Children in Coal Pits (Yama) in the Mid-Meiji Era (1868-1912) #9: "The Carp Swimming up a Waterfall" Mainly Played by Girls
1964 - 1967

Meiji Chuki Yama no Kodomo #9: Joshi; Koi no Takinobori
[Children in Coal Pits (Yama) in the Mid-Meiji Era (1868-1912) #9: "The Carp Swimming up a Waterfall" Mainly Played by Girls]
25.5 x 35.5 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

Several pairs of children lined up, holding each other's hands. A child crawled forward on their hands, which wove up and down. In this way, the last one in line crawled forward on the other children's hands and stood at the head of the line one after another. They sang a song as follows:

Koi no takinoborya nanto yute noboru.
Yama o kawa ni sho to yu te noboru.

What does the carp say when it is swimming up a waterfall?
It swims up, saying, "I'll change the mountain into a river."

This play required a lot of players, and sometimes there were not enough girls to play it. In this case, girls had boys join them. Boys and girls at that time were inclined to avoid playing together, because boys playing with girls were disparaged by the other boys, who said to the former ones, "Boys, girls, and girly boys!" However, boys and girls in small-scale coal pits (ko-yama) could not help playing together.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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