Fight in a Mine Company #2: Occurrence in Tagawa in the Beginning of the Meiji Era (1868-1912)
April 1965

Kaisha no Kenka #2: Meiji Shoki, Tagawa
[Fight in a Mining Company #2: Occurrence in Tagawa in the Beginning of the Meiji Era (1868-1912)]
38.0 x 54.2 cm Painting in Watercolors and Ink

It was said that one party composed of 250 members and another party composed of 700 members confronted each other across the valley.
If they could not have their way, they thought it would bring disgrace to the tattoos (gaman) on their arms.

Excerpt from a Popular Saemon (saimon: a kind of chant)

Umareta toki wa betsubestu demo shinu tokya issho to chikota ka,
sakazuki o watte tagaini ude o kakikiri chi o susuriotaru naka ja mono?
Koko ga inochi no tori dokoro, sute dokoro.

Did we not swear an oath that we would die together though we were born separately,
cutting our arms with the fragment of a broken sake cup and sucking each other's blood?
Now is the time to lay down our life.


Translation Assisted by Mr. Nathan Johndro

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