The works of Sakubei Yamamoto
Yama Children

Children in Coal Pits (Yama) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) #15: Playing War
1964 - 1967

Meiji Jidai Yama no Kodomo #15: Ikusa Gokko
[Children in Coal Pits (Yama) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) #15: Playing War]
25.5 x 35.6 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

Text at the Top Left
Boys played war, inspired by the First Sino-Japanese War or the Russo-Japanese War. They looked down on the boys playing the role of the enemy, calling them Chan-chan-bozu (Chinese soldiers) or Rosuke (Russian soldiers). At that time, even boys had to sit for their mothers if their siblings were infants. For a boy playing war, an infant on his back was as if it were a very heavy valise.

Text at the Top Right
Lyrics of "Rappa Bushi" Song in 1904 or 1905
Teki no taisho wa ikusa no kadode ni a-i-u-e-o.
Makete atama o ka-ki-ku-ke-ko.
Koshi ni gunto o sa-shi-su-se-so.
Matamoya shirahata ta-chi-tsu-te-to.
Toko-toko-tottoko-toh!

The enemy commander set out for the war.
He scratched his head when he lost the war.
He wore a saber on his waist.
He showed the white flag again.
Toko-toko-tottoko-toh! (Interjected chant: Onomatopoeia of the bugle [rappa] sound)

[Translator's Notes: The last five-syllabled word of each line of these lyrics except the interjected chant is a pun. The first two syllables of each of the above words show a verb. In the first line, "ai" stands for "set out," "kaki" in the second line "scratched," "sashi" in the third line "wore," and "tachi" in the fourth line "showed."]


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>>

14/23