Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days #6: Iai Nuki (Dialectal Word for Iai) Sword-drawing Performance
1958 - 1963

Mukashi no Yama #6: Iai Nuki (Hogen)
[Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days #6: Iai Nuki (Dialectal Word for Iai) Sword-drawing Performance]
21.1 x 30.2 cm Ink Painting

This conjurer showed a trick called a hanuki (tooth draw). He chose and invited a child who had a bad tooth from the audience, and pulled out the tooth to show the effect of his tooth medicine after putting white powder on one of his thumbs and secretly applying it on the gum around the tooth.
He first demonstrated his iai nuki sword-drawing performance as an attraction. He wore an extraordinarily long Japanese sword with a 5-shaku-long (about 151-cm-long) blade on his waist and pulled it out with a yell, or pulled out an ordinary sword after linking his wrists together with a string. After that he sold his miraculous toothache-curing medicine at about 10 sen (0.1 yen) a bag.
The inset at the top left shows the puppet-player who used to walk around, shouldering a pair of large wicker baskets with a pole. He recited some joruris (Japanese ballad dramas) and worked several puppets all by himself.
The people in the pit called his performance a kiridashi (mining and carrying coal alone) ayatsuri (puppet show).


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

<<Last pictorial record    Next pictorial record>>

<<Last 10 items  251 | 252 | 253 | 254 | 255 | 256 | 257 | 258｜259 | 260 |   Next 10 Items>>

258／306