In July 2020, Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture was hit by a heavy rain disaster.
Water damaged photographic negatives.
Yuki Toyoda decided to take on a project in which she would publish a photo book that reprinted the damaged photographs taken by local cameramen from the late 40s to the early 90s.
She moved to the city of Minamata and documents the traces of Minamata Disease that still remain.
And she has published a photo book of portraits of the people of the mountainous Kuroiwa district of Ashikita-cho, which were discovered to have been affected by Minamata Disease only recently.
Also, scheduled to be released this year is the film “Minamata,” which depicts the struggles of cameraman Eugene Smith to spread the word about Minamata Disease to the world. I hope that these three books will give you an opportunity to learn more about Minamata Disease.