People at Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days: Tokens
April 1965

Mukashi no Yamabito: Kippu
[People at Coal Pits (Yama) in the Old Days: Tokens]
38.2 x 54.2 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

These are kippus (tankens or tokens issued by mine owners to their employees in place of their wages) which had greatly troubled pit workers until around 1917. Some coal pits called ginsen yamas paid wages to their workers in cash. They were managed by the government (oyakata-hinokaru) or large-scale pits owned by conglomerates (and such pits were fewer to be seen than stars on a rainy night). Pits run by Mr. A used tokens of 5 rin (0.005 yen: 5 kin), 1 sen (0.01 yen), 5 sen, 10 sen, 50 sen, and 1 yen (1,000 kin). They additionally issued tokens of 2 sen (20 kin) and 20 sen (200 kin) in the late Meiji era (1868-1912). Each token had a company badge in the center but some crude ones only had letters on them.
Tokens issued by Sumitomo Tadakuma Coal Pit and Nakano Aida Coal Pit were usable also in Iizuka Town and were welcomed by miners. Contrarily, tokens issued by Niho Coal Pit were so notorious that people said the tokens would be valueless after they were changed and discounted [me o hiku]. A person with big eyes was called a "Niho Kippu."
[Translator's Notes: This discounting was called "me o hiku" or "mebiki," and these words could also mean "removing eyes." People with big eyes "attract attention" (another meaning of 'me o hiku') and their faces would lose their appeal if "their eyes were removed."]

Text at the Top Left
There were people who exchanged these kippus at discounted value and made excessive profits near the pit. There were many people in need who exchanged their kippus, paying a high percentage in commissions, while groveling before the exchangers at night.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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