Divers and Pearls

The Divers

In the town of Toba where I live, women have dived the water for 2000 years. In celebration of this tradition, and to pay homage to the sea god Susano, the local divers gathered for an event at Kuzaki beach this past week. They are called ama in Japanese and about 100 of them made three dives for red abalone. A sizable crowd also gathered including news crews and countless photographers. Most of the photographers were older men with high-end camera gear. I've seen the type all over. They wear caps, vests and often carry more than one camera.

So there I was among these guys and we were jockeying for position to get our shots. It was surprising because Japanese are not really aggressive, but in this case they pushed and shoved for an unobstructed view of the ama. A few came more prepared than others by bringing footstools that allowed them to get above the throng of people. Now I'm wondering if I should buy one of my own.

A typical photographer

Getting their shots

Three friends accompanied me to the event. One of them was a Jamaican named Bridgette. She is a rather tall, black woman who happened to be wearing a bright pink shirt. Clearly, she stood out, and the old guys could not get enough pictures of her. At one point a photographer was standing only five feet away with a giant lens pointed at her face.  She looked at me and said, "Wat dis mon tryin ta do? Take pitcha uv me nose?" Later Bridgette got a little wet playing along the shore. She reacted by falling on her knees and howling out in laughter. Within seconds eight photographers encircled her to take pictures. Seeing how these locals behaved like paparazzi, we later joked that they had mistaken Bridgette for Beyonce.

Bridgette jumps for joy

Brush with Fame

Speaking of celebrities, I saw one at the event.  I went up the hill behind the beach to capture a wider angle of the festivities. When I got up there a camera crew was filming Ayako Imoto, a comedian who appears often on Japanese TV. Though she is probably in her thirties she always dresses up in a high school uniform. However, her most defining characteristic is her giant, fake eyebrows. My friend Eric who is a fan of her show told me she travels to exotic locations to do unusual things. For example, one time she went to Africa and let a cow piss on her head because it was a rite of passage for the males of some local tribe. When I recognized her, I readied my camera for a shot. But just then a woman with a sign said, "no photos." I lowered my camera and walked away, cursing under my breath. I'd have been damned if some TV production crew's, two-bit lackey was going to stop me. So further up the hill, from a distance of about 50m, I switched to my telephoto lens and zoomed in for shots of Ayako. Then for good measure I returned to the beach and took more pictures looking up.

Imoto-san

A shot looking up

As the event came to an end the news crew came to interview us. Actually, they were interested in Bridgette, but since she couldn't speak Japanese they turned their attention to Alexandra from America. I was a bit jealous seeing how they focused on the ladies rather than me. "So what do you think of this tradition being thousands of years old?" asked the NHK reporter. Mind you, NHK is Japan's largest network, and their news is the equivalent of ABC news in the States.

"Oh, I think it is great," replied Alexandra. "But it's unfortunate that more younger women do not want to become divers. With less and less divers each year the tradition may not last."

That was a very intelligent answer, I thought, and certainly better than anything I would have said. And Alexandra was right. Few young divers were among the group. In fact most the women appeared to be over 50. The Japanese friend we went with told us that her own grandmother had been a diver once, and did it until the age of 80 when the family forced her to retire. They didn't want her to drown. The old lady, meanwhile, would have been content to go out in style, doing the thing she loved. It very well might have happened. Those women free dive over 10m, and every year one or two don't make it back to the surface alive.

Alexandra gets interviewed

Another lesser network (Nagoya TV) interviewed us as well. Again Alexandra did most the talking. But the reporter asked about my camera and I told her that I love to take pictures. She wanted to see my best shot of the day so I dug through my files and showed her on the camera's LCD screen. Then, before we parted, she gave me a business card with her contact info, asking that I send the file via email. I followed up on her request and the interview footage ended up on a morning TV program called "Dodesuka."  I didn't see it, but many of my elementary school students did. I know because they told me all about it that very day--albeit in vague details.

"So what exactly did they show," I asked a second grader when she said I was on TV.

The little girl tilted her head and after a moment's pause said, "I don't remember."

A fourth grader said I had my camera, and a sixth grader recalled that I was at a beach somewhere.

The photo I showed

As for Alexandra, she made the 6 o'clock nationwide news on NHK. On their website they posted a video of the interview and Ama diving footage. Alexandra shared it with her family, and her sister who was given no context and couldn't understand the Japanese thought the report was about the discovery of a new type of abalone resembling a woman's vagina.

Ready to dive

They're off

Coming back to shore

Red Abalone

Pretty Ama

If I haven't made it clear already, ama are a big part of the local culture. Even before moving to Toba, I had learned about them and joked to friends that I would find and date one. Then I discovered they are all old, many of them grandmas. But there is a famous family called the Nakagawas. The grandmother, daughter and granddaughter are each divers, and the youngest is supposedly quite attractive. Or so Eric told me. A life-sized, cardboard cutout of the three ladies is at Toba Station, and I've seen it, yet it is hard to gauge the beauty of the granddaughter because of the oversized smile on her face. At the diving event I searched for them in vain. The problem was the divers were all suited up in their white garb and difficult to tell apart. So if I did see the Nakagawas I didn't recognize them.

The Nakagawa women

Ama of yesteryear

They're not young like this anymore

Mikimoto and His Pearls

Well, if there is one thing that Toba is famous for besides ama, it is oysters and pearls. In the past the women would dive for them off the coast. Then in the early 1900s a man by the name of Kokichi Mikimoto succeeded in culturing pearls. Though British biologists originally devised the technique, Mikimoto teamed up with a former dentist and perfected the way of seeding oysters on a commercial scale. The process is actually very complex, and about half the traumatized oysters die before maturing. Of those that survive only a few produce pearls, and the number that can be used in jewelry constitute but a small percentage of the overall yield. The rest are rejected because they are not round enough, or are too small or otherwise flawed, and they end up as crushed pearl powder, an ingredient for many high-end cosmetics.

Good pearls

Pearl calcium based products

In his lifetime Mikimoto became a very wealthy man. He set up pearl farms in the small bays that line the rugged coastline of Ise-Shima. In addition to producing pearls he also sold the meat of the oysters and ground down the shells to make fertilizer. 50 years have now passed since his death but the legacy of Mikimoto lives on through his business. The harvesting season is in winter because cold water affects the oysters in a way that produces the best quality of pearls. Their meat also becomes widely available at the time. A popular thing to do is visit a local restaurant and partake in an all you can eat feast. I personally do not like oysters, clams, abalone, sea cucumber, octopus, puffer fish, or the big spiny shrimp that are famous in the area. So people are quick to tell me that I'm missing out. But what do I care? I've lived in Japan long enough to discover plenty of things I do like to eat. Noodles and meat are plentiful for example, as are sandwiches. Plus I'm not that bad a cook and can fix up a dish at home when in the mood.

Oyster farms floating in an inlet

Cutting up raw abalone to eat

Not too far from my apartment is Mikimoto Pearl Island. The small island serves as a type of museum complex which commemorates the life and achievements of Mr. Mikimoto. It was there that I first saw ama divers. They put on a show to demonstrate their diving skills. But having now been to the event in Kuzaki, I realize the demonstration was nothing like the real thing. Rather it’s a watered down version meant to appease the curiosity of tourists. That said, I still believe the island warrants a visit. The exhibits are very in depth and have English explanations. There are also several ornamental pieces and examples of jewelry featuring pearls.

A demonstration 

In the exhibit hall

Pearl crown

Mikimoto. The man, the myth, the legend

In Conclusion

I love Toba. The town itself is a pearl nestled at the edge of the Shima peninsula. Learning about the local culture has been a great experience and I look forward to seeing and understanding more of the town.  The truth be told, even after being here for three months, I have yet to get a feel for the area beyond my apartment and the schools I work at. Further exploration of Toba will be a long, ongoing process, and one I will continue to undertake with my trusty camera.