Comments on: They carried the joys and sorrows of those living with the sea

They carried the joys and sorrows of those living with the sea

tellurian — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:45:52 -0800

Iwase Yoshiyuki "In the late 1920s, young Yoshiyuki received an early Kodak camera as a gift. Since the main livelihood of the town came from the sea, he gravitated there, and soon found a passion for "the simple, even primitive beauty" of ama – girls and women who harvested seaweed, turban shells and abalone from beneath the coastal waters." "By the late 1960s, they had disappeared. This body of work stands as the final, most comprehensive visual document of the life and work of these divers." [NSFW]

Note: the Ama section has more than the 15 previews shown, when you enter the slide show (there are 45).

By: crazy finger

crazy finger — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:08:08 -0800

Wow, some of these are really amazing. Somehow, looking at these images, it looks very modern to me. Hard to believe that these were a decade before the big war...

By: Staggering Jack

Staggering Jack — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:08:24 -0800

Thanks for the great post - I had never heard of the ama divers before. I really like this picture (from the Onjuku gallery).

By: amyms

amyms — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:12:27 -0800

Gorgeous photos. I like the "Glimpses" section the best.

By: lumensimus

lumensimus — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:21:44 -0800

These are pretty cool. Artists of all kinds, take note -- the interface here is entirely unfancy and completely functional. Sure, I didn't notice the page change button right away, but it's otherwise fantastic.

By: Pope Guilty

Pope Guilty — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:28:07 -0800

Actually, the interface could have been improved by making the pictures simple links instead of using javascript calls. I'm on a slow connection, and it would have been much, much better to be able to open a bunch of pictures in tabs, do something else, and then browse them at leisure than to have to click, wait for it to load, and then repeat the process once the picture has loaded. That said, these are beautiful photos.

By: onalark

onalark — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:35:05 -0800

Wow, these are pretty amazing.

By: eclectist

eclectist — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:21:18 -0800

That looks like an incredibly hard line of work, but in most of the pictures they are smiling.

By: krippledkonscious

krippledkonscious — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:33:03 -0800

I'm liking the historical photography trend going on here today. These are amazing, alright. I'm lucky to have a Japanese programming channel here that shows episodes of Soko Ga Shiritai - it was kind of a travel show that documented unusual/cool things around Japan, and they would frequently barge their way into family homes just to see if there was anything interesting going on. In an episode I watched recently, they went to Shirahama village where these women divers were still doing their thing - at around 60-70 years of age. The lady they were interviewing had permanent creases where her dive mask had furrowed into her cheeks over the course of 50 years. At the time the show aired, there were less than a dozen of these divers left in the village, and as none of the younger generation wanted to take up this kind of work it looked as though the lifestyle would disappear. Since the last Soko Ga Shiritai episode originally aired around 10 years ago, it made me wonder if this diving lifestyle was already gone. This article from 2003 is the newest I could immediately find.

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:12:54 -0800

It really is amazing that these were taken in the 20's and 30's. There's a very modern feel to them, and the villagers seem so unselfconscious and comfortable being nude in front of the camera and around each other. And because they village women were diving and swimming for a living, they are slender and fit in a way that very few women were, until working out and jogging became commonplace in the 80's. This one [NSFW], in particular, is so lovely (the photograph and the woman). It's hard to believe it was taken when my 87 year old grandmother was a small child. Thank you, tellurian. I'll share this with some of my friends.

By: nicolin

nicolin — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:27:18 -0800

Beautiful. Past. Japan. Women. Photographs. Post. Moment. Thank you very much.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:40:25 -0800

Lovely photos, thanks for posting this.

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:00:19 -0800

This one (unfortunately NSFW also) really struck me. The pose, the lighting, the contrast of the model against the background... Positively stunning. Cheers for the link.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:20:47 -0800

I love the way he makes hard work look like fun.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:23:01 -0800

the daughter of the occupation is probably my favorite. (under glimpses)

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:26:17 -0800

Half of these birds have their tits out. What about a NSFW warning? This FPP has made me sad.

By: fire&wings

fire&wings — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:28:13 -0800

Amazinginly iconic photographs. This is fantastic.

By: peacay

peacay — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:30:12 -0800

Great post. Thanks v. much tellurian.

By: Countess Elena

Countess Elena — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:52:21 -0800

dabitch, maybe it was fun, at least for a little while on a hot day. The ladies are laughing, maybe at the sea spray, or at a joke they told. I've never seen women so at home in their own bodies. They're neither ashamed nor defiantly Owning Their Sexuality. They're just as at ease as shirtless men in this day and age.

By: Frasermoo

Frasermoo — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:02:44 -0800

This one [NSFW], in particular, is so lovely (the photograph and the woman). It's hard to believe it was taken when my 87 year old grandmother was a small child. That's because it wasn't. Capation reads c.1955. But I know what you mean.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:04:28 -0800

What about a NSFW warning? There is one in the FPP, uncanny hengeman, did you not see it?

By: Marie Mon Dieu

Marie Mon Dieu — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:33:06 -0800

Gorgeous photos, thanks much. I love the one titled "Friends," from the Ama section.

By: uncanny hengeman

uncanny hengeman — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:35:23 -0800

There is one in the FPP, uncanny hengeman, did you not see it? Needed more marquee.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:39:03 -0800

MetaTalk

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:48:00 -0800

My god these are beautiful. Jaw-droppingly beautiful. Fascinating through and through. Thanks for this, tellurian; it's one of the best posts I've seen in weeks.

By: cosmonik

cosmonik — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:53:41 -0800

Absolutely awesome, tellurian. Some of these shots instantly transport me into the setting. Just today, I was thinking 'damn, never knew tellurian's blog was so damn good, and here you go sharing the love. Well done.

By: fearfulsymmetry

fearfulsymmetry — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:56:50 -0800

Beautiful photographs... sadly the Ama are now breathing their last

By: chunking express

chunking express — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:02:16 -0800

This is amazing.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:19:13 -0800

Wonderful shots—thanks very much for the post. /spent early childhood in Japan

By: notsnot

notsnot — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:25:02 -0800

Wow....fantastic. (Of course, the technician in me is wondering what film was used, what settings were on the camera, etc....)

By: jouke

jouke — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:31:56 -0800

James Bond among the Ama

By: biscotti

biscotti — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:13:19 -0800

These are just gorgeous, what an eye this guy had. Great pictures and such an interesting subject (especially in light of their historical significance as the last record of these people). Great post, this is why I love MeFi.

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:14:13 -0800

That's because it wasn't. Capation reads c.1955. But I know what you mean. Oh, my bad. But still...

By: bru

bru — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:21:15 -0800

Beautiful. Very Japanese in a way this harmony of composition, silky black and white, raw subject and formal poses, nature and artifice, and very warm and civilized empathy with the subjects. Thanks, tellurian.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:25:01 -0800

Of course, the technician in me is wondering I too, wondered about that notsno. From his site biography: "As Mr. Iwase's passion for photography deepened, his range of equipment expanded to include a bellows camera, a Super Six - [spelling? - google and wikipedia say nothing], a Sohoflex - [spelling? - google and wikipedia say nothing] and a Rollei (1929)." Can we estimate from the production date of cameras which shots were taken with which sort of camera (film and setting aside) also (sepia and black and white)? Can you identify the cameras here or here? '1945' was the earliest dated picture I saw on this site, so can we assume that all of these pictures were taken with the Rollei (do you use a hood with a Rollei [see])?

By: GoingToShopping

GoingToShopping — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:37:52 -0800

Quite striking, each and every one. I think it's quite telling both of their culture at the time, and our culture now, that these are marked NSFW. Something to think about, perhaps.

By: speug

speug — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:49:52 -0800

The Sohoflex was a pre-war British SLR (Marion & Co, 3 Soho Square, London W1). It took 3x4 inch plate or film and had a 4.75" Ross Xpres (Tessar type) F4.5 lens.

By: grobstein

grobstein — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:30:22 -0800

They remind me of The Sound of Waves.

By: peachfuzz

peachfuzz — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:59:22 -0800

Oh, these are beautiful images. I have always been really interested by the sea-women - the southern Korean islands have a long history of them too (here's an old NY Times piece on the haenyo). Their breadwinner status changes their roles in the community; fascinating stuff. It is an ugly, hard, sometimes bloody job, though. The tendency is to romanticize (or eroticize) them, but these are women who free-dive to a hundred feet and hold their breath for minutes at a time. My mother used to tell me about women who would break the surface, blood pouring from their ears - accidents - incidents with sealife - drownings. These are lovely photographs, but it must have been a hard life.

By: perilous

perilous — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:09:27 -0800

The ability to describe how these incredibly beautiful photos made me feel is beyond me. I had never heard of the Ama, and now I'm grieving hard for their loss, and the loss of so many other things... Thank you so much for posting this.

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:19:09 -0800

he gravitated there, and soon found a passion for "the simple, even primitive beauty" of ama Well, there's a minefield here, you know: questions concerning class, the erotic representation of working women (a longstanding tradition in 19th century England) and exactly who these photographs were taken for, and how they were used, and so on (were they sold in the West for purposes of sexually charged exotica? where were they previously published? etc.) but I'm not sure that a discussion on this subject would be welcome in this thread....

By: mediareport

mediareport — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:57:01 -0800

Why wouldn't it? They're good questions, and you framed them well.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:00:50 -0800

jokeefe, I was wondering the same things - esp since these shots are mostly post-war. I like the photos and am pleased to learn about the ama, though.

By: cazoo

cazoo — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:00:18 -0800

In korea, the ama divers are referred to as haenyo, which means sea maidens or mermaids. And when I was in Hawaii I actually met an older woman who used to be a pearl diver in her youth. She told me a story of how she was enlisted by the US Navy to help keep refuse from damaging the bottom of their ships and only these teenage girl divers were able to go under because they were used to the sea pressure without any scuba gear for long periods of time. Great stuff.

By: cazoo

cazoo — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:03:57 -0800

whoops, didn't see you there peachfuzz. :)

By: cazoo

cazoo — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:10:25 -0800

Oh and check out Juzo Itami's 1986 film Tampopo. There is one segment which has a tiny bit with an ama diver which was serenely magical.

By: infini

infini — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:33:36 -0800

if i wasn't already linked to tellurian i'd link today thank you

By: jouke

jouke — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:31:05 -0800

Interesting addition peachfuzz and cazoo.

By: lometogo

lometogo — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 16:53:42 -0800

GoingToShopping, although these photos might be NSFW in the Excited States, in some more enlightened and less sexually repressed parts of the world, viewers would have no need to skulk around to view them at work. Vive La France!