into the small bathing room. Taken with a Minolta SRT-101 and super wide 16mm Rokkor lens. Publication and impact The photograph was first published in the June 2, 1972, edition of Life magazine as the centrepiece of a short Minamata photo essay. This was expanded into book form featuring the full series of photographs taken by Smith during his stay in Minamata. The issue of Minamata disease and the plights of the victims was brought to worldwide attention by this photo essay and book. As well, Smith was attacked and beaten by yakuza hired by Chisso, the polluting corporation. The striking nature of the photograph ensured that it became world-famous very quickly. The Kamimura family found themselves under a media spotlight. Tomoko's father, Yoshio Kamimura said, "We were faced with an increasing number of interviews. Thinking that it would aid the struggle for the eradication of pollution, we agreed to interviews and photographs while the organizations that were working on our behalf used the photograph of Tomoko frequently". However the increased attention was not without its drawbacks. Rumors began to circulate in the Minamata community that the Kamimuras were benefiting financially from the publicity. Some local people (who relied on the polluting Chisso Corporation for their livelihoods) were fiercely opposed to the Minamata disease victims' struggle for compensation. All these pressures added up significantly for the Kamimura family. "I do not think," Yoshio Kamimura stated, "that anybody outside our family can begin to imagine how unbearable the persistent rumors made our daily lives... Although she could not speak herself, I am sure that Tomoko felt that her family were worried for her". Tomoko Kamimura died in 1977 at the age of 21. Withdrawal In 1997 a French television production company contacted the Kamimura family, asking permission to use Smith's famous photograph in a documentary about the most important photographs of the 20th century, and to interview the family once again about Minamata disease and the photograph. However, by this stage, 20 years after his daughter's death, Yoshio Kamimura had changed his mind. He refused any interviews and disliked the idea of Tomoko's image being further exploited: "I wanted Tomoko to be laid to rest and this feeling was growing steadily", he said. After W. Eugene Smith's death in 1978 the copyright of his Minamata photographs passed to his ex-wife Aileen Mioko Smith. Upon hearing the reaction of the Kamimura family