Pack Wall Used in the Latter Half of the Meiji (1868-1912), Taisho (1912-1926), and Showa (1926-1989) Eras
February 1965

Meiji Koki, Taisho, Showa Bota Kozumi
[Pack Wall Used in the Latter Half of the Meiji (1868-1912), Taisho (1912-1926), and Showa (1926-1989) Eras]
38.0 x 54.2 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

Text at the Top Right
When building a pack wall (bota-kozumi), miners surrounded an area with a square wall of large rocks (o-bota/o-botakure) before filling the inside of the wall with small rocks. The area needed was 4 meters square. It was useless if pillars were stood inside. This pack wall endured great rock pressure by being compressed to some extent. It was useful as a stop gap for falling rocks (bare-bota) from the raised side of the slope (kata).

Text at the Top Left
Pack walls incompletely filled or built were useless, because they could not bear rock pressure and broke even if they were built by expert repairers. At pits (yama) which produced lots of silicified wood (matsuiwa/iwa), repairers built masonry work (iwa-kozumi) with it to support roofs. Iwa-kozumi was completely firm. It was used at Mitsubishi Namazuta Coal Pit and some other pits in the Meiji era.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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