Image:
Met opolis
Japa
Fo
ge e atio s,
wome
alo g
Japa ’s
Ise-Shima
coastli e
have
e te ed
the
sea
without
scuba
equipme t
o
oxyge
ta ks
to
gathe
seafood
f om
the
seabed.
K ow
as
Ama,
o
‘wome
of
the
sea’,
these
t aditio al
f ee
dive s
ely
o
b eath-holdi g,
yea s
of
expe ie ce
a d
a
i timate
k owledge
of
the
ocea .
Some
have
co ti ued
the
dema di g
wo k
well
i to
thei
70s
a d
80s.
I
2012,
The
Japa
Times
p ofiled
Reiko
Nomu a,
a
80-yea -old
fo me
Ama
dive
i
Osatsu,
Mie
P efectu e,
who
had
spe t
most
of
he
life
divi g
fo
abalo e
a d
othe
sea
c eatu es.
Today,
the
t aditio
su vives
mai ly
i
coastal
commu ities,
although
the
umbe
of
active
Ama
co ti ues
to
decli e.
Japa ’s
‘wome
of
the
sea’
dive
without
oxyge
ta ks
Ama,
a
Japa ese
te m
commo ly
t a slated
as
‘woma
of
the
sea’,
a e
t aditio al
female
f ee
dive s
who
collect
ma i e
life
di ectly
f om
coastal
wate s.
U like
scuba
dive s,
they
do
ot
ca y
ai
ta ks.
They
dive
o
a
b eath,
sea ch
the
seabed
a d
etu
to
the
su face
befo e
taki g
a othe
b eath.Japa ’s
Natio al
Tou ism
O ga izatio
says
expe ie ced
Ama
ca
f ee-dive
to
a ou d
15
met es
a d
hold
thei
b eath
fo
up
to
about
60
seco ds.
Thei
catches
ca
i clude
abalo e,
tu ba
shells,
sea
u chi s,
sea
cucumbe s
a d
seaweed.The
p actice
is
pa ticula ly
associated
with
Toba
a d
Shima
i
Mie
P efectu e,
whe e
ma y
of
Japa ’s
emai i g
Ama
co ti ue
to
wo k.
Ise-Shima’s
coastli e,
with
its
bays
a d
ich
ma i e
e vi o me t,
has
p ovided
the
setti g
fo
this
disti ctive
fishi g
cultu e
fo
ge e atio s.
The
t aditio
dates
back
thousa ds
of
yea s
Ama
divi g
is
f eque tly
desc ibed
as
a
t aditio
dati g
back
mo e
tha
3,000
yea s.
Japa ’s
tou ism
autho ities
desc ibe
the
p actice
as
bei g
pa t
of
the
cou t y’s
ocea -fishi g
cultu e
fo
th ee
to
five
thousa d
yea s,
while
othe
official
mate ial
places
its
docume ted
histo y
mo e
co se vatively,
oti g
efe e ces
to
Ama
i
the
eighth-ce tu y
Ma ’yoshu
poet y
collectio .This
mea s
the
safest
desc iptio
is
that
Ama
divi g
is
a
a cie t
t aditio
with
thousa ds
of
yea s
of
histo y,
athe
tha
claimi g
that
today’s
exact
divi g
p actices
have
emai ed
u cha ged
fo
p ecisely
3,000
yea s.The
k owledge
equi ed
fo
the
wo k
has
t aditio ally
bee
passed
f om
o e
ge e atio
to
a othe .
Expe ie ced
dive s
lea
how
to
ecog ise
p oductive
a eas,
u de sta d
cha gi g
sea
co ditio s
a d
ha vest
ma i e
life
without
exhausti g
local
esou ces.
