The Seto Line of Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu), which was known as the Seto Electric Railway until 1939 and is otherwise commonly known as Seto-Den, connects the downtown Sakae District of Nagoya City with central Seto City. From the 1910s to the 1940s, when coal kilns were in common use, it carried ceramic goods from Seto and transported massive amounts of coal fuel to Seto, which was shipped to Nagoya by sea. Much of the coal that supported the ceramic industry of Seto was mined in the Chikuho mines and other coalfields of Kyushu.
Yamamoto Sakubei, who was born in the Chikuho region of Kyushu, first entered the coal mines at the age of six, and eventually worked in mines at many different locations as he wandered from place to place. After he retired in 1955 because of the closing of his last workplace, the Ito Coal Mine, he began to take up the paintbrush to pass on to future generations what it was like in coal mines, while working as a night watchman. Well over one thousand drawings and paintings were produced from this time until his death at ninety-two. Rendered by an artist who was completely self-taught, these paintings are represented faithfully from the perspective of a coal miner, with commentary describing meticulous details, such as the demanding process of labor involved in the work and the characteristics of the tools that were used, giving viewers today a vivid sense of being present in the scene. In 2011, 697 of Yamamoto’s drawings, paintings, and diaries owned by Tagawa City in Fukuoka Prefecture and the Yamamoto family were included as Japan’s first inscription in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register as a historical legacy to be shared with all humanity. In this, and other ways, Yamamoto’s works are garnering attention as precious art and documents that are unique, capturing one aspect of the modern industries of Japan during the time the country was experiencing rapid development. Twenty-seven drawings and paintings Yamamoto gave to his family and relations during his lifetime are presented here.