MINAMATA DISEASE MUSEUM

Minamata Disease Museum

Since its establishment in 1974, Soshisha has continued to support victims of Minamata disease. In 1988, Soshisha established the Minamata Disease Museum. The museum was built by collecting donations from all over Japan and renovating a disused mushroom factory. Since it is independently made by Soshisha, some of the exhibitions are described in one-sided manner, and the facilities are not magnificent. However, the museum offers powerful testimonies of victims’ lived experiences. This is exactly what I call an “activist museum.” This section of the exhibition introduces the museum’s activities in a broader sense.

Toshio YOSHINAGA

Born in Shizuoka. On his way to visit Kagoshima, he saw a sit-in in front of the main gate of the Chisso Minamata factory and joined in with the intention of participating for a week. Since then, he has been living in Minamata for 52 years. While working for Soshisha, he played a central role in the creation of the Minamata Disease Museum and worked hand-in-hand with the local government to promote dialogue between the victims and citizens. I believe that this was only possible because of Toshio. He does not discriminate based on a person’s occupation, appearance, or circumstances. He was not bound by conventional wisdom, but would give it a try anyway. He gives generously to make others happy. I wonder if this is what it means to be a “shiensha (supporter).” My research on Toshio is ongoing.

Kugai-Jodo (Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow: Our Minamata Disease)

This book is a powerful record by Michiko Ishimure, of the suffering of Minamata disease victims and their families. The kindness and mysterious charms of the victims are depicted. Not an overheard account, but not a complete creation either, it shocked society upon publishment in 1969. Ishimure donated all the prize money from the Ramon Magsaysay Prize (Asia’s leading award) she received for this work, to the establishment of Soshisha. She also donated to Soshisha the original manuscript of the first chapter “Tsubaki no Umi” (The Sea of Camellia), the first three pages of which are on display in this exhibition.

Words to Influence People

The history of Minamata disease has produced numerous quotes. They are of universal value and still provide us with material for thinking about human rights and environmental issues. Here, I would like to introduce some quotes that I find particularly fascinating:

Those who do not fight even when the enemy is right in front of them are those who never intended to fight in the first place.
Kenkichi HONDA

You can’t change others, so you change yourself.
Eiko SUGIMOTO

It is a sin not to know, a greater sin to be a know-it-all, and the more sin to tell a lie.
Eiko SUGIMOTO

Enthusiasm is nothing more than the expression of one’s will at every turn.
Teruo KAWAMOTO

I believe that Chisso was my other self.
Masato OGATA

The morality that pollution is criminal only after legal conviction is the morality that causes pollution.
W. Eugene Smith and Aileen M. Smith

There is no third party to pollution.
Jun UI

True neutrality is taking the side of the weak.
Masazumi HARADA

Idea of Establishing a Museum

Koichi Yanagida, a former leader of Soshisha, developed the idea of establishing a museum at Soshisha. The impetus came in the summer of 1980, when he was interviewing a victim at his home and was shocked to see a worn-out kaki-uchi (a tool to remove oysters from rocks). Yanagida wrote, “I realized that our ability to express ourselves was insignificant compared to the evocative or existential power of this kaki-uchi.” Teruo Kawamoto, chairman of Soshisha, who agreed with Yanagida’s proposal, named the as-yet-unseen museum the “Minamata-byo Rekishi Kosho-kan” in the sense of “re-examining the history of the Minamata disease incident.” The museum was eventually established in 1988 after a long preparation.

Soshisha Library

Since its establishment in 1974, Soshisha has collected material related to Minamata disease. Currently, the library contains approximately 110,000 books and records, 100,000 newspaper articles, 70,000 photographs, 1,000 video materials, and 1,700 audio materials. The main collection materials can be searched on the “Soshisha Minamata Disease Related Materials Database” on the website. Materials can be viewed, copied, and checked out, except for those containing personal information.
If you get to know the staff well, they may be able to help you find materials.

Exhibits at the Minamata Disease Museum

The purpose of the museum is “to keep the Minamata disease incident in people’s memories for a long time and to consider how society should incorporate lessons learned from the Minamata disease experience.” The main exhibits are explanatory panels and photographs, but the museum also displays original materials related to the lives of fisherpersons before they were affected by Minamata disease and the Minamata disease movement. Particularly eye-catching exhibits include a fishing boat and fishing gear from the time of Minamata disease, mercury sludge from Minamata Bay, an original manuscript of “Kukai-Jodo,” leaflets slandering the victims, and a shed where cats were kept for Minamata disease experiments.

Explanatory Panels in the Minamata Disease Museum

The museum’s commentary is characterized by sharply critical language. Visitors reading them often feel that it has done well to say so. The museum harshly points out that the damage caused by Minamata Disease has been spread due to the delayed response caused by disregard for human life, prioritization of corporate profits, and the government’s evasion of responsibility. This is possible only because it is a private museum.

“My Message about Minamata”

Panels hanging at the exit of the Minamata Disease Museum. Each Soshisha staff member expresses what they want to convey. Visitors can see who was responsible for creating the exhibits. The panels also convey Soshisha’s intention of building face-to-face relationships with the visitors.

Expanding Museum Activities

In addition to operating the Minamata Disease Museum, Soshisha also engages in a variety of other activities to convey the realities of Minamata disease. For example, the organization offers a “Minamata-machi-annai (Minamata guided tours)” and sells local products. Both activities are important sources of income, but they are not merely considered a means of making money. The guided tours are not a travel business, but rather an opportunity for people to think about the state of society using Minamata disease as a source. The sale of local products has the dual purpose of delivering products that are environmentally friendly and safe alongside informing people about the current situation of the victims of Minamata disease who produced these products.

Hatsue KOIZUMI

Born in Hyogo, Japan. Immediately after graduating from university, she started working for Soshisha and is now in her 8th year. She chose to work for an NPO rather than for the Minamata Disease Movement. She is now able to perform a full range of work, such as selling low-pesticide oranges and guiding people around Minamata. Although she wonders if she is qualified for such work, she is working hard to convey the message about Minamata disease to the public. What I appreciate about her is her interest in preserving materials. She obtained a curator’s certificate through correspondence courses. She has been writing a series of articles in Soshisha’s newsletter “Gonzui,” introducing the value of the materials in the museum’s collection from the perspective of a young person.

“Minamata-machi-annai (Minamata Guided Tours)”

During the tours, Soshisha staff members explain the history and memories of Minamata disease and the local community’s efforts to create an environmental model city while showing visitors the museum, memorial facilities, areas where many victims occurred, and the Minamata Bay reclamation site. They advertise, “Soshisha does not have a manual for guiding visitors. We guide you through the deep Minamata with the knowledge, experience, and sensitivity of our individual staff members.” Each guide is rich in individuality, conveying what each staff member has experienced and learned during their activities in Minamata.

Brand “Nosari”

Soshisha sells environmentally friendly and safe local products under the brand name “Nosari.” In the local language, the word “nosari” means “blessing” or “gift from the heavens.” The organization sells low-pesticide citrus fruits, salad onions, and pesticide-free teas.

Preservation of the “Cat Experiment Shed”

Similar to many small museums, the major challenge for the Minamata Disease Museum is preserving valuable materials with limited operating funds, no specialized staff, and inadequate storage facilities. In 2021, MINPAKU, consulted by Soshisha, conducted a conservation workshop for the “Cat Experiment Shed” at the site. This shed is the only existing artifact in which cats were kept for experiments by the Chisso Affiliated Hospital to secretly elucidate the cause of Minamata disease.