Front cover

"This is not an objective book." - W. Eugene Smith.

Minamata is a small Japanese fishing town living in the shadow of the chemical factory of the Chisso Corporation. When the factory began dumping large amounts of mercury in the bay in 1956 thousands of people began to develop symptoms of mercury poisoning. Almost all the towns cats went insane, throwing themselves into the ocean. Birds fell out of the sky. Panic gripped the city. In time, thousands of people would die from the poisoning.

Eugene Smith's portrait of Minamata is an impassioned tale of environmental destruction, corporate neglect, and social responsibility. Together with his half-Japanese wife Aileen, he chronicled the fight against the industrial state, the direct action protests, the court cases, the stories of the afflicted families. Smith's achievement is remarkable as he was not a detached observer but an active participant in the story, his role both heroic and tragic. Measured by its social impact, Minamata is one of the most important photobooks in history.

Patients at the Environmental Disputes Coordination Commission 1972

"Photography is a small voice at best. Daily we are deluged with photography at its worst - until its drone of superficiality threatens to numb our sensitivity to the image." W. Eugene Smith introduces Minamata with a plea to the reader that the story and images must be treated emotionally because a sequence of photographs can strike our senses into greater awareness and "demand of emotions enough to be a catalyst to thinking."

Chisso Waste-water 1971

Eugene Smith arrived in Minamata in 1971 expecting a three month visit, but he stayed more than three years to cover the story. Minamata was eventually published as a photobook in 1975 but it should not be thought of as a lone publication. Smith was dragging the story of the victims struggle into the media throughout the period, especially with his photo essays in LIFE magazine. The publication in 1973 of a portfolio of 12 large photogravures, "Minamata. Life: Sacred and Profane", brought the saga into the consciousness of the art world and can be considered complementary to the 1975 publication.

History matters. Chisso (Japanese for 'nitrogen') Corporation came to Minamata in 1908 partly due to the lobbying by locals to gain advantage from the burgeoning industrialisation of Japan. It began production of acetaldehyde in 1932, its side product methyl mercury would eventually prove to be the substance causing the poisoning. Cultural factors played an important role. Japanese humility and respect for elders and corporations held back belief that Minamata's major employer would deliberately dump the mercury. Many felt sympathy for Chisso.

Members of the Central Pollution Board

The photobook alternates between the depictions of direct action and photographic essays of the victims. The residents of Minamata were pioneers of direct action, with their tent cities, non violent protests, and letter writing crusades. Smith photographed every step of their struggle. The pressure grew and culminated in a turning point. One day on a visit to a Chisso factory in 1972, a mob formed comprised of workers, police, and members of the imperial army. Minutes later Smith was barely alive, having been beaten by six of the group. Indeed, he lived only 6 more years, plagued with constant headaches and reduced vision as a result of the attack. But the attack on a respected American journalist put the spotlight on Chisso and precipitated a period of direct negotiations. The photographs Smith took of the subsequent heated debates in meeting rooms with stone faced suits and finger pointing accusations, are fascinating.

By 1956 people were showing symptoms of a 'strange disease': difficulty walking, numbness, convulsions, and difficulty speaking. 14 died that year alone. Mercury was soon identified as the probable cause and the factory as probable source. Chisso continued to dump the poison waste into the bay for a year after it learned it was the culprit, and it failed to co-operate with investigation teams. As a smokescreen, it funded public research into other potential causes of the disease. Eventually, in 1959, Chisso agreed to pay sympathy money to victims but with an indemnity against any recognition of guilt. A PR campaign championed a purification system that had been installed, even though Chisso knew it was ineffectual. The Japanese government ordered Chisso to recommence dumping the wastewater into the bay.

Between the tale of the court cases and protests, we witness the real human tragedy of bodily destruction. While the young men were leading the fight on the streets, the women and elderly were at home caring for the victims. The first symptoms of poisoning are numbness in the hands and feet. Then the victim has agonising convulsions that twist the body, and become unable to walk in severe cases. Patients lose the ability to talk coherently. For much of the period, it was thought the 'strange disease' was contagious.

Chisso's deception campaign was all too successful and kept the residents quiet and the media disinterested for almost a decade. But then in 1967 a chemical company elsewhere in Japan was taken to court for mercury poisoning and Minamata was back on the map. A four year court battle ensued, led by families of victims that had not shown symptoms at the time of the 1959 agreement. It ended in victory for the Minamata victims. Chisso was guilty of poisoning.

Tomoko in her bath

Many photographic essays and photobooks become renowned for a single pivotal photograph. In the case of Minamata, this is the photograph 'Tomoko Uemara in her Bath' that was taken during the trial and became world famous once the verdict was delivered. The photo shows a mother holding her deformed naked daughter in a communal japanese bath. Most consider it Smith's greatest photograph and one of the most important photographs ever taken. Astoundingly intimate, the mother and child sit in a pool of water, surrounded by black emptiness, mother with a slight smile toward her child. Presented toward the end of the book, when the reader is at one with the photographer, it becomes chiseled in memory for all time. Like many of the victims, Tomoko became poisoned in her mothers womb, and by the process her mother was saved from becoming poisoned. The photo, like the book itself, was carefully constructed for maximum effect. It was not candid, everything down to the lighting and time of day was staged. But does this matter at all?

Shinobu

The photograph focused attention on the Uemara family and the weight took its toll. Tomoko had died in 1977. Twenty years later a TV company asked to feature the photograph in a feature of the greatest photographs of all time. Aileen Smith, while copyright holder, asked permission of the family. The family not only retracted permission but asked for copyright to be handed over to them. Aileen agreed and the family now request that the picture not be widely published. This represents the endless give and take of photography. Is it OK to take from the individual to serve the greater good of the whole? The Smiths introduce Minamata with the statement that "To cause awareness is our only strength". There is no stronger image in Minamata to cause this awareness than that of Tomoko.

Five prints from the 1973 portfolio

Fifty years after the poisoning began, thirty years after the publication of Minamata, and thousands of deaths later the court cases continue and victims continue to die. More than 3000 have been officially recognised with the disease, and almost 2000 of those have died. Chisso executives were found guilty of negligent homicide in 1979. In 2001 the Japanese government was found liable for the cause and spread of the disease as it had not done enough to investigate and prevent the disaster. But the story is still not over. Medical experts believe up to 30,000 may be suffering. More than 20,000 await official classification as sufferers.

The back and front of the paper portfolio

Gene Smith's masterwork never appears voyeuristic or self interested. He very nearly gave his life to the project and was not the same man afterward. The book delivers its message with angry, controlled passion. Smith ends Minamata with a hope that "if humankind ever decides to assume true responsibility for its stewardship of this planet" that we may realise "that industry has no divine right to pollute in the name of gross national product". The disasters of Bhopal, Chernobyl, ozone depletion, and global warming point towards a realisation that humankind is yet to assume that responsibility.

Paper portfolio from the 12 prints in the 1973 publication

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