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Which detail best shapes the idea that the japanese art of boat building may be lost to future generations? excerpt from school of hard knots by alex hanson?

the typical apprenticeship with a japanese traditional boatbuilder lasts six years, during which an apprentice can expect to spend a lot of time sweeping the shop floor and sharpening tools while watching the master ply his trade. work is conducted in silence, questions are answered elliptically, if at all, and, by the end, the master will have withheld key pieces of knowledge that the apprentice is expected to acquire through guile or outright theft. even in japan, where traditional crafts are revered, this system is too grueling, too much at odds with modern life, to survive. it is no wonder, then, that as a generation of japanese boatwrights has retired, their knowledge has retired with them. vermont boatbuilder douglas brooks is trying to ensure that the centuries-old designs for fishing boats and water taxis don't follow these craftsmen to the grave. for more than two decades, brooks has researched traditional boatmaking in japan, and has done short, nontraditional apprenticeships to record boat designs. ordinarily, no westerner would have a hope of learning in a few weeks what usually takes years of patient observation to acquire.

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Final answer:

The potentially lost art of Japanese boat building is best illustrated by the description of the rigorous apprenticeship process that is losing favor in modern society, which could lead to the disappearance of this traditional knowledge.

Step-by-step explanation:

The detail that best shapes the idea that the Japanese art of boat building may be lost to future generations is the grueling and secretive nature of traditional apprenticeships, which are at odds with modern life. The traditional apprenticeship system in Japan lasts six years and involves a great deal of observation and indirect learning, with masters withholding key knowledge that apprentices must discern on their own. This method is increasingly incompatible with contemporary lifestyles, leading to a decline in the number of apprentices and the risk that the specialized knowledge of boat building will die out with the retirement of the current generation of master craftsmen. Fortunately, individuals like Vermont boatbuilder Douglas Brooks are working to document and preserve these traditional techniques.

User Wsbaser
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Final answer:

The typical apprenticeship with a Japanese traditional boatbuilder lasts six years and involves menial tasks and withholding of information. This system is at odds with modern life, causing the Japanese art of boat building to potentially be lost to future generations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The detail that best shapes the idea that the Japanese art of boat building may be lost to future generations is the fact that the typical apprenticeship with a Japanese traditional boatbuilder lasts six years. During this apprenticeship, the apprentice spends a lot of time performing menial tasks like sweeping the shop floor and sharpening tools while observing the master. The apprentice is expected to acquire key pieces of knowledge through guile or outright theft, as the master withholds information. This grueling and difficult apprenticeship system is at odds with modern life, making it unlikely to survive. As a result, as the generations of Japanese boatwrights retire, their knowledge also retires with them.

User Luke Schlangen
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