Shocking! "Tomoko Takes a Bath"

?Shocking! What does it mean? I searched it on Baidu, and it means: being strongly shocked or moved in the heart, and experiencing violent ups and downs in spirit or emotion. If I were to use the word shocking to describe a work, it would be this painting "Tomoko Taking a Bath".

I saw this work by chance. At that moment, I felt like an electric shock. My mind went blank, and there was nothing except the painting in front of me. In the flash of lightning that followed, countless questions flashed through my mind, what is going on? Who took this photo? When was the photo taken? What was the purpose and mentality of the person who took the photo? Who is the Tomoko who was photographed? Why is it in this state? ?"A picture contains a hundred times more content than words." The first time I saw this picture of "Sophon Taking a Bath", I deeply understood the meaning of this sentence.

One of the signs of a good work is that it makes people curious and want to explore the story behind the picture, triggering our own thinking about the world. Encountering such a good work naturally aroused my curiosity, and after some research, I learned the shocking story behind this work.

In 1971, the famous American photographer Eugene Smith and his Japanese wife Irene Mioko Smith went to Japan. They learned about a town called Minamata in Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Kyushu Island, Japan. A series of tragic things are happening there. In 1950, some patients with slurred speech, dazed faces, trembling hands and feet, and neurological disorders appeared in Minamata Town. These people could not be cured for a long time, their bodies were bent, and they died miserably. This town has 40,000 residents. In the past few years, 10,000 people have suffered from this disease to varying degrees. Later, similar symptoms were also found in nearby areas. After several years of investigation and research, a 1956 research report by the Kumamoto National University School of Medicine in Japan confirmed that this was caused by mercury poisoning caused by residents long-term consumption of seafood containing mercury in Yatsushiro Kaisumamata Bay. The excessive discharge of a large amount of poisonous factory wastewater has instantly plunged the lives of local residents into misery, and has been passed on to the next generation. At the end of 1959, local fishermen began to demonstrate against the Shin Nippon Fertilizer Company. However, the fertilizer company denied that the company's sewage discharge was the root cause of "Minamata disease" and even attempted to cover up the truth and obstruct relevant investigations and research.

When the Smiths arrived in 1971, about 10% of the villagers were already sick, and more and more people were gradually getting sick. In order to reveal the truth, Eugene Smith and his wife went to the town to live with the people there, and went deep into the local area to investigate and film. This shooting lasted for three years. He used images to record the endless harm caused by Japan's industrial pollution to humans and the environment. During this time, Smith was even beaten by a mob hired by a fertilizer company and nearly lost the sight of one eye. But he still persevered, and the reporting work was completed in the early 1970s, and was eventually published as a picture book - "Victims of Minamata Disease". This special photo report attracted widespread public attention and caused huge repercussions around the world. In the end, the factory owner had to close the factory contaminated by mercury and compensate 10,000 victims. ?The series "Victims of Minamata Disease" was also the last major report in Smith's life. The truth about Japan's Minamata disease caused by environmental pollution was exposed to the world.

? "Tomoko Takes a Bath" is the representative work of this series. In the photo, the image of Tomoko, a patient with fetal Minamata disease, held by her mother while taking a bath, shocked the world. It showed the grief and helplessness of the mother while bathing the affected child, which is unforgettable. The photo may end here, but I would like to introduce you to some more information about Tomoko. When the mother was pregnant with Tomoko, she unknowingly ate contaminated fish, and the toxins were passed to the fetus through the placenta. Tomoko's parents regarded their eldest daughter as a "treasured child" because she absorbed the toxins originally present in her mother's body, thus preventing her five younger siblings from contracting Minamata disease.

? Although the photo "Tomoko Taking a Bath" was published all over the world, it did not cure Tomoko's illness. In 1976, Tomoko passed away at the age of 21.

?Her death was a symbol, and the meaning of this photo became somewhat different after her death. The photo itself is no longer about Tomoko, her once vivid life, but about letting the whole world know that we should find ways to eliminate pollution, and let the whole world see the eternal love between mothers and children. Tomoko's parents still firmly desire that the earth can be freed from the clutches of pollution. Tomoko's father even used the word "eradicate" when talking about this. Therefore, in response to their wishes, I will also use my little power to share this work with everyone. I hope that more people can see this work and let the world not forget this photo. .

Finally, in 1979, one year after the death of Eugene Smith, the International Center of Photography in New York established the "Eugene Smith Award" named after him in recognition of his belief in human nature. To encourage latecomers who have made outstanding achievements to promote the advancement of humanitarianism in the fields of journalism and reportage photography.