The Pipe-stem Changer
December 1965

Kiseru no Raokae (Ragae)
[The Pipe-stem Changer]
38.2 x 54.0 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

Text at the Bottom Left
There was an old pipe-stem changer (ragae oyajisan), who had visited Mr. Aso's coal pit in Kamimio every day since the latter half of the Meiji era (1868-1912) until the middle of the Taisho era (1912-1926).
[Translator's Notes: Changing pipe-stems was called ragae (normally raokae) in dialect and the pipe-stem changer was also called a ragae. An elderly man was called "Oyajisan" or "Ojisan" in a friendly way.]
He looked to me to be about 60 years of age. No one called him ragae because it was easier for everyone to identify him by calling him Mangara Ojisan. He was an unmarried and always staying at a cheap lodging house near the pit. The reason why he was called Mangara Ojisan was because he used to hum with a smile the parody of an excerpt "man ga ii" of "Nante man ga iindesho" from the lyrics of a popular song in the beginning of the Taisho era as follows:

1. Haikara, haikara to na wa yoi keredo,
atama no man-naka ni sazae no tsuboyaki.
Nante man ga iindesho!

The name of the haircut haikara (smart western style haircut) sounds so good.
But it reveals the hair whirl like a grilled turban shell.
Nante man ga iindesho! (How unfortunate it is!)

2. Haikara, haikara to na wa yoi keredo,
Atama no mannaka ni mizo ga aru.
Nante man ga iindesho!

The name of the haircut haikara sounds so good.
But it needs a ditch in the center of the head.
Nante man ga iindesho! (How unfortunate it is!)

[Translator's Notes: Though "man ga ii" normally stands for "fortunate," these words are ironically used as "unfortunate" in this song.]

He parodied this song and was popular in the pit.
Since the pit workers enjoyed smoking tobacco instead of smoking cigarettes for fear of the harm from nicotinic inhalation, many of them spent a lot of money on tobacco pouches and smoking pipes to show off to others.

Text on the Right Side
(Creator's Additional Notes)
All tobacco products were monopolized by the government in 1904 and have been manufactured by and sold through the Monopoly Bureau. However, a cut tobacco named Kokubu or Tengu and a cigarette named Hero by Murai Bros. & Co. had been sold at 3 sen (0.03 yen) for 5 momme (18.75 g) and 3 sen 5 rin (0.035 yen) for a pack of 10 cigarettes and a holder respectively in the pit until then. (Luna and Sunrise had not been sold in the pit.) Meanwhile, the bureau revised and raised the price of their products by 1 or 2 sen in 1907.
[Translator's Notes: All tobacco products were privatized again in 1985 and are sold through Japan Tobacco Inc. today.]

Tobaccos
Fukujuso (14 sen for 5 momme), Hakubai (10 sen for 5 momme), Satsuki (7 sen for 5 momme), Ayame (6 sen for 5 momme), Hagi (5 sen for 5 momme), and Nadeshiko (3 sen 5 rin for 5 momme)

Cigarettes
Fuji with a tip on each piece (12 sen a pack of 20 pieces), Shikishima (10 sen a pack), Yamato (9 sen a pack), Asahi (8 sen a pack), and Camellia (7 sen a pack)

It was said that other untipped cigarettes, such as Golden Bat (5 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Homare (5 sen a pack of 20 pieces), Umegaka (35 sen a pack of 100 pieces), Kocho (4 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Mikasa (26 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Togo (26 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Nile (25 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Orient (15 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Star (8 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Cherry (7 sen a pack of 10 pieces), Lily (6 sen a pack of 10 pieces), etc. were sold. However, miners did not know, see, and smoke any of them.
[sen = 0.01 yen, rin = 0.001 yen]

Text at the Top Right
Kamimio Coal Pit was opened in the September of 1894 and closed in 1965.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

<<Last pictorial record    Next pictorial record>>

<<Last 10 items  11 | 12 | 13｜14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |   Next 10 Items>>

13／25