The Ama-San women of Japan uphold a 2,000-year-old tradition of free-diving. Ama means “sea woman,” and the connection these women have with the ocean is one of utmost care and respect, something in this day and age we could all learn from.
Why Ama-San divers are treasured
What makes the Ama unique is that they rejected modern technology that would have made their working life much easier. They wanted to protect the abalone they dive for and prevent overfishing.
The ban remains to this day. They dive to depths of up to 80 feet, holding their breath for two minutes at a time without the aid of oxygen tanks or breathing apparatus. They harvest seaweed, oysters, and abalone off coastal Japan in the Mie Prefecture, 185 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Ama in art, literature, and poetry
You can find references to the Ama in the 8th-century Man’yoshu collection of Japanese Poetry, and the 10th-century Sei Shonagnon’s Pillow Book. Along with ukiyo-e paintings by Japanese woodblock artists — a genre that presented “pictures of the floating world” to people. The Ama continue to capture the imagination of many photographers, filmmakers, and writers to this day.
There are two types of Ama-San
- Oyogido: they go out on boats to dive deeper depths of up to 80 feet.
- Kachido: they swim out to the diving areas close to shore, and dive to shallow depths of 6-14 feet.
These are the tools of their profession:
- Tegane or Kaigane — a sharp tool used to wedge open stubborn abalone from the rocks.
- A wooden tub — connected to them by rope for storing the catch. Also used as a buoy to rest on and catch their breath in between dives.
- Weighted belts — to aid their descent to deeper depths.
- Goggles — introduced in the 1900s.
- Wetsuits — up until the 1970s, they wore only a Fundoshi (loincloth) but now they wear wetsuits. Women have a greater tolerance to cold, as their bodies have an extra layer of fat, which allows them to dive for longer than men.
- Tenugui — to cover their hair. This bandanna has writing on it to serve as a good luck charm, and it is said to protect the diver from evil spirits.
Amagoya (Ama huts): a place to connect
The Ama hut or Amagoya was a nest for the group to gather to warm themselves in-between dives. The group valued teamwork, and it’s here that they would connect. The time spent in the hut was a chance for the younger divers to listen to the more experienced divers and hear the secrets of where the best abalone are.
A lot of the breathing techniques and diving skills come with practice, but the valuable knowledge about the local reef environment was shared in the Amagoya.
The future of Japan’s Ama-San
The practice of free-diving would normally be passed from mother to daughter. But the Ama profession is slowly dying out now due to the pressures of modern life. However, some divers continue up to the age of 70.
And there are still some young ones out there who feel the pull of the ocean drawing them back to this traditional lifestyle.
