In lack of female freedivers, Japanese sea festival turns to volunteers

By Kyung Hoon Kim

MINAMIBOSO, Japan (Reuters) – As they swam into the ocean, Japan’s legendary “ama” prayed with torches lighting the night for a bountiful catch in a ceremony that has been performed by these female freedivers for decades.

This year, most of the 80 white-clad participants at the weekend event in Minamiboso on the Pacific coast were volunteers, as age and lack of interest have meant that fewer women are willing to make a living from this type of diving in this fishing community.

Japan has the world’s oldest population and the number of female ama (a Japanese word for diving fishermen) fell to just 40 in Minamiboso’s Shirahama district last year, a 70 percent drop from 2006, according to a local fishing cooperative.

In 2023, they were on average 72 years old, compared to 68 in 2006.

“Those who still go out to sea are getting quite old. We’ve been able to keep the festival going by asking people in this area and beyond to help,” said Shoichi Iida, who has helped organize the festival for years.

In keeping with their age-old practice, the ama still dive without scuba gear or air tanks. Many divers say it is hard work with little pay, and their numbers continue to dwindle as few young women take up the tradition.

“This is not the kind of job that will earn you money right away,” said Yoshino Hirano, who has worked as an ama for 16 years.

Despite the drawbacks, Ayumi Inoue, a 51-year-old local resident, trained as an ama three years ago.

“I grew up with older women working as ama, and I found the smiles on their tanned faces very attractive and cool,” Inoue said. “Seeing the number of ama divers decreasing makes me sad, honestly.”

(Reporting by Kyung Hoon Kim; Writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Miral Fahmy)