Coal, called “Black Diamond” in the past, is a fossil energy source made from plants. The plants that had accumulated at the bottom of lakes or ponds from the late Paleozoic to the Cenozoic period (thousands to hundreds of thousands of years ago), with carbon concentrated under the heat and pressure in the ground, changed into coal.

History
In Japan, coal began to be used as fuel instead of firewood in some parts of Kyushu from the late Edo period. In the early stages, the coal mining industry didn’t make a profit, but when Japan ended its policy of national isolation in the mid-19th century and many ships needed fuel, it began to develop rapidly and widely. It was promoted by the Meiji government as an important element of modernization. By 1884, it produced as much as two million tons of coal. This was the time when many coal mining towns thrived with large populations, and the folk song “Tanko-bushi” was created as a hymn for a coal town. The industry reached its peak in 1901, when the Yahata Imperial Steel Works began operations.
After this, although there were rises and falls in the industry, it reached its peak again in 1942 with the production of 54 million tons of coal. The highest number of coal mines ever recorded was 1,047 in 1952.

However, a significant change occurred in the energy industry in the 1950s. Many large oil fields were discovered in the Far East and Africa, and a large amount of cheap petroleum began to be supplied to various industries such as transportation, fuel companies, and thermal power generation. Oil became the world’s leading energy source.
After this Energy Revolution, there were fewer and fewer coal mines in Japan, until the present day, when only one coal mine, Kushiro, in Hokkaido, remains operational. Although most of the once-flourishing coal mining towns still exist as administrative districts, all of them have lost their liveliness and excitement. They are now just ordinary rural towns.

Coal Mines in Kyushu
