Rice Riots at Coal Pits (Yama) and the Aftermath #17: Incident at San-nai Coal Pit
1958 - 1963

Yama no Kome-sodo to Sonogo #17: San-nai Ko
[Rice Riots at Coal Pits (Yama) and the Aftermath #17: Incident at San-nai Coal Pit]
21.1 x 30.2 cm Ink Painting

The people at the pits in the Onga valley were proud of having no savings and generously spent their money on liquor, food, and clothes. They had the habit of saying that they would look good even when they died if they drank and ate their fill because the world lasts long but life is short. It seemed there was no one who saved money except for very odd people. It was also because the flu or the bad cold called the Spanish Flu was spreading around the world at that time (in the winter of 1918), and also raged in pits with densely-built row houses, killing many pit workers.
The man in the picture was a famously strong man who easily did as much work as two people and drank very much. He died from drinking too much in the spring of 1919. It was said that he drank all of the sake in a 4-to (72-liter) barrel in 7 days before dying on the 8th day. This certain Mr. Abe, who died from drinking too much, was a virile man around the age of 37.

Text at the Bottom Center
I suppose he died happily after trading his life for his fill of sake.
Standard sake cost 40 yen and high-grade sake cost 48 yen for 4 to.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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