“Yes. Contract says, ‘Next payment when masts stepped,’ but masts not stepped yet, so Yotsuda-san is ashamed to ask for money. It is a great disgrace to the Japanese people.”
“To the Japanese people?”
“Yes. You are foreign gentleman. You have made very careful contract. To foreigners, contract is important. So Japanese people much disgraced if Yotsuda-san cannot keep contract.”
“Don’t Japanese people have contracts among themselves?”
“Of course!” said Mr. Yasuda. “They have contracts, but do not use them. If contract is no good, they forget it.”
“Mr. Yasuda,” I said, “tell Yotsuda-san to forget the contract and build the boat.”
“Ah,” said Mr. Yasuda happily. “I think it would be much better.”
With the threat of disgrace from contractual obligations removed from Yotsuda’s shoulders, together with judicious advances of small sums at regular intervals, work again proceeded slowly and happily, interrupted only by the prolonged O-bon festivals of the fall months, the bad weather in November, and of course by the expected hiatus at New Year’s.
By early March the work was far enough along so that I thought we should discuss a definite date for the launching, but I was determined that this date, once set, would not be postponed, and stressed this strongly at the next group meeting.
Mr. Yasuda seemed surprised. “But date for launching is already decided.”