A Minamata disease patient shows his hand in this September 1970 photo taken by Shisei Kuwabara. =Click/tap photo for more images.

       MINAMATA, Kumamoto -- Nine photographers' more than 200,000 photos of patients and other images related to Minamata disease will be collectively managed in a bid to pass down the condition's history.

       The project's name translates to "Minamata: the eyes of photographers." In it, photos and other records will be digitized for storage and use. A project affiliate said, "I'm sure each photo tells the history and helps people verify the mistake humanity made."

       Kazuyoshi Koshiba, right, takes a photo of Jitsuko Tanaka, the first officially confirmed Minamata disease patient, in Minamata, Kumamoto Prefecture, on Dec. 13, 2021. Shisei Kuwabara, another photographer, is seen in the background left. (Mainichi/Takaharu Nishi) =Click/tap photo for more images.

       Minamata disease is a neurological illness caused by consuming seafood from waters with accumulations of toxic methyl mercury, which was discharged from chemical company Chisso Corp.'s Minamata factory in this southwest Japan city. The first case was confirmed on May 1, 1956, after the head of the factory-affiliated hospital reported it to the Minamata health center. The Japanese government recognized it as a pollution-caused disease on Sept. 26, 1968. In subsequent lawsuits, it was ruled that the central and Kumamoto Prefectural governments were also responsible for the damage caused.

       The new project's nine photographers include Shisei Kuwabara, 85, who began documenting the disease in 1960 and now lives in Tokyo, and Aileen Mioko Smith, a 71-year-old resident of Kyoto and the widow of U.S. photographer Eugene Smith who exposed the disease to the world. They plan to establish an incorporated body bearing the project's name as early as May 2022, and intend to discuss details including exactly how to run the organization and utilize its material.

       While the nine began taking photos at different times between the 1960s and 1980s, they all have captured images not only of patients' suffering, but also of nature and creatures destroyed by discharged mercury, among other scenes. Though their works tell the tragedy of Minamata disease and seek to prevent the history being forgotten, most of them -- including a large number of films -- have been kept by each photographer, and there were concerns they would dissipate. Since 2017, Kuwabara and other photographers discussed in online meetings ways to store the photos, and apparently concluded to collectively manage documents including photos and notebooks used in coverage of the disease.

       They are also considering collecting pictures that remain in the affected areas.

       Member Kazuyoshi Koshiba, 73, who lived in Minamata in the 1970s to take photos, now resides in Osaka and sometimes visits Minamata to record patients' daily lives. He said, "By means such as lending materials to public photo exhibitions, we'd like to find ways to let people 50 years and 100 years from now learn about Minamata disease as a negative legacy for humanity."

       (Japanese original by Takaharu Nishi, Minamata Local Bureau)

       In Photos: Some of the 200K Minamata disease images set for collective management in Japan

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