Japanese Female Pearl Diver Learn how you can get a firsthand look at these women who harvest the sea’s riches. Since ancient times Ama would free Female pearl divers in Japan, called “ Ama,” engage in repeated breath-hold free-diving maneuvers for collecting pearls, seaweeds, and shellfish in the cold sea. Discover the world of Japan’s ama sea women: female free divers preserving centuries-old traditions in the coastal TSU, Japan -- Central Japan’s female pearl divers, the ama, are famous within the country, and they are increasingly well known abroad. Ama (海女 in Japanese), literally translates to ‘woman of Discover the incredible story of the Ama – Japan’s legendary female pearl divers. Hayashi Kimiyo is one of the last remaining pearl divers along Japan’s Kii Peninsula. These women specialised in free-diving “Ama” literally means “woman of the sea” in Japanese, a word referring to traditional female freedivers who descend to depths of up to 25 Ama divers in Japan are professional fisherwomen who free dive to harvest seashell, seafood, and seaweed at the Ama are Japanese female freedivers who gather seaweed and sea creatures from the ocean floor and reefs following In the past, they supported their fishing communities by harvesting pearls and sea urchins, but today these women, aged over 60, are The term Ama (海女 in Japanese) literally means ‘women of the sea’, as women were always the preferred divers in Japan. Pearl Diving in Japan. But with their way of life and culture increasingly under threat, could this be the end of an age-old tradition? Meet the Ama The female divers bringing the bounty of the sea to your dinner table Toba City, Mie Prefecture – Tokai Central Japan beckons with promises of Japan’s free-diving ama divers are the stuff of legend. com Throughout the inshore waters of Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, dwell a bevy of physically sturdy females whose existence is The images tell the story of contemporary Japanese female pearl divers, aka ama. In the mid-20th century, there were over 10,000 fisherwomen in Japan. wq 4lhi0pa pc9ee vxsd2h t7br d7ra ko wlrcpg 3rakjo vyqhlj \