Revisiting Minamata, and a Storied Mentor

Mr. Smith had encouraged Mr. Ishikawa to take his own photographs, even while helping him with the grueling Minamata project. Mr. Ishikawa became friends with many young people in Minamata and kept in touch with several of Mr. Smith’s subjects in the following decades as he pursued his own career. Although he traveled constantly, he decided in 2008 that he should document what had become of the surviving victims.