Tag - ama

 
 

AMA

Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 13, 2023
Traditional ama fishing in Mie in danger as diver numbers plunge
The method is practiced primarily by women and is characterized by skin-diving and a hand-catching method that prevents overfishing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 4, 2021
Amid the pandemic, Ise’s ama divers keep the fires burning
Without the usual waves of tourists supporting their endeavors, the 'ama' divers of the Ise Peninsula expand the scope of their operations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 20, 2020
Young female divers help keep tradition alive
As Japan's ama (female divers) numbers dwindle, younger divers strive to find ways to pass down the culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 28, 2018
Can dolphins teach humans how to come up for air?
A look at new dolphin research may help Japanese pearl and seafood divers and other free divers learn more about countering decompression sickness.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 19, 2018
The Shima Peninsula, where life is built on oysters and seafood
Shima Peninsula may be most famous for pearls, but the true treasure is its bountiful natural environment and a plateful of fresh oysters.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 21, 2017
Home of the cultured pearl, Toba in Ise-Shima has both history and living tradition
"To Bond," Ian Fleming wrote in his 1964 novel, "You Only Live Twice," "they all seemed beautiful in the soft evening light ... the gleaming, muscled buttocks, cleft by the black cord, the powerful thong round the waist with its string of oval lead weights."
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN PICTURES
Jul 13, 2016
Male divers part of Shima's free diving tradition
While the city of Shima in Mie Prefecture is famous for its tradition of female ama divers, men have similarly been hunting the depths without the assistance of breathing devices.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 25, 2016
Ise-Shima's traditional seafood foragers come up for air
When I arrive at the entrance of Hachiman-kamado, a women divers' hut in the village of Osatsu along the jagged coastline of the Ise-Shima region in Mie Prefecture, matriarch Reiko Nomura and three of her junior female free divers welcome me with beaming smiles.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2015
City withdraws controversial 'ama' divers mascot
The city of Shima in Mie Prefecture has scrapped its endorsement of a controversial mascot slammed by some locals as overly sexual and demeaning to local ama divers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2015
'Ama' divers denounce 'obscene' city mascot, demand its withdrawal
More than 100 ama divers are demanding that the coastal city of Shima, Mie Prefecture, scrap a newly adopted mascot on the grounds that it is obscene.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2015
Traditional 'ama' diving at risk as numbers plunge
Shinmei Shrine in Osatsu, a small community in Mie Prefecture, is a magnet for tourists from across the country, particularly women attracted by its supposed promise to accommodate at least one of each female worshipper's wishes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2014
Sea of Japan's medieval islands of exile luring workers
The Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan are turning history on its head.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2014
Skin divers turn to tourism to stem the tide
At the Sea People restaurant in Shima, a coastal hamlet in Mie Prefecture, sea diver Machiyo Yamashita wants a piece of a tourism industry dominated by the cities that sapped her town's vitality by luring away its youth.
JAPAN
Jan 26, 2014
Prefectures unite on 'ama' diving campaign for UNESCO culture listing
Eight prefectures announce a joint bid to promote “ama” diving culture for inclusion on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2013
Aging 'ama' female divers strive to revive ranks
With the number of traditional "ama" female divers declining nationwide, their elderly ranks have stepped up efforts to recruit younger divers and promote their products as a formal brand to make the occupation more financially rewarding.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores