The Ama divers One of the lesser-known but fascinating parts of Japanese culture is that of the Ama pearl divers . Ama are Japanese divers, famous for collecting pearls. The majority of ama are women. Ama means "sea woman". Japanese tradition holds that the practice of ama may be 2,000 years old. Traditionally, and even as recently as the 1960s, ama dived wearing only a loincloth. Even in modern times, ama dive without scuba gear or air tanks, making them a traditional sort of free-diver. Depending on the region, ama may dive with masks, fins, and torso-covering wet suits at the most. Only divers who work for tourist attractions use white, partially transparent suits. Ama are famous for pearl diving, but originally they dived for food like seaweed, shellfish, lobsters, octopus, and sea urchins — and oysters which sometimes have pearls. Ama can keep diving well into...
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