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Nuonuki the mountain god, an apotheosis of methyl mercury?
The swirling, fluid tendrils that come out of Hikaru's body resemble pools of reflective, mirror-like mercury, heavy metal, liquid at room temperature. Is this town haunted? Possessed? Harboring a mountain god? ... Or being gradually poisoned? What really happened to the children?
Mercury... is neurotoxic. Slow mercury poisoning causes hallucinations, birth defects, rashes, poor wound healing, coma, cerebral palsy, vision and hearing problems, severe disfigurement, and death.
This story: a memorial to the Minamata Health Disaster, in which a small town was poisoned--sacrificed--by chemical factory Chisso Corporation polluting the environment with industrial waste in the 1960s.
What did you do to the children, Chisso?