often visited the pit to entertain the children. Such irony in this world makes me laugh.

Lyrics of the Song Sung by the Monkey Trainer
Shikkari shiyanto!
Iso no hamabe no kani no yokobai.
Shikkari shiyanto! Shikkari shiyanto!
Ojiisan, doko iku take no tsue tsuite?
Mago no amedama kai ka?
Shikkari shiyanto! Shikkari shiyanto!

Steady!
Walk like a crab on the beach.
Steady! Steady!
Where are you going with that bamboo stick, grandfather?
Are you going to buy candy for your grandchildren?
Steady! Steady!


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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