Tomoko and Mother in the Bath

W. Eugene Smith, Minamata, Japan, 1971 The Chisso plant at Minamata released wastewater laced with methylmercury into the sea, and the poisoning it caused was identified as Minamata disease in 1956. Smith and Aileen Mioko Smith lived in the town for more than three years, and their 1972 Life essay carried the victims' plight to readers far beyond Japan. Smith was beaten almost unconscious by men working for Chisso. This picture of Tomoko Kamimura cradled by her mother earns its place for its afterlife as much as its impact. Aileen Smith inherited the copyright and passed it to the family, who now decide whether it is shown, so the Minamata disease memorial stands in for it here. It shows what putting the people pictured first looks like.