Japans najader (1958)

A typical day in the life of a family of fisher-folk usually begins with the first rays of the morning sun, for advantage is taken of every hour of daylite. The mother prepares breakfast over an open fire in the kitchen while the rest of the family get dressed. The father skippers a fishing vessel and the elder daughter is an Ama, or diving girl. After breakfast father and daughter leave for the harbor and beach. Teamwork and cooperation is the key to success in fishing villages. The Ama girls are concerned with a different kind of marine crop - a variety of seaweed called "Heavens Grass". These girls who have superior stamina and exceptional physique, take to the sea early in life and by the age of 15 are experienced divers. Caring for the catch is a community responsibility and everyone answers the call to help when the sardine fleet returns at the end of the day. When the catch has been packed and shipped, boats lie at rest in the harbor. Evening brings relaxation and rest to these hard-working people who have so richly earned it. Tomorrow, the struggle begins again, the struggle to wrest a living from the sea that has always been the life-giving garden of Japan.

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