Meet Japan’s ‘women of the sea’: 80-year-old diver dives into cold waters without an oxygen tank to harvest seafood using a centuries-old tradition

For generations, women along Japan’s Ise-Shima coastline have entered the sea without scuba equipment or oxygen tanks to gather seafood from the seabed. Known as Ama, or ‘women of the sea’, these traditional free divers rely on breath-holding, years of experience and an intimate knowledge of the ocean.