The women free divers known as 'ama' have fired the Japanese imagination for centuries. For over 30 years Kusukazu Uraguchi (1922-1988) photographed them at work collecting abalone, shellfish and seaweed to fund their financial independence. Shot in the Shima region along the Pacific coast of Japan, his images are collected in this renowned book, Shima no Ama.
Resulting from extensive research among nearly 40,000 negatives, almost all of them previously unpublished, this remarkable archive of landscapes, portraits and underwater views tells the story of both the daily life and the special place of the ama community within Japanese society. Uraguchi's images speak as much of cultural heritage as of modernity, as these communities have undergone profound changes in the wake of the wave of urbanisation that swept Japan after the war. His photographic language – the plastic strength of his contrasting blacks and whites, his sense of deframing, gestures captured in their spontaneity – celebrates the freedom of bodies, solidarity and the spirit of independence.
To shed light on the many facets of this work, the images are accompanied by an essay by Sonia Voss that unveils the mysterious world of this community, as well as a text by Chihiro Minato that contextalises this work in the history of photography. A glossary inspired by the writings of Japanese ethnologist Kiyoko Segawa and dedicated to the world of fishing and diving reveals all the richness and technicality of their discipline.
Atelier EXB, 168, 22cm x 28cm, illustrated hardback, 2025
