Iwase Yoshiyuki
was born in 1904 in Onjuku, a fishing village on the pacific side of
the Chiba peninsula, which encloses Tokyo Bay on the east. After
graduating from Meiji University Law School in 1924, he took up lifelong
pursuits, heading the family sake distillery and documenting the
receding traditions of coastal Japan. In the late 1920’s Yoshiyuki
received an early Kodak camera as a gift. Since the main livelihood of
the town came from the sea he gravitated there, and soon found a passion
for “the simple, even primitive beauty” of ama – girls and women who
harvested seaweed, turban shells and abalone from beneath the coastal
waters..
This way of life has now completely disappeared but Yoshiyuki’s photographs provide a stunning visual testament to these fascinating women. His total output is of a very hight standard but it is his photographs of the ama divers which are truly iconic
This way of life has now completely disappeared but Yoshiyuki’s photographs provide a stunning visual testament to these fascinating women. His total output is of a very hight standard but it is his photographs of the ama divers which are truly iconic
