Mine Car Stasis

In the Chikuho region, hako nagures happened at almost every coal mine (yama) which produced more than 3,000 tons of coal a month. (In the early days, coal was measured by the unit of kin equal to 600 g.)
If a pair (sashi) of a sakiyama (hewer) and an atoyama (helper) mined about 3 tons of coal enough for 6 empty mine cars, they had to wait for more than 16 hours.
As makitates (landings or turnouts) and oroshisagaris (slopes) increased in number, frequent and lengthened waiting times worried miners more and more.
The workers shown here have already finished unloading the box sleds and are temporarily storing the coal (kabudashi) at a landing. A few mine cars loaded with coal are waiting to be changed with the empty ones (karabako). It was very hard for miners to be underground just waiting up to 16 hours for empty mine cars to come. Working at a coalface made miners hot and sweaty but a long wait at a makitate made them shiver.
In the beginning of a hako nagure, lots of workers were waiting and they could enjoy chatting or gossiping, but after some time all they could do was yawn and stretch their arms. However, some female atoyamas (helpers) with children would often leave their husbands as sakiyamas (hewers) behind to exit the pit earlier.
They mainly chatted about gambling and quarrels or fights and some witty miners among them could entertain others. They especially enjoyed talks about love affairs or other gossips about love.
 
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“Ah, I can’t stand the boredom of waiting for ever.”