Meiji-Era (1868-1912) Coal Pits (Children Substituting for Their Parents)
May 1966

Meiji (Kodomo no Tetsudai)
[Meiji-Era (1868-1912) Coal Pits (Children Substituting for Their Parents)]
38.2 x 54.3 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

It was a matter of life or death if the breadwinner of a family in the pit was non-occupationally injured or became ill in bed in the Meiji and Taisho (1912-1926) eras when there were no public aid systems. It immediately resulted in hardship for children in the family. Just the same as an excerpt from a miners' work song, some of them "had to work underground with a lamp in hand" when they were seven or eight years old. It was sad to see little children, who were so young as to pester for soft drinks or sweets upon waking, nursing their younger siblings. Even a vigorous boy felt as if an infant on his back were an excessively heavy valise when he played at war. Some children pushed mine cars underground, though they were not as tall as the cars (about 110 centimeters tall). Boys in their 15th year were regarded as adults at that time. Most young men in the pit began to work as sakiyamas (hewer) when they became 17 or 18 years old. Boys in small-scale coal pits could freely enter the pits regardless of age.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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