“I just love the sea and being in the water,” she says after resurfacing. Ohno is an ama diver, or a “sea woman” as they are known in Japan. For centuries, these traditional fisherwomen have lived off ...

Known as ama divers or “sea women," these women have long relied on the sea for their livelihood, using only basic tools and their diving skills to gather fresh seafood from the seabed. Aiko Ohno is ...

The Ama divers of Japan, primarily in Toba and Shima, preserve an ancient tradition of free diving for shellfish and pearls, dating back 3000 years. Around 2,000 divers remain, sustaining their ...

The ama divers of Ise-Shima, Japan’s sea-women, carry on a centuries-old tradition of freediving for seafood, blending adventure with cultural preservation. In the cool waters off Japan’s Ise ...

Elemental and mythic, Mermaid Legend exudes a lyrical melancholia for the dying way of life of seafaring fishermen and ama divers. Set in a coastal fishing hamlet, Toshiharu Ikeda’s eco thriller finds ...

Ise-Shima, Japan (CNN) — Aiko Ohno dives down in the cool waters off Japan’s Ise-Shima National Park, scanning the rocky seabed for urchins and turban shells. Three meters deep, she swims with ...

“I just love the sea and being in the water,” she says after resurfacing. Ohno is an ama diver, or a “sea woman” as they are known in Japan. For centuries, these traditional fisherwomen ...