was a Japanese writer and activist. She won the 1973

Ramon Magsaysay Award The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...

, among the most prestigious awards in Asia, for publicizing writings about

Minamata disease Minamata disease is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cas ...

, which was extremely controversial at the time.

Select works

* ''Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow: Our Minamata Disease'' (1969) translated into English by Livia Monnet and into German by Ursula Graefe. * ''Story of the Sea of Camellias'' (1976) translated into English by Livia Monnet * ''Lake of Heaven'' (1997) translated into English by Bruce Allen. * ''Anima no tori (Birds of Spirit)'' (1999) * ''Shiranui: A Contemporary Noh Drama'' translated into English by Bruce Allen.

References

External links

Michiko Ishumure (sic)
unesco.org via archive.org. Retrieved 10 February 2018. * * * 1927 births 2018 deaths Japanese environmentalists Japanese women environmentalists Japanese women activists Japanese non-fiction writers Japanese women writers Minamata disease Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Writers from Kumamoto Prefecture {{Japan-writer-stub