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Minamata: The Story of the Poisoning of a City, and of the People Who Choose to Carry the Burden of Courage
A pictorial and narrative account of the perpetrators and victims of methyl-mercury poisoning in the fishing and farming town of Minamata, Japan, chronicling the long struggle of the stricken to obtain indemnities from the Chisso Corporation.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 11, 2020
A story of a corporate emission disaster which led to unmatched suffering for thousands and painful deaths to many, with photographs capturing the moments of pain, suffering, shame, regrets, demands, griefs, fight, victory and hope with a lesson for the upcoming human generations.
May 16, 2023
Minamata: The Story of the Poisoning of a City, and of the People Who Choose to Carry the Burden of Courage [1975] - ★★★★1/2
"[The belief] that pollution is criminal only after legal conviction is [the belief] that causes pollution [Smith, 1975: 172].
This book introduces the true case of the Minamata mercury poisoning that occurred in a small fishing village of Minamata, island of Kyushu, Japan, from the early 1950s to the 1970s, with its effects lasting to the early 1980s (and maybe even beyond). This is a shocking case of corporate crime and greed that crippled thousands of people for life and led to long and agonising deaths for so many others. Chisso Corporation poisoned the waters around Minamata, contaminating the fish that was then eaten by villagers who then experienced frightening neurodegenerative symptoms (from muscle weakness/atrophy and difficulty breathing to convulsions and complete loss of awareness). Eugene and Aileen Smith spent three years in Minamata, investigating the poisoning, gathering evidence, talking to survivors (who were often also stigmatised), and photographing the trauma. The book's unflinching, vivid photographs bring to life the true horror experienced by the victims of Chisso Corporation, and the authors really put a human face on the disaster and the disease, trying to show the true human cost of this "industrial genocide" [1975: 33]. For example, the authors focus on the moving case of Shinobu, a girl with one neurodegenerative condition because her mother ate poisonous fish when she was pregnant. Her daily struggles and courage to try to overcome the condition and lead a normal life are touching and inspiring.
This is also a story of people coming together and bravely fighting for justice against all odds. Chisso Corporation was exposed as a liar that had refused to admit their responsibility for years, resulting in painful and protracted trials and unfair settlements. In 1969, the "final" trial started, and the verdict was reached on 20 March 1973, when it was declared that the company was liable and should pay full compensation for the dead and severely-injured. By 2004, Chisso paid out 86 million dollars in compensation. In 2010, another settlement was reached to pay "yet uncertified victims". This case of industrial mercury poisoning needs to be better known and the book is more far-reaching than appears at first glance. Industrial pollution has not stopped around the world, and rivers, lakes and oceans, as well as soil and air continue to be polluted by companies, resulting in many people and animals suffering. Their suffering is also diverse - from mild allergies and asthmas to full-blown animal extinctions, human cancers and even deaths. Recently, the UK court has declared that one small girl's death was partly caused by road pollution (the failure to reduce pollution contributed to Ella Kissi-Debrah's death, and the girl had asthma). This was a landmark case in Britain which will hopefully open everyone's eyes on the pressing issue of how damaging pollution really is and can get for human and animal health, as well as for the nature in general.
"[The belief] that pollution is criminal only after legal conviction is [the belief] that causes pollution [Smith, 1975: 172].
This book introduces the true case of the Minamata mercury poisoning that occurred in a small fishing village of Minamata, island of Kyushu, Japan, from the early 1950s to the 1970s, with its effects lasting to the early 1980s (and maybe even beyond). This is a shocking case of corporate crime and greed that crippled thousands of people for life and led to long and agonising deaths for so many others. Chisso Corporation poisoned the waters around Minamata, contaminating the fish that was then eaten by villagers who then experienced frightening neurodegenerative symptoms (from muscle weakness/atrophy and difficulty breathing to convulsions and complete loss of awareness). Eugene and Aileen Smith spent three years in Minamata, investigating the poisoning, gathering evidence, talking to survivors (who were often also stigmatised), and photographing the trauma. The book's unflinching, vivid photographs bring to life the true horror experienced by the victims of Chisso Corporation, and the authors really put a human face on the disaster and the disease, trying to show the true human cost of this "industrial genocide" [1975: 33]. For example, the authors focus on the moving case of Shinobu, a girl with one neurodegenerative condition because her mother ate poisonous fish when she was pregnant. Her daily struggles and courage to try to overcome the condition and lead a normal life are touching and inspiring.
This is also a story of people coming together and bravely fighting for justice against all odds. Chisso Corporation was exposed as a liar that had refused to admit their responsibility for years, resulting in painful and protracted trials and unfair settlements. In 1969, the "final" trial started, and the verdict was reached on 20 March 1973, when it was declared that the company was liable and should pay full compensation for the dead and severely-injured. By 2004, Chisso paid out 86 million dollars in compensation. In 2010, another settlement was reached to pay "yet uncertified victims". This case of industrial mercury poisoning needs to be better known and the book is more far-reaching than appears at first glance. Industrial pollution has not stopped around the world, and rivers, lakes and oceans, as well as soil and air continue to be polluted by companies, resulting in many people and animals suffering. Their suffering is also diverse - from mild allergies and asthmas to full-blown animal extinctions, human cancers and even deaths. Recently, the UK court has declared that one small girl's death was partly caused by road pollution (the failure to reduce pollution contributed to Ella Kissi-Debrah's death, and the girl had asthma). This was a landmark case in Britain which will hopefully open everyone's eyes on the pressing issue of how damaging pollution really is and can get for human and animal health, as well as for the nature in general.
August 25, 2014
I've never really "read" a photographic narrative before. I've seen books of photography, but this is a different type of book than any I've read in the past. Photojournalist W. Eugene Smith went with his wife to Minamata to document the environmental poisoning caused by the release of methylmercury into local waterways by the Chisso Corporation. Spending years among the people whose lives were destroyed by mercury poisoning, Smith is able to capture the sheer scope and horror of this disaster, which went unchecked by the Japanese government for over 40 years. Though the written narrative is important for understanding what exactly was happening in Minamata at the time, the story is truly told through the pictures. The pictures are haunting. At equal turns disturbing and touching, each picture speaks volumes about the people whose lives were truly shattered by what happened in Minamata. Rather than something to be read and forgotten, the images in Smith's book are ones that will not leave me anytime soon.
February 23, 2011
This is the most powerful piece of photojournalism I've ever read. Photographer Smith and his wife Aileen traveled to the poor Japanese fishing village of Minimata in 1971 and documented the tragedy of mercury poisoning among the villagers, caused by the dumping of toxic waste by industry since the 1950's. The result was powerful prose and heartbreaking photographs of a courageous people.
April 28, 2024
Over 50 years later, these poignant photos still pack a punch. The impact humans have on our own environment is as relevant today as it was back then.
Reading how these courageous fishermen, families, and local citizens banded together for the first time in history against the poisoning of their lives and beloved sea that was their source of income, nourishment and identity is more poignant knowing they did this before Earth Day was founded.
Although drastic poisoning of our waters via mercury may have been stopped (from what we publicly know), it continues on different levels from the slow poisoning of our waters with plastics seeping into our oceans via the big Pacific Garbage Patch to lead poisoning in Flint Michigan.
To watch a harrowing movie inspired by this book reliving Gene and Aileen's mission to bring these personal stories to the world, check out the 2022 film Minamata.
Many lives were sacrificed by the dumping of this mercury waste. As one quote from the book states: "Even after death, we will remember what you have done to us".
Reading how these courageous fishermen, families, and local citizens banded together for the first time in history against the poisoning of their lives and beloved sea that was their source of income, nourishment and identity is more poignant knowing they did this before Earth Day was founded.
Although drastic poisoning of our waters via mercury may have been stopped (from what we publicly know), it continues on different levels from the slow poisoning of our waters with plastics seeping into our oceans via the big Pacific Garbage Patch to lead poisoning in Flint Michigan.
To watch a harrowing movie inspired by this book reliving Gene and Aileen's mission to bring these personal stories to the world, check out the 2022 film Minamata.
Many lives were sacrificed by the dumping of this mercury waste. As one quote from the book states: "Even after death, we will remember what you have done to us".
January 20, 2021
An absolutely riveting series of photos and words that exploded a hidden problem and brought to light the evil that was plaguing so many people. I can’t recommend this enough.
September 1, 2025
5.00!!!
July 19, 2015
Minamata by Eugene and Aileen Smith is an extraordinary book in many ways. In searing photographs and words it chronicles the last few years of the fight by a group of Japanese fishing families to stop the poisoning of themselves and their children with toxic mercury by the local Chisso chemical plant in the city of Minamata. It includes Smith's unforgettable image of the 'Madonna of Minamata' a Japanese mother bathing her 16 year old child, Tomoko, who is blind, deaf, lame, claw-handed and unable to respond in any way as a result of the mercury, which entered her bloodstream while she was still in the womb.
The battle lasted almost two decades and ended with the chairman of the corporation putting his forehead on the ground in a gesture of abject apology for the suffering his firm had inflicted.
The book is historic because it presages the poisoning of the entire human race, which is now the case - and the immense difficulty, hardship and frustration that face all who seek redress for their suffering. It exposes the unholy alliance between corporations and governments to deny the victims of chemical poisoning justice, which has been repeated time and again in countries all around the world and still goes on today.
It shows that if we wish to stop ourselves and our children from being poisoned by industrial emissions and consumer products, only we can do it ourselves. Left to the powers that be, not much will ever happen.
Mine was an old library copy, but I hope that someone republishes this marvellous chronicle of human courage, fearlessness and dedication in the face of stone-faced commercial and political opposition. Smith, a veteran photojournalist who covered WWII in the Pacific and other memorable events, was savagely beaten and almost killed by company thugs in the process of recording the struggle of the victims of Minamata. It is also a memorial of a time when journalists had the guts and the integrity to go up against oppression and cruelty and tell it like it is, regardless of the personal cost.
The battle lasted almost two decades and ended with the chairman of the corporation putting his forehead on the ground in a gesture of abject apology for the suffering his firm had inflicted.
The book is historic because it presages the poisoning of the entire human race, which is now the case - and the immense difficulty, hardship and frustration that face all who seek redress for their suffering. It exposes the unholy alliance between corporations and governments to deny the victims of chemical poisoning justice, which has been repeated time and again in countries all around the world and still goes on today.
It shows that if we wish to stop ourselves and our children from being poisoned by industrial emissions and consumer products, only we can do it ourselves. Left to the powers that be, not much will ever happen.
Mine was an old library copy, but I hope that someone republishes this marvellous chronicle of human courage, fearlessness and dedication in the face of stone-faced commercial and political opposition. Smith, a veteran photojournalist who covered WWII in the Pacific and other memorable events, was savagely beaten and almost killed by company thugs in the process of recording the struggle of the victims of Minamata. It is also a memorial of a time when journalists had the guts and the integrity to go up against oppression and cruelty and tell it like it is, regardless of the personal cost.
March 4, 2025
It is now early 2025 and I've returned to this book after many years. That's what a "quantum bookshelf" is for... books the reward a return. And this one, the long saga of what I might call the banality of evil, rewards that revisit deeply.
Gene Smith's Minamata images are among the best, this isn't surprising. What's little-appreciated, and not shown in the recent film about the Smiths in Minamata, is that they spent three years creating them, living and gossiping with the neighbors, the managers, the locals. It's only by this deep immersion that they can recognize the individuals and try to grasp at the confusing, sometimes contradictory nature of the relationships between the industry that builds the town and poisons it, the positive feelings people could have for the managers themselves at times, the personal paradoxes of medical and government professionalism mixing with horrible personal tragedies.
The story is not yet over -- while the town is rightly proud of its pro-environmental efforts and successes since the 1970's, as recently as August 2024 new victims have been identified and lawsuits have continued (and been won). It's a story that does not disappear, and you can hear its echoes worldwide.
Gene Smith's Minamata images are among the best, this isn't surprising. What's little-appreciated, and not shown in the recent film about the Smiths in Minamata, is that they spent three years creating them, living and gossiping with the neighbors, the managers, the locals. It's only by this deep immersion that they can recognize the individuals and try to grasp at the confusing, sometimes contradictory nature of the relationships between the industry that builds the town and poisons it, the positive feelings people could have for the managers themselves at times, the personal paradoxes of medical and government professionalism mixing with horrible personal tragedies.
The story is not yet over -- while the town is rightly proud of its pro-environmental efforts and successes since the 1970's, as recently as August 2024 new victims have been identified and lawsuits have continued (and been won). It's a story that does not disappear, and you can hear its echoes worldwide.
January 27, 2008
Heart-wrenching. Man's capacity to inflict suffering upon his fellow man never stops to amaze and curb the mind. This book hurts the soul, to go through the pages is something of an awful experience that will not soon be forgotten.
Suggested for mature readers only.
Suggested for mature readers only.
September 19, 2008
I have this marked as a 'to-read' but it should be marked as a to re-read! I'm working on that list!
December 11, 2012
It is a well written piece.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews