The modern breathing apparatus has made this hazardous profession obsolete.
Today, skin-diving is performed mostly as a form of competitive sport to demonstrate ones skills and endurance.
But there are still cultures around the world that thrive to keep alive this traditional practice.
The Ama are one of them.
An Ama diver at the Mikimoto Island pearl farming facility.
Photo:Stefan Lins/Flickr
Ama means sea women.
Historical records show the tradition dates back to at least 2,000 years.
They tied a rope around their waists, connecting them to the boat.
Others have embraced modern technology such as black wetsuits and flippers.
Between shifts they spend time on the beach warming up under the sun or by a fire.
Yet, many divers continue working till ripe old age.
It is not unusual to find Ama divers in their seventies and eighties and still be prime in health.
Girls born into Ama families start training when they are only a few years old.
They learn the skills from their mothers and other elder women in the family.
By the time they reach 14, they are usually ready to dive.
Once there were thousands of Ama divers across Japan.
According to a 2010 survey, there are only around two thousand Ama divers left in the nation.
Photo: Eishin Osaki
Photo: Fosco Maraini
Ama divers pulling in a boat.
Ama divers, circa 1950.
Two pearl divers wade in the surf carrying their nets.
Photo: Horace Bristol/CORBIS
An Ama pearl diver at Mikimoto Pearl Island.
