One of Japan’s youngest ama divers
Ama newcomer living out her dreams beneath the waves
After watching a television series in junior high school about a teenage girl from Tokyo who relocates to the Sanriku Coast in Japan’s Tohoku region to become a female Ama diver, Miku Higuchi was hooked.
The 19-year-old Higuchi, who recently became the first female diver in five years to make her debut at Mikimoto Pearl Island, is now helping to attract tourists to the region by taking part in demonstrations to collect sea urchins, pearl oysters and other shellfish in Toba Bay, Mie Prefecture.
“I would like to pass on this traditional method of fishing to many people,” said Higuchi about the Ama diving culture that at one time flourished on the island. Ama divers are Japanese divers, famous for collecting pearls.
Higuchi, who lives in Shima, Mie Prefecture, was inspired by her father’s love of fishing and became an ocean and swimming enthusiast at an early age.
She was in her third year of middle school when she took an interest in Ama diving after watching the hit series Amachan, which aired on Japan’s public broadcast station NHK in 2013. She later enrolled at a fisheries high school, where she had the opportunity to obtain her diving certificate.
In a career consultation session, Higuchi’s head teacher told her that the operator of Mikimoto Pearl Island, which houses a pearl museum and offers Ama diving demonstrations, was taking applications for divers, so she decided to apply.
Kokichi Mikimoto, founder of the luxury Mikimoto pearl company, created the world’s first cultured pearl in 1893.
Back in those days, it was the job of the Ama divers, who descend to the depths without scuba gear or tanks, to collect pearl oysters from the seabed, so that the pearl-producing nucleus could be inserted.
Once this process was completed, the Ama divers were also responsible for carefully returning the oysters to the water, making sure they were safely tucked away and protected from potentially decimating typhoons and algal blooms, known as red tides.
Although Ama divers played a crucial role at the time, with the development of new technology the need for their skills steadily declined. Nowadays, the majority of female Ama divers are well into their 60s and 70s.
Since joining the company that manages Mikimoto Pearl Island in April, Higuchi has been hard at work refining her diving technique and learning from her elders.
“They told me to swim like a mermaid,” she said.
Initially, Higuchi was only able to hold her breath for about five seconds submerged in 5-6m of water, but before long she could spend about half a minute beneath the waves.
“She has rid herself of excess movement,” said the company’s supervisor about Higuchi’s improvement. In fact, Higuchi was able to make her debut in June, a month earlier than expected.
Like all the women of Ama at Mikimoto Pearl Island, Higuchi dons the white cotton isogi when diving.
The most rewarding feeling comes when after making several unsuccessful dives, she is finally able to bring up a shellfish to show tourists who have gathered to watch her work.
Her main problem now is mastering the isobue, a piercing whistling sound the women make as they slowly exhale upon resurfacing. The technique helps the divers regulate their breathing and allows them to dive for longer.
“I hope to do my best to learn from my elders,” Higuchi said.
I would like to pass on this traditional method of fishing to many people