Reborn from the Earth Scarred by Modernity: Minamata Disease and the Miracle of the Human Desire to Live.

The article focuses on the Minamata disease, which was caused by the methyl mercury and other poisonous industrial wastes dumped by the Chisso Corp. into the harbor at the town of Minamata, Japan. The debilitating neurological syndrome first began appearing in the mid 1950s, but won widespread attention only in the 1960s because of the efforts of Japanese writer Ishimure Michiko, local residents and activists. The author claims that Michiko's 1969 book, "Kugai jodo: Waga Minamatabyo," played a major role in alerting the public to the disaster and its horrific consequences.