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.