[supote]

Originally Posted by crispus

Years before Ian Fleming had James Bond discover them in "You Only Live Twice ", I had a fascination with ama, the woman fisher/divers of Japan (yes I realize how that dates me, but remember, it was a late Bond, and I was precocious). Unlike Klondike's earlier-posted "Tribal Women," they generally were fully dressed, except at work, where they wore a precursor of the bikini, minus the top, often more like "le minimum" worn "in town" by nudists at Ile du Levant. Eventually, and especially after WWII, they gradually were forced to cover up, often wearing white robelike garments to dive, but there are still pictures of the good old days. Here's a sampling:

I have Fosco Maraini's book "Fisherwomen of Japan," from which almost all of these photos come. Let me know if anyone is interested.