Kiku Ezaki is a celebrated figure in Toba, Japan, where her family-run ryokan and her leadership at the Kaito Yumin Club connect both locals and visitors to the ancient traditions of the Ama—Japan’s renowned women freedivers. Known for her warm, magnetic personality, Kiku is a passionate cultural ambassador for the Ama way of life, which has endured for over a thousand years. She introduces travelers to the profound beauty of Toba’s coastal waters and the unique role of the Ama, who dive skillfully without tanks or air support, and are known for harvesting seafood and carrying forward a powerful lineage of sustainability and resilience.
Under Kiku’s guidance, people have the rare opportunity to experience Ama diving firsthand, exploring Toba’s Mitsu Island chain, a rich habitat known for sea urchins, or uni. With her colleague Aiko Ohno, the youngest Ama diver in the area, Kiku demonstrates this ancient practice while sharing her expertise in both modern scuba and freediving. Kiku embodies a blend of tradition and modernity, bridging the past and future of Ama diving in a rapidly changing environment.
Today, Kiku and her fellow Ama divers face profound challenges—not only from the effects of climate change but also from within their own community. The Ama tradition, passed down through generations, is at risk as fewer young people are willing to take on this demanding way of life. Freediving for food is arduous, often dangerous, and requires years of skill development and physical endurance. This, combined with rising sea temperatures and shifting marine ecosystems that have reduced local seafood supplies, threatens the future of the Ama.
In response, Kiku has turned to eco-tourism as a means of cultural preservation and environmental advocacy. By sharing the Ama story with visitors, she raises awareness of the climate impacts on their waters and encourages a deeper appreciation for sustainable practices. Kiku hopes that by bringing the Ama’s mission to light, she can inspire greater support for conservation and perhaps even empower a new generation of divers to carry on this vital tradition.
Kiku’s commitment to the Ama legacy goes beyond cultural heritage; it speaks to a larger mission of coexistence with nature. Through her work, she invites others to engage with the ocean respectfully and sustainably, amplifying Ama’s ethos and their role as frontline stewards of the sea. She is proving to be successful, working alongside young freedivers in her community to create the next generation of ocean advocates as well as harvesters in a rapidly changing world.
