Fight in a Pit (Fight with Swords)
1958 - 1963

Yama no Kenka (Dosu no Kiriai)
[Fight in a Pit (Fight with Swords)]
21.3 x 30.2 cm Ink Painting

Fights were not rare in coal pits (yama). Each male miner had his own eccentricities, and when they met, a clash of wills often resulted in a fight. Most miners easily risked their lives while fighting.
This painting shows a fight with real swords at a pit in Karatsu in Saga Prefecture around 1897. It was said that both miners had never practiced kendo and that they watched each other for a long time, waiting for the other to attack. If they had remained still, watching each other, someone might have mediated for them.
As soon as one of them threw his sword at the other, the other dodged the sword and killed his enemy with his sword, stepping forward to the unarmed antagonist. It was said that the murderer was discharged from prison several years later, and that he became a considerably powerful boss nicknamed "Shinken (real sword)."


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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