Ama – Pearl Diving Mermaids of Japan

One of the lesser-known but fascinating parts of Japanese culture is that of the Ama pearl divers. Ama (海女 in Japanese), literally means ‘woman of the sea’ and is recorded as early as 750 in the oldest Japanese anthology of poetry. These women specialized in freediving some 30 feet down into cold water wearing nothing more than a loincloth. 

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