The main purpose of this study is to clarify how male manual laborers in the brickmaking industry made ends meet from the late 1880s to the early 1920s. Their way of life has not been elucidated sufficiently. Their wages were quite low, but many of them stayed in their jobs for a long term because the brickmaking companies provided them housing. Some of the laborers came from distant areas, and in several cases, their children worked for the same factories as their fathers. These finding highlight the significance of residency for our understanding of the way of life of laborers in this era.