The Minamata Story
Just published - June 2021
A true story of environmental damage and deeply moving personal tragedy in Japan due to miss-management and cover up.
A graphic novel /manga on ‘Minamata disease’, which looks at the devastating effect of mercury poisoning by chemical company of coastal communities of Japan, especially the fishing village of Minamata. Following the college research of a young student, Tomi, and his grandmother we discover a tale of corporations evading responsibility, government cover ups and the very moving story of the local people who suffered the consequences with bitterness, pain but with deep strength and courage. With the recent news that the Japanese government is planning to release Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi nuclear waste into the sea this story about the tragedy of Minamata's poison sea has renewed importance.
Written by Sean Michael Wilson
Illustrated by Akiko Shimojima
From the respected publisher of Asia related books Stonebridge Press
Get it on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Minamata-Story-Sean-Michael-Wilson/dp/1611720567
Barnes and Noble:
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-minamata-story-sean-michael-wilson/1133785165?ean=9781611720563
Or direct from the PUBLISHER
Preview - several interior pages of our Minamata book can be seen HERE
A true story of environmental damage and deeply moving personal tragedy in Japan due to miss-management and cover up.
A graphic novel /manga on ‘Minamata disease’, which looks at the devastating effect of mercury poisoning by chemical company of coastal communities of Japan, especially the fishing village of Minamata. Following the college research of a young student, Tomi, and his grandmother we discover a tale of corporations evading responsibility, government cover ups and the very moving story of the local people who suffered the consequences with bitterness, pain but with deep strength and courage. With the recent news that the Japanese government is planning to release Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Daiichi nuclear waste into the sea this story about the tragedy of Minamata's poison sea has renewed importance.
Written by Sean Michael Wilson
Illustrated by Akiko Shimojima
From the respected publisher of Asia related books Stonebridge Press
Get it on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Minamata-Story-Sean-Michael-Wilson/dp/1611720567
Barnes and Noble:
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-minamata-story-sean-michael-wilson/1133785165?ean=9781611720563
Or direct from the PUBLISHER
Preview - several interior pages of our Minamata book can be seen HERE
Reviews
"This book was interesting in the sense that this is a piece of history I had never heard about. I know that situations like this are/were far from uncommon, but it's a part of history that is skimmed over.
Some parts of this book can be incredibly upsetting with depictions of Miamata Disease both in humans and in cats.
This book at it's core is a call to action, that if we let it, these types of things will be brushed under the rug. That corporations like Chisso, do not really care about the impact they have on the enviroment or people. That it is up to us in the end to speak up and hold them accountable."
- Sam Beinlich, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"Well good golly...that was quite extremely educational like before I read this book and of course, knowing the Japanese government planning to dump the Fukushima waste in the ocean, I thought Japan were sensible enough in keeping their waters clean. Turns out it wasn’t the case at all.. Of course we have to thank Chisso Corporation who made the fishermen and their families (including animals) lose their livelihoods from the disease (not everyone from the company is to blame but mostly the particular people who have caused this mess).
I really liked how the author added people’s real life stories into the university guys (sorry don’t know the name) journey along with his grandmother who experienced this awful situation as a young girl. It’s honestly so heartbreaking to see what people went through like I can’t imagine how challenging it was to lose their speech a bit and being bullied for it!
Again I’ve learned quite a lot on the Minamata disease, it’s something everyone should take a look at!"
- G O, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"I didn't expect to connect with this material the way I did. I very rarely read non fiction and I knew nothing of Minamata disease before picking this up. Being presented as manga was a smart choice; it's the reason I decided to read The Minamata Story and it's a very Japanese way to present important history.
Tomi, a British Japanese student misses out on his chance to present an assignment on the Fukushima Disaster and is instead assigned Minamata Disease, to his disappointment. Once Tomi learns that his family is much closer to the disease than he knew he becomes heavily invested in researching and producing the best paper he can.
The experience leads Tomi to connect with his family in new ways and to question the passive nature of the Japanese culture. Countries around the world are protesting the harm being done to the people and the environment eg. The Flint Water Crisis and Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The Japanese don't and Tomi begins to question his responsibility as a young man living in Japan. I didn't know that Japan is planning to release Fukushima waste into the ocean and I wonder how the horrors of Minamata have been so easily forgotten or ignored.
Thank you to the authors for a history lesson I needed and thank you for presenting it in such an engaging and memorable way."
- Leesa Burns, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"This book was interesting in the sense that this is a piece of history I had never heard about. I know that situations like this are/were far from uncommon, but it's a part of history that is skimmed over.
Some parts of this book can be incredibly upsetting with depictions of Miamata Disease both in humans and in cats.
This book at it's core is a call to action, that if we let it, these types of things will be brushed under the rug. That corporations like Chisso, do not really care about the impact they have on the enviroment or people. That it is up to us in the end to speak up and hold them accountable."
- Sam Beinlich, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"Well good golly...that was quite extremely educational like before I read this book and of course, knowing the Japanese government planning to dump the Fukushima waste in the ocean, I thought Japan were sensible enough in keeping their waters clean. Turns out it wasn’t the case at all.. Of course we have to thank Chisso Corporation who made the fishermen and their families (including animals) lose their livelihoods from the disease (not everyone from the company is to blame but mostly the particular people who have caused this mess).
I really liked how the author added people’s real life stories into the university guys (sorry don’t know the name) journey along with his grandmother who experienced this awful situation as a young girl. It’s honestly so heartbreaking to see what people went through like I can’t imagine how challenging it was to lose their speech a bit and being bullied for it!
Again I’ve learned quite a lot on the Minamata disease, it’s something everyone should take a look at!"
- G O, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"I didn't expect to connect with this material the way I did. I very rarely read non fiction and I knew nothing of Minamata disease before picking this up. Being presented as manga was a smart choice; it's the reason I decided to read The Minamata Story and it's a very Japanese way to present important history.
Tomi, a British Japanese student misses out on his chance to present an assignment on the Fukushima Disaster and is instead assigned Minamata Disease, to his disappointment. Once Tomi learns that his family is much closer to the disease than he knew he becomes heavily invested in researching and producing the best paper he can.
The experience leads Tomi to connect with his family in new ways and to question the passive nature of the Japanese culture. Countries around the world are protesting the harm being done to the people and the environment eg. The Flint Water Crisis and Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The Japanese don't and Tomi begins to question his responsibility as a young man living in Japan. I didn't know that Japan is planning to release Fukushima waste into the ocean and I wonder how the horrors of Minamata have been so easily forgotten or ignored.
Thank you to the authors for a history lesson I needed and thank you for presenting it in such an engaging and memorable way."
- Leesa Burns, Netgalley Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
From the Press Release:
- this graphic novel dramatizes the story of "Minamata," famous around the world as one of the most egregious examples of environmental poisoning; identified in 1956, a final compensation settlement was not reached until 2010; over 2,000 people were affected and over 1,700 have died
- many people have heard about Minamata, but few know the real story or the human cost
- the artist is Japanese, the writer British, giving the book a great mix of narrative and authentic representation
- movie connection: a movie titled Minamata starring Johnny Depp is currently being filmed in Japan; release date TBD (2020?); it is based on the life of W. Eugene Smith, whose photoessay on Minamata in the 1970s stunned the world (we do not know the release date and our book is not a direct or licensed tie-in)
- author Wilson has a solid track record of historical documentation of Japanese history and culture: The Book of Five Rings, Yakuza Moon, Black Ships; note that New Internationalist, a CBSD client, publishes Wilson's recent book The Many Not the Few 9781780264448
- appeals to ecowarriors of all ages, but manga presentation makes it a good choice for younger readers (although it is not marketed as a children's title)
- most recently, the story of Minamata reminds us of the problem of lead-poisoned water in Flint, Michigan, and represents the same kind of governmental bungling and indifference