The book was published in 1975 as "Minamata", Words and Photographs by W.Eugene Smith and Aileen M. Smith. Its centerpiece photograph and one of his most famous works, "Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath," taken in December 1971, drew worldwide attention to the effects of Minamata disease. The photograph shows a mother cradling her severely deformed, naked daughter in a traditional Japanese bathing chamber. The photograph was the centerpiece of a Minamata disease exhibition held in Tokyo, in 1974. In 1997, Aileen Smith withdrew the photo from circulation in accordance with Tomoko's parents' wishes.