Drainage by Scooping up Water Stage by Stage
1958 - 1963

Dangumi Haisui
[Drainage by Scooping up Water Stage by Stage]
21.2 x 30.4 cm Ink Painting

Text at the Bottom
In slopes with an inclination of up to about 12 degrees at most, spring water, when drained, was scooped up with buckets stage by stage and emptied into terraced dams built of masses of rock, clay, etc.
It can be said that the workers in charge of this task were what we call human engines. It was said that each of these workers ate 1 sho (1.8 liters) of rice a day at that time when the same quantity of polished rice cost 10 sen. The special daily wages paid to each of them were about 35 or 40 sen.

Text at the Top
It was said that a piston-type hand pump called a fuigo made of Mo-so bamboo was also used for drainage in the pit. However, it was more efficient for a worker to scoop up water with a bucket than to pump it up with such a pump, except in slopes extremely near the surface or for very thin coal beds.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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