June

June is the seasonal threshold for the Ama of Kuro Island: as the sea warms after winter and diving begins, the island’s people renew their relationship with the Six Jizo Guardians through a procession and songs. The month gives the community’s working season a ritual beginning, joining a change in the sea to a collective appeal for protection.

Seasonal Threshold

The observance takes place at the beginning of June, when the sea has warmed after winter and diving starts. June therefore marks more than a date on the calendar in the account: it signals the return to the sea and the start of the Ama’s diving season.

The Procession to the Guardians

At the beginning of every June, every person on the island forms a procession to the Six Jizo Guardians and sings to make them happy and favorable toward the community. The statues stand on the foreshore along the low-tide line; five remain visible, while the sixth has been mostly washed away. As the tide rises, the water covers them, and they are understood to keep watch beneath the surface over the Ama, known as the Children of the Sea.

Communal Protection

The yearly procession makes the seasonal transition communal and devotional. Its songs seek the Guardians’ favor at the moment diving begins, when the islanders return to the sea on which their livelihood depends. June thus connects the rhythm of seasonal work with the island’s inherited practice of asking for protection.