Culture
Underwater With the Fisherwomen of Japan
Meet the ama keeping an ancient profession alive.
On The Job is a series of conversations with the people who keep neighborhoods running.
In the seaside city of Toba, on Japan’s Shima peninsula, two women prepare to free dive to depths of 20 meters in search of abalone, octopus, sea cucumbers, lobster, and seaweed. Before every excursion, they zip up black rubber wetsuits with white scarves covering their heads. They warm themselves in front of a kamado, or “fire,” before stepping into the waves.