Tomoko Uemura In Her Bath Poem by Jared Carter

The 1971 photograph at the center of Minamata, a photo essay by W. Eugene Smith, on the effects of mercury poisoning due to corporate negligence in the fishing village of Minamata, Japan.

Tomoko is in her bath, where she is lifted
by her mother, Ryoko;
Ryoko cradles her daughter in her arms
and will not let her go.

This is a mother holding her child
and spreading water over her limbs;
This is a mother cherishing her daughter
in the darkness and in the light.

It is Ryoko, Tomoko's mother,
it is Cleva, my own mother,
It is Selene, my daughter. It is all of us
lifted and brought together.

Look on this scene, you masters,
look on this inalienable moment.
Look on this water, so full of shadows.
Know what it is that gathers here.


First published in CounterPunch.

Below: American photographer W. Eugene Smith (1918-1978) in front of what many consider to be his finest photograph, the 1971 photo of Minamata poisoning victim, Tomoko Uemura (1956-1977) , being bathed by her mother.

In the early 1970s the issue of Minamata disease and the plights of the victims were brought to worldwide attention in a photo-essay book by Smith, who was subsequently attacked and beaten by yakuza hired by Chisso, the polluting corporation.

The photo of mother and daughter, first published in Life magazine in 1972, has been recognized as one of the greatest photographs of the twentieth century. At the request of the Uemura family, and with the support of the photographer's widow, it was withdrawn from further reproduction in 1997.