For the 70th Anniversary of Minamata Disease's Official Recognition: Bungei Bessatsu 'Michiko Ishimure Augmented New Edition' to be Released on April 6! The definitive edition delving into the life and rich appeal of the writer who spun words for the salvation of souls from the darkest depths of modernity.

Kawade Shobo Shinsha (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director Yu Onodera) will release Bungei Bessatsu 'Michiko Ishimure Augmented New Edition' (tax-included price 1,760 yen) on April 6, 2026.

2026 marks the 70th anniversary of the official recognition of Minamata disease. Writer Michiko Ishimure (1927-2018) supported the patients' movement and continued to question Minamata disease and various problems of modern civilization through her works such as 'Kugai Jodo'.

Following Michiko Ishimure's passing, the Bungei Bessatsu "In Memory of Michiko Ishimure: Farewell, Spirit of the Shiranui Sea" was published in 2018. This time, we are publishing an augmented new edition with numerous additions.

After Ishimure's death, COVID-19 confined the world, the invasion of Ukraine began, and then the genocide in Palestine. The effects of climate change are also becoming clear to everyone. The end of modernity that Ishimure saw in Minamata is surely becoming a reality.

Meanwhile, approaches to Ishimure have deepened and broadened during this period. We hope to convey this with this augmentation.

It may sound trite, but Ishimure must be read now more than ever.

(Excerpt from Harumasa Abe's "Afterword")

In addition to Michiko Ishimure's works, our company has published many Minamata-related books over the years. It became a topic when Masato Ogata's book 'Chisso Was Me' (Kawade Bunko), written by a frontline fighter in the Minamata disease patient certification movement, was used as a problem text (Public/Ethics) in this year's Common University Entrance Examination.

On this occasion, please pay attention to the definitive 2026 edition of Bungei Bessatsu 'Michiko Ishimure Augmented New Edition' and the many Minamata literature and related documents introduced in the book.

●Bungei Bessatsu 'Michiko Ishimure Augmented New Edition' Table of Contents (* indicates augmented sections)

Essays

Shinya Fujiwara Ishimure Michiko's Nekomanma. Fukumi Shimura Deepening the Illusion of Fate Mari Akasaka I want to be moved by the mystery of Michiko Ishimure Koji Yonemoto From the Palace at the Bottom of the Sea, Michiko-san Shinko Kang Oh Sadness, Become Water, Become Light Yoko Hiramatsu The Taste of Jakko, the Taste of the Soul Kyohei Sakaguchi Micchin's Song Miki Nagano Agonizing Support Naomi Okuda & Junpei Okuda Minamata/Ishimure Literary Map * Keiko Saika Drifting Here and There *

Lecture *

Tatsushi Fujihara Where is the Capital of Living Creatures? Towards the Ideological Succession of Michiko Ishimure

Dialogue

Seiko Ito x Eisuke Wakamatsu Reading Michiko Ishimure

Roundtable Discussion

Hiromi Ito x Genichiro Takahashi x Kyo Machida The Melody of the Oppressed

Lecture 1

Japanese Modern History for Reading 'Kugai Jodo' 1 What is Minamata Disease? By Yuta Jitsukawa

2 'Kugai Jodo' and the Minamata Disease Struggle in the Residents' Movement By Norihito Nakata 3 Minamata in Kyushu History By Motosai Mori

Lecture 2 *

Minamata Disease Was Just a Small Beginning Minamata Disease at 70 Years By Yuta Jitsukawa

Towards a New Michiko Ishimure

Eri Watanabe The Death of Sacrifice, Beyond Politics Michiko Ishimure, "Southern Kyushu" "Modernism" * Hanako Takayama The Distance to the Tape Recorder Michiko Ishimure and "Listening as Fiction" *

Ryuichiro Shirai The Cosmic Century Begins

Toru Koga The Truth of Speaking Junko Imamura The Gazed Ripples From Michiko Ishimure to Shin Sato

Akira Okawada Michiko Ishimure as an Expressive Movement (Document)

Biographical Reviews

People Michiko Ishimure Met

Yuta Jitsukawa, Norihito Nakata, Hidetatsu Namekawa, Yoko Hasuke, Jun Matsuda, et al. Shozo Tanaka, Itsue Takamure, Gan Tanikawa, Kazue Morisaki, Hidenobu Ueno, Kazuko Tsurumi, Miho Shimao, Noriaki Tsuchimoto, Jun Ui, Masazumi Harada, Hajime Hosokawa, Yoshiharu Tagami, Teruo Kawamoto, Eiko Sugimoto, Masato Ogata, Kyoji Watanabe

Book Guide 1 *

Six Books for Rereading Michiko Ishimure Koji Yonemoto 'History of Minamata Disease Struggle' / Yuko Tanaka 'Kugai, Jodo, Japan' / Naomi Okuda & Junpei Okuda 'Loneliness Beyond' / Eri Watanabe 'Arriving Women' / Tatsushi Fujihara 'Philosophy of Living Beings' / Hanako Takayama 'The World's Sadness'

Book Guide 2

Twelve Books to Understand Minamata Disease Natsuki Ikezawa, Norihito Nakata, et al.

Hajime Nishimura & Tatsuaki Okamoto 'Science of Minamata Disease' / Masato Ogata 'Chisso Was Me' / Michiko Ishimure (ed.) 'My Dead Citizens' / Kyoji Watanabe 'Citizens and Daily Life' / Koji Yonemoto 'Biography of Michiko Ishimure' / Masazumi Harada 'Minamata Disease' 'Minamata Disease is Not Over' / Akira Kurihara (ed.) 'Testimony: Minamata Disease' / Tatsuaki Okamoto 'Minamata Disease: A People's History' (6 volumes) / Tsukasa Yoshida 'Shimo Shimo Senki' / Takeshi Shiota 'My Beloved Minamata Photographed' / Daikichi Irokawa (ed.) 'Revelation of Minamata'

Work Guide

Michiko Ishimure Major Works Reading Guide

Yukako Ohashi, Jo Kasagi, Junko Gosho, Yoko Hasuke, Yoshio Hirota, Jun Matsuda, Motosai Mori

Kugai Jodo / The City of Wandering People / Catalogue of Tides: Early Prose of Michiko Ishimure / Record of the Camellia Sea / Legend of the Seinan War / Tree of the Eternal World / Oen's Pilgrimage / Offering Flowers / Izayoi Bridge / Cooking and Playing House / Record of Ayatori / Tenko / Water is the Palace of Mud / Anima's Bird / The Calling Voice of the Tide / Maria in the Soot: Shimabara, Shiiba, Shiranui Travelogue / The Land of Shyness: Complete Poems of Michiko Ishimure / The Last Person: Poet Itsue Takamure / Reed Shore: Autobiography of Michiko Ishimure / To the Land of a Hundred Flowers / Complete Haiku Collection of Michiko Ishimure: Nakinagahara

Brief Chronology

Writer Michiko Ishimure

Ishimure Michiko

Born in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture in 1927. Moved to Minamata shortly after birth. Poet, writer. Her works include 'Kugai Jodo (Trilogy)', 'Record of Ayatori', 'Izayoi Bridge', 'Complete Works of Michiko Ishimure: Shiranui (17 volumes, 1 supplementary volume)', and co-authored 'Namida Furu Hana', among others.

Event Held

〈Minamata Disease 70th Anniversary Commemorative Lecture〉

Date: April 4 [Sat] 12:30 PM - 4:00 PM Venue: Tokyo International Forum Hall B7

Details: Certified NPO Minamata Forum

https://npo.minamata-f.com/

●New Publication Information

Title: Bungei Bessatsu 'Michiko Ishimure Augmented New Edition'

Editor: Kawade Shobo Shinsha Editorial Department Specifications: A5 size / 256 pages

Release Date: April 6, 2026 Tax-included Price: 1,760 yen (1,600 yen + tax)

ISBN: 978-4-309-98096-6 URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309980966/

*No e-book release planned.

●Michiko Ishimure's Works and Co-authored Books Published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha

Title: Kugai Jodo (Natsuki Ikezawa = Personal Edition World Literature Collection Vol. 04)

Author: Michiko Ishimure Specifications: 46 modified size / hardcover / 780 pages

Release Date: January 12, 2011 Tax-included Price: 4,510 yen (4,100 yen + tax)

ISBN: 978-4-309-70968-0 URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309709680/

*No e-book release.

Title: Michiko Ishimure (Natsuki Ikezawa = Personal Edition Japanese Literature Collection Vol. 24)

Author: Michiko Ishimure Specifications: 46 modified size / hardcover / 536 pages

Release Date: October 14, 2015 Tax-included Price: 3,410 yen (3,100 yen + tax)

ISBN: 978-4-309-72894-0 URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309728940/

*E-book also available.

Title: Micchin's Voice

Authors: Michiko Ishimure / Natsuki Ikezawa Specifications: 46 modified size / hardcover / 272 pages

Release Date: February 22, 2021 Tax-included Price: 2,200 yen (2,000 yen + tax)

ISBN: 978-4-309-02946-7 URL: https://www.kawade.co.jp/np/isbn/9784309029467/

*E-book also available.