
Lifestyle Jan 20, 2020
Young female divers help keep tradition alive
by Yuka Nakao
As Japan's ama (female divers) numbers dwindle, younger divers strive to find ways to pass down the culture.
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.
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.
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.
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 ...
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.
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. The ...
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. The move, announced Thursday, came after the city, slated to host next year's Group of Seven summit, ...
'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. They say the demure girl cartoon character, with large breasts, tight top and skirt riding up her thighs, ...
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. But the shrine is more than just an ordinary ...
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. "I want to cook and serve customers ...
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.
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. The time and effort put into landing their catches ...