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Angelica Attends School in Lima Angelica was only 17 years old when we got engaged. I felt that it was still too early for marriage, so I asked her parents to send her to school in Lima. Although I had clung to it for so long, I felt by this time that I had to completely abandon any hopes of doing architectural work. My future now had to be focussed fully on achieving success in my business activities. My dream for the future was now that the two of us would work together toward establishing a successful business. Since I had very little formal business training, I hoped that my fiancee would acquire formal training in that area. I asked Angelica's parents to allow her to attend a business school in Lima for a period offouryears. Infouryearsshewouldbe21 and, I thought, bythattime my own situation would be more solidly established. But the idea ofattending a school was not a simple matter. First, because Angelica had led a sheltered life we were concerned that she needed someone who could be trusted to look after her while she was in Lima. Mter considering it carefully, I decided to seek the help of Tatsujiro Kurotobi, who had been so kind to me when I first arrived in Peru. Mr. Kurotobi quickly agreed and said, "It will be no problem for her to stay with us while attending school. But we have many young men in our shop, so let me find a more appropriate place for her to stay." What he then added was unexpected and more upsetting. "It won't do for her to go to a business school. You should send her to the homemaking school run by a Japanese. The course is only for two years...." For those born in the Meiji period, even after many years in a foreign land, a woman's place was set solidly and could not be changed. Yet, when considered, there seemed to be a certain logic to what Mr. Kurotobi said. I said, "We gratefully accept your kindness," and left everything for him to arrange. Angelica moved to Lima and began commuting to a Japaneseoperated homemaking school. Mr. Kurotobi looked around but could not find a more appropriate place for Angelica to live while she attended the school, so she continued to stay for a while at his home. In the Kurotobi home she was treated very specially as the person "who is to be young Higashide's bride." From childhood, however.Angelica had been accustomed to work, so when the Kurotobi's employees dining tables were crowded, or when the maids and cooks were pressed with their work, she natuHIGASmDE -83 rally tried tohelp. When shewas caughtdoingsobythe ownerorother members of the Kurotobi family. she was scolded and told that she should not do such things. The Kurotobis felt that Angelica should not go out ofthe family's residential area within the Kurotobi compound. Mr. Kurotobi was extremely concerned about this and finally decided that it was not appropriate for her to live in his business-residential compound. He arranged for her to live in the home of the principal of the Lima Japanese Elementary School, where he felt she could learn the social graces ofan "upper status household." Angelica was to commute to the homemaking school while living in the home ofthe principal ofthe large and prestigious school. But, as we learned, the home ofsuch a leaderis not necessarily a "splendid household." Angelica soon became upset by her life at that household andcalledMrs. Kurotobi. She was broughtbacktolive inthe Kurotobi home. "There is nothing that I can learn from that household," she said. One cannotjudge, it seems, the nature ofpeople simply by their educational backgrounds or their official positions. A Big Decision. Transition From Being a "Wanderer" About a year after Angelica went to Lima, I was confronted with a big decision regarding my co-ownership of the Otani Company. Whenwehad takenoverthe businesses, mycooperativearrangement with Kato had worked extremely well. After two years, however. we had bothbecomefamiliarwith theoperations and ourinitial anxieties settled into a familiar routine. It was then that disagreements over the operations began to arise between us. The employees ofthe shops were caught up between our differing decisions and were often confused about what they should do. I felt that such a situation was not good for either of us, and I decided that we should end ourjointownership agreement. With two years ofexperience in running the businesses, I was confident that...

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