"Women Divers of Japan"

[Mulboyne]

Mikimoto Pearl Island divers and a gratuitous picture of Yuriko Doguchi - the pearl diver in "Tampopo"
Michigan Today (1998): Women Divers of Japan

Imagine yourself 30 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, so deep in the murky water that the noon sun is just a dull gleam like a flashlight. Powerful waves undiminished by any breakwater roll above you, and cause strong surges beneath the surface that yank you forward and backwards with each sweep...You have descended willingly, but now that you're down there, you've got to find something to bring back before you will permit yourself to breathe again...If you're lucky enough to find your target, a $40-a-pound abalone, then it's time to get the tools out and start wrestling. Abalone resemble suction cups about five inches in diameter, and while their top part is protected by a thick mother-of-pearl shell, they are grabbing onto rocks with their underside with enough strength that you can't pry them off with your bare hands, hence the necessity of a tool that looks like a combination spatula-crowbar-knife...The abalone is literally fighting for its life, and you feel like you are, having gotten so caught up in the struggle that you feel that you must remain struggling until you've secured your prey, or else you've made your 60-foot, 80-second roundtrip for nothing, because if you ease up for a moment, the abalone will slither deeper between the rocks out of your reach.

[kotatsuneko]

kono ama!

brought to you from the Red Punster! (new hamtaro on gba has such a fine script )

[kotatsuneko]

V. nice linky btw, along with another 20 or so unseen jpn dvds, tampopo sits neglected on the shelf, will have to get round to watching it, the usa version i got has a very poor cover though..

there was a book written about "ama" in the 60s or 70s wasnt there? I saw it at Fine Books Oriental near the British musuem but it was a bit too pricey, next time i splash out there i'll see if i can't get a discount..

[Mulboyne]

Monterey County Herald: JAPAN'S DIVING DIVAS

It could happen again someday. But don't hold your breath. After all, until Friday morning, it hadn't happened for more than a century. And even Emiko Yoshida and Reiko Miyamoto can't hold their breath that long. The stars of Friday's show at Whaler's Cove at Point Lobos, Yoshida and Miyamoto hold their breath professionally. They're "ama" -- Japanese for women divers -- and they make their living in Japan "free diving" for abalone and other seafood. That is, they use only their own lung power, no breathing gear, in dives that typically last about 80 seconds. Their abalone diving exhibition at Whaler's Cove Friday, the opening event of the Abalone Festival and Symposium 2006, was the first free diving anyone had done there since 1897. "Back then, three divers went into the water and came out very quickly," said Sandy Lydon, historian emeritus at Cabrillo College and director of the festival. "They said very politely, 'We're not going back in there.'" Yoshida and Miyamoto were a tad wiser than those guys. They weren't sure they wanted to go into Whaler's Cove at all when they were first invited to the event. That is because they knew what the earlier divers had to discover for themselves: The water temperature is 17 to 18 degrees lower here than in Japan...more...

[Mulboyne]

UPI: Women divers preserve unique Japanese tradition

The Japanese people, surrounded by oceans, have naturally developed a refined appetite for seafood. Their favorite sushi, or raw fish, has now become popular around the globe. This sea-bound environment has promoted a unique occupation called ama, or female divers who collect seafood. In the coastal city of Toba, west of Tokyo, housewives still carry on the tradition of diving and gathering precious marine products such as abalone, turban shells and sea cucumbers. They dive without any special equipment. Located at the end of a peninsula, washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the area is one of Japan's oldest fishing communities. Since the 17th century its people have relied on the ocean for their livelihood -- fishing, diving and coastal whaling.

A world-renowned cultured pearl industry has developed in the adjacent Ago Bay since the early 20th century. But the history of women divers dates back much further -- at least to the 8th century, when their trade was mentioned in a classic poetry collection. "For women who married villagers in the coastal area, diving was a natural role that wives could play to make some additional money," says Reiko Nomura, a 73-year-old active diver. In the good old days, she says, the women's income could far exceed their husbands'. "Diving skill was one measure of our worth in those days," says Nomura, who began diving when she was 15 years old. Even pregnancy did not stop her. She once went underwater one day before delivering her baby.

While the men sweated on the farms or engaged in other labor, the women dressed in white costumes to prevent sharks from approaching and submerged themselves into the 10-meter-deep blue water, sometimes with the aid of heavy sinkers. Within one minute they had to grab the catch and hurry to the surface. They tossed their haul into a floating bag and bobbed back underwater to repeat the same action. Apparently their subcutaneous fat helps women endure longer hours in the cold water than their male counterparts, according to the divers. Naturally the work involves many dangers, even when the waves are not high. The divers' ears are apt to be affected by rapidly changing water pressure during diving and surfacing. Seaweed could become entwined in their hands or feet, delaying their return to the surface and endangering their lives. Nowadays the women wear wetsuits, hydroscopes and flippers. But they don't use other diving gear or equipment that would tempt them to stay underwater longer and catch more, as this would expose them to greater risk of caisson disease, or compression sickness. The traditional method of relying on human strength is quite reasonable for this work, says a veteran guide at a museum featuring maritime culture in Toba City's township of Ousatsu.

The township claims to have the largest number of women divers in the area, with about 170 engaged in the job out of approximately 1,600 residents. But this is significantly down from the peak of more than 600 divers a few decades ago, according to the guide. Besides, their catch has been decreasing. "In the past we used to get a good haul right away. Now you need to look around for awhile to pick up something," says Hisako Imura, at 82 the oldest active diver in the area. The declining catch is one reason the number of divers has decreased remarkably. Unlike the past, diving is no longer the only money-making opportunity for the town's female population. One middle-aged diver admits that she lets her daughter work in an office. Still, in an effort to keep up the tradition, the older women are teaching young wives from other towns to dive. Some of them also operate a makeshift seaside restaurant, offering their own catch in the same hut where they used to warm themselves and relax after hours of diving. Whether for income, sport or to preserve their cultural heritage, these women are intent on preserving this unique maritime tradition.

[Mulboyne]

...a gratuitous picture of Yuriko Doguchi - the pearl diver in "Tampopo"...

That scene is 1:42 into this clip: