The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Mining heritage loved halfway across the globe
Japanese professor has travelled to Fife every summer for 13 years to study life down the 17th Century pits
The study of the harsh reality of a life down the pits for colliery workers in 17th Century Fife has become the life work of a Japanese university professor.
Every summer for the past 13 years, Kazuhiro Kato, a professor of economic history at Kagoshima International University, has boarded a flight that has brought him halfway around the world to the same bed and breakfast in Markinch.
That pilgrimage allows him to spend two or three weeks happily trawling Fife Council’s vast historical archive stored at Bankhead in Glenrothes.
Professor Kato has studied British mining history for the past 30 years, with his focus for the last decade being Scotland and in particular Fife’s rich mining heritage.
The 62-year-old’s primary hopes are to analyse every one of the thousands of historic documents and manuscripts relating to pits owned by the Rothes estate across Fife.
Originally with only a scant understanding of the English language, Prof Kato has since become both fluent and an expert in ancient Scots dialect, teaching himself during many hours poring over thousands of documents dating back hundreds of years.
He said: “As a professor of economic history I am particularly interested by the labour relationships between colliery worker and the pit owner.
“Once I’d found the Rothes papers I had to read every single document.
“I’m fascinated by the volumes of coal which some workers, which I call ‘the big men’, could produce in a single day.
“Some men would produce four or possibly five loads a day at approximately 146kg per load.
“However, others, with the help of family members, would produce as many as nine loads, an astonishing amount in a single day.”
Because of his regular visits, Prof Kato has struck up a good relationship with the council’s archive team.
“It’s always nice to welcome Mr Kato back,” said archivist Andrew Dowsey.
“He can now even help us with a thing or two, especially when it comes to old Scottish dialect.
“And he always brings a box of cake delicacies as a gift from Japan too.”
Prof Kato has published his many findings back in Japan where he has a ready audience among academics and graduates, and admits that he has no plans to end his studies or his trips to Fife any time soon.
He said: “I won’t rest until I’ve seen every last document within the Rothes papers, it’s my life.”
Studying the history of Fife’s mining pits may not be everyone’s idea of a relaxing holiday but for Japanese university professor Kazuhiro Kato it is a dream come
true.
Every summer for the last 13 years he has visited the same bed and breakfast in Markinch, spending two or three weeks trawling Fife Council’s vast historical archive.
Whether or not it is your cup of tea, the fact the 62-yearold keeps returning is testament to the warm welcome he receives in Fife.