The sea around Minamata was heavily polluted with mercury during the 1950s and 1960s from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory. This highly toxic chemical bioaccumulated in shellfish and fish in the Yatsushiro Sea which, when eaten by the local populace, gave rise to Minamata disease. The...
Second film in Tsuchimoto's series on Minamata disease - the victims of Minamata disease negotiate directly with Chisso Corporation (responsible for dumping toxic water into Minamata Bay) for life-long medical care and compensation.
After a handful of groundbreaking films detailing the tragedy and suffering of the mercury-poisoned Japanese town of Minamata, documentary master Noriaki Tsuchimoto revisits the subject of Minamata through the eyes of the celebrated husband-and-wife painting duo Iri and Toshi Maruki. Tsuchimoto...
A tangerine field stretches along the seashore in Minamata. Minamata disease patients, unable to work on the sea, work hard at growing amanatsu oranges.
Umitori takes place in Shimokita Peninsula on the northern edge of the mainland, which was becoming a “nuclear energy peninsula”, undergoing tremendous development and serving as the home port for Mutsu, a nuclear-powered ship. Focusing on the fishermen and their stories, Tsuchimoto and his...
