Feeling Kind of Down

June 12, 1983, Sunday

I ran alone today from the start, and what a relief that was. I finally got a chance to run at my desired pace. Yesterday was nice and sunny, but today the rain is falling. June is the time for tsuyu, the rainy season. Come to think of it, I will probably be following tsuyu as it also creeps in a northerly direction in the coming weeks. I left from the Akune train station at 8:00am sharp. I knew it was going to be a long day. “Man, I am sore and tired and it’s still just the beginning of the 2nd day of a long journey,” I thought.

Later in the day when it started pouring rain, I was running into the town of Minamata. The rain was coming down pretty hard and there was a cold wind blowing. As I entered Minamata, the news of this town started coming back to me. The case of Minamata, Japan, and the mercury poisoning (originally called Minamata disease) that took place here, appeared briefly in news headlines in the 1970s and then receded from public attention, outside of Japan. The Minamata tragedy was fully and richly documented by former Life photographer, Eugene Smith, and his wife, Aileen. They lived in Minamata for several years. Chisso Corporation in Minamata, that employed up to 60% of Minamata’s workers at one time, had been allowing mercury to spill into the bay from about the 1930’s. This mercury eventually ended up being part of the food chain, leading to unfortunate consequences for the people of Minamata. At first, cats showed bizarre behavior, first dancing out of control, and then jumping into the ocean. These were called “cat suicides.” Eventually, the loss of motor control began to appear in children and adults. I remember seeing the photos and news reports of this major event in Japan in the 1970’s when the people afflicted with this itai-itai byo (ouch-ouch disease) were letting everyone know of what was happening in their hometown.

Knowing the history of this town, and running in the cold rain in windy conditions, made me feel depressed while traveling through Minamata. To top it all off, the streets were deserted. All I heard was the lapping of the ocean water up against the sea wall, which just reminded me of the uncontrollable muscle spasms displayed by the victims of mercury poisoning. I just plain felt miserable.

After trudging through the cold rain, I eventually made it to Yatsushiro by 5:30pm. It is not much of a scenic place, but the people here are very nice. Another long 86km day. I checked into a hotel to soak my legs in a hot bath.


For more information about Minamata, see http://www.lewrockwell.com/rogers/rogers111.html