Minamata: Homage to W. Eugene Smith

A spread from Smith’s photo essay “Death-Flow from a Pipe” in Life magazine (left); the cover of Minamata by W. Eugene Smith and Aileen Mioko Smith.

Eugene Smith photographing the Chisso chemical plant from the hills around Minamata in 1971.

Eugene and his wife Aileen Mioko Smith in Minamata in 1972.

Eugene Smith in 1974, drinking whisky out of a teacup from a sushi shop.

Tanaka Jitsuko (18) with her mother in 1971.

Tanaka Jitsuko in 2018. Today she resides with her elderly sister and brother-in-law and receives round-the-clock nursing care. The helmet is to protect her head from falls.

Kamimura Tomoko (16) in 1973. Born on June 13, 1956, she was officially diagnosed with congenital Minamata disease in November 1962.

Sakamoto Shinobu (16) in 1972. She was 6 when she was diagnosed with congenital Minamata disease.

Sakamoto Shinobu in 2009.

Minamata disease victims and childhood friends (from left) Kagata Kiyoko (19), Sakamoto Shinobu (16), and Maeda Emiko (19) in 1972.

Sakamoto Shinobu, Maeda Emiko, and Kagata Kiyoko near the same spot in Minamata 40 years later, in 2012. Kagata (right) is confined to a wheelchair. Maeda (center) died in 2018.

Nagai Isamu (14) in 1973. Partially paralyzed from childhood, he endured hours of grueling physical therapy. Encouraged by Smith, he enthusiastically pursued photography, making use of the Smiths’ darkroom.

Nagai Isamu in 2011. His condition worsened suddenly in 2010, and he is now unable to move to or from his wheelchair without assistance.