第1968-a期:Japanese Women Drawn to Rickshaw Pulling

Rickshaw comes from a Japanese word that means “human-powered vehicle.” The vehicle was first used in 19th-century Japan and then in other Asian countries to transport passengers.

Rickshaw 源自日语，意思是“人力车辆”。 该车辆首先在 19 世纪的日本使用，然后在其他亚洲国家用于运送乘客。

Rickshaw pullers are traditionally male. Through social media, some Japanese women are drawn to the profession. And now, they have developed a strong local and international following.

人力车夫传统上都是男性。 通过社交媒体，一些日本女性被这个职业所吸引。 现在，他们已经发展了强大的本地和国际追随者。

Yuka Akimoto is one of the women who have chosen to pull rickshaws in Tokyo.

秋元由香（Yuka Akimoto）是选择在东京拉人力车的女性之一。

“I don’t deny it was extremely hard at the beginning,” Akimoto said, as the rickshaw can weigh up to 250 kg. “I’m not athletic and the cart felt so heavy.”

“我不否认一开始非常困难，”秋元说，因为人力车的重量可达 250 公斤。 “我不擅长运动，而且推车感觉很重。”

Now, she says she loves her job and wants to work as long as she is physically able. She wears a small sign that reads: “I don’t want to give up.”

现在，她说她热爱自己的工作，并且希望在身体允许的情况下一直工作。 她戴着一个小牌子，上面写着：“我不想放弃。”

Akimoto joined Tokyo Rickshaw two years ago. The company mainly operates in the Asakusa area, where many people visit. The company says about a third of their 90 pullers are now women. They are seeking more females to work for the company.

秋元两年前加入东京人力车。 该公司主要在浅草地区开展业务，那里有很多人参观。 该公司表示，90 名拉手中约有三分之一是女性。 他们正在寻找更多女性为公司工作。

“The first girl who joined was cool,” said Tokyo Rickshaw President Ryuta Nishio. “Since we posted videos of her on social media, many girls have followed... and joined us.”

“第一个加入的女孩很酷，”东京人力车社长西尾龙太说道。 “自从我们在社交媒体上发布她的视频以来，许多女孩都关注了……并加入了我们。”

Nishio said he wants to create a place where women feel at ease and can be involved.

西尾说，他想创造一个让女性感到轻松、可以参与的地方。

Rickshaw pullers wear special, traditional clothing on their feet. The pullers walk or run an average of 20km a day, no matter the weather.

人力车夫脚上穿着特殊的传统服装。 无论天气如何，拉车工每天平均步行或跑步 20 公里。

In addition to being physically strong, rickshaw pullers must know a lot about Tokyo. They also need to communicate with visitors who want to see the city.

车夫除了体力要强之外，还必须对东京了解很多。 他们还需要与想要参观这座城市的游客进行交流。

The most popular pullers earn over 1 million yen (about $6,700) a month. That is three times the national average. Tokyo Rickshaw noted that less than 10 percent of all applicants are offered a job.

最受欢迎的拉手每月收入超过 100 万日元（约合 6,700 美元）。 这是全国平均水平的三倍。 Tokyo Rickshaw 指出，只有不到 10% 的申请人获得了工作机会。

The pullers actively use social media to increase their popularity. They want people to request them personally and repeat rides.

拉车者积极利用社交媒体来提高知名度。 他们希望人们亲自请求他们并重复乘坐。

It was those social media posts that influenced college student Yumeka Sakurai to join Tokyo Rickshaw.

正是这些社交媒体帖子影响了大学生樱井梦香加入东京人力车。

“I’ve watched many videos of women training hard and becoming rickshaw drivers themselves. They gave me confidence that I could do it too if I tried hard,” the 20-year-old said.

“我看过很多女性努力训练并成为人力车司机的视频。 他们给了我信心，让我相信只要我努力，我也能做到。”这位 20 岁的年轻人说道。

Sakurai’s friends and family disapproved of her choice. But after four months of training, she says she feels pleasure pulling passengers in her rickshaw.

樱井的朋友和家人都不同意她的选择。 但经过四个月的培训后，她说她很高兴用她的人力车拉乘客。

Shiori Yano is 29 years old. She has been pulling rickshaws for nine years. She balances the demands of the job and her family.

矢野诗织今年 29 岁。 她拉人力车已有九年了。 她平衡工作和家庭的需求。

She took a four-year break after having a child. She now works the rickshaw for eight hours a day, hurrying to pick up her daughter from childcare before going home to cook dinner and do housework.

生完孩子后，她休息了四年。 现在，她每天在人力车上工作八个小时，赶着去托儿所接女儿，然后回家做饭和做家务。

“This job looked flashy from the outside but I’ve had some hard times, including when I was rejected in favor of a male driver,” Yano said. Still, she says she will continue to work because she enjoys it.

“这份工作从表面上看很华丽，但我也经历过一些艰难的时期，包括当我被男性司机拒绝时，”矢野说。 不过，她说她会继续工作，因为她喜欢它。

Tokyo Rickshaw’s Nishio said sometimes people are not satisfied women are doing such physically demanding work. Female pullers also sometimes face unwanted sexual behaviors or have their knowledge questioned by male riders, he added.

东京人力车公司的西尾表示，有时人们对女性从事如此体力消耗巨大的工作并不满意。 他补充说，女性拉手有时也会面临不受欢迎的性行为，或者她们的知识受到男性拉手的质疑。

“We treat both male and female pullers completely equally,” Nishio said. “The women say they want to be treated the same as the men, and in fact many of them are way tougher.”

“我们对待男性和女性拉手完全平等，”西尾说。 “女性说她们希望得到与男性相同的待遇，事实上她们中的许多人要强硬得多。”