“View of the Machida shaft, Iwaki Colliery Co.”, Fukushima Prefecture, c. 1910.

“View of the Machida shaft, Iwaki Colliery Co.”, Fukushima Prefecture, c. 1910. Coal mining existed in Japan during the Edo period but only on a limited scale. Mining did not reach an industrial scale until the Meiji government began the country’s rapid modernization in 1868 after the Restoration with the importation of Western mining technology.

The Iwaki Coal Mining Co., Ltd.

“The Head Office of the Company stands at No. 20, Minato-gashi, Kyobashi-ku, Tokyo. The company came into existence in February 1894.

“… The company owns two collieries of Onoda and Uchigo, and the annual production of coal is estimated at over 700,000 kin. The completion of the Joban line March 1900 opened a way for sending coal direct to the capital.

“The Uchigo mine was first operated in 1896, and the trial boring of the Uchigo shaft was made in 1896. In May, 1901, the Machida shaft was completed.

“With the connection of the two pits in 1902 the production of coal began to greatly increase. In November 1908 electrical equipments were installed..

“The boring of the Nagakura pit was started in July, 1908, and mining was commenced in the following year.

“In September, 1915, the Company purchased Mitsuboshitsuzuri Colliery, and all necessary equipments for the operation of the mines have been completed. The coal produced enjoys an excellent reputation owing to its superior quality.

“… The principal customer is the Imperial Government Railways. The market stretches from Aomori in the north to Hamamatsu in the west. In Yumoto an iron plant has been established for the manufacture and repairing of various kinds of machines.”

– Japan in the Taisho Era: In Commemoration of the Enthronement, 1917