02 : The Port at Work: From Manual Labor to Mechanization

Over time, cargo handling shifted from manual labor to mechanization. Shipboard machinery—cranes powered by a vessel’s own engines—was installed to load and discharge cargo. The man shown in a cap, hanten work coat, and haramaki sash is the foreman who directed the operation; the photograph behind him depicts the waterfront around today’s S-Pulse Dream Plaza.

Also on view are a screw jack used to raise loads and a nekoguruma (one-wheeled handcart, or wheelbarrow) used to move them. The term nekoguruma has several proposed etymologies; one suggests that its curved handles resemble a cat’s paws.

In concert, human skill, ingenious tools, and the subsequent introduction of machinery transformed cargo handling at Shimizu Port.

Return to Room 2 List