Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath

W. Eugene Smith
Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath
Minamata, 1972

"Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath" is a renowned photograph taken by famed American photojournalist W. Eugene Smith in 1971. Many commentators regard it as Smith's greatest work.

The photo depicts a mother cradling her severely deformed, naked daughter in a traditional Japanese bathing chamber. The mother, Ryoko Uemura, agreed to deliberately pose the photograph with Smith to exhibit the terrible effects of Minamata disease (a type of mercury poisoning) on the body and mind of her daughter Tomoko. Upon publication the photo became world famous, significantly raising the international profile of Minamata disease and the struggle of the victims for recognition and compensation.

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