Drinking Water in Coal Pits (Yama) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) #2: Well Sweep
March 1965

Meiji Yama no Inryosui #2: Hanetsurube
[Drinking Water in Coal Pits (Yama) in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) #2: Well Sweep]
38.1 x 54.1 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

At the time when well sweeps (hanetsurube) were rarely seen even in farmhouses, there was one in S Coal Pit. Everybody said to each other that they rarely saw well sweeps in pits. However, it was difficult to scoop up water from very deep wells with this device. The well of this pit was about 500 meters away from miners' houses (naya jutaku) and the way to the well was hard to traverse because it ran up and down banks and crossed the railway track.

Senryu (short witty or humorous seventeen-syllabled poems)
1. Saodori to yama ni na nokosu hanetsurube.
The job title called saodori [pole (sao) operator (dori): transport man] in the pit comes from the history that he operated the sweep to lift up coal from the pit.

2. Hanetsurube yama no saodori nazukeoya.
The sweep was named by the saodori at the pit.

3. Goheida o hanete ageta ga saodorifu.
The worker who lifted up coal (goheida: normally goheita) with a sweep came to be called a saodorifu (pole operator: transport man) (saodorifu: pole operator).

4. Umpanfu saodori ni shita hanetsurube.
It is because he lifted up mined coal from the pit with a sweep that the transport man (umpanfu) was called a saodori.

5. Sao nigiri sotto sashikomu hanetsurube.
I take the sweep and softly put it in the well.

This well sweep had a wooden box-shaped bucket made by the carpenter at the pit.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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