The Villain (Vermin) in the Pit
June 1967

Yama no Akuto (Dani)
[The Villain (Vermin) in the Pit]
37.9 x 53.9 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

Text at the Top Right
In the early years of the decade starting from 1897, the most popular talk of the pits in the Chikuho region was an arch villain in the Onga valley, Wazo from Shin-nyu. It was said that he had the strength to easily lift up a filled 72-liter sake barrel in one hand and an empty barrel in the other and that he ordered others to guess which was empty. He made it a habit to bully the weak with his strength and nobody could stop him.

Seventeen-syllabled Funny Poem Senryu at the Middle Right
Yamabito ga mitari mo yoreba kono hanashi (uwasa).
If more than two pit workers (yamabito) gathered together, they always talked about this rumor.

Text at the Bottom Left
It is said that a cruel and brutal fellow cannot die in his bed. However, this villain was stabbed to death in his bed while he was struggling to get free from a clinging mosquito net, whose hangers were cut by the murderer, a nineteen-year-old young man. It was said that at the house of detention, Wazo's ghost haunted the murderer every night until he died.

Lettering on the Labels on Barrels
Shuo: brand name of a sake meaning "Sake King"
Seishu: refined sake


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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