you with the appropriate goods to start this business, and I shall give you the most favored rates, for I want to see you succeed."
For two years Arata followed Yone's advice and worked hard at retailing among the camps at night. Varieties of stock increased and soon he was carrying goods equivalent to those that lined the shelves of a small country store. It was a very good apprenticeship for him, for he had never had any business experience. He learned to mix with strangers, to make friends, to become above all a good listener to trivial talk and gossip. He learned quickly how important the last accomplishment was in winning boosters and friends. For many illiterates he wrote letters to their homes in Japan. He became a confidant to many in this way. In return, he bore them news of the world: news that he had gleaned through reading papers at Yone's. He still continued to read to the old man and to keep up with the world's movements himself. In time, country people bored with ennui at eventide came to look forward to the biweekly rounds of Arata. Business naturally improved with such a frame of mind among the customers.
One day Yone called him in the office and said, "Arata, it is about time you opened a store yourself. There is a limit to the amount of peddling you can do. The first part of your training is now over. Enter the next one as a storekeeper. Do you have in mind some locality where you would want to locate permanently? You must always bear in mind the competition, the type of customers, and the extent of patronage you are capable of getting."
"Thank you for your unfailing interest in me. By following your advice, I have not only earned quite a bit of money in the last two years, but I have learned a great deal of the world and the secrets of business success. For the latter knowledge I have had to go through a heart-aching failure or two before acquiring the knack of how to get along with the rank and file who are my prospective customers. About the place of business, I used to live at Makaweli and in that district I have a host of friends. Stores are not as numerous there as on this eastern end. I shall perhaps start there."
In this manner the Arata store had its beginning. It's birth was timed to occur on the sixth anniversary of Seikichi's arrival in Kauai. The store was very humble. The exterior was painted white. The lumber used was rough 1—12 and the corrugated iron roof was red. The ten by ten room had shelves on the walls, a counter, large lockers in the business room, and a small partitioned space in the rear served as a bedroom.
The shelves were lined only with goods that would meet a ready sale. In the beginning, non-essentials and articles of luxury were avoided. To ensure a quick turnover with limited capital, he must be discriminating in the selection of merchandise and be satisfied with a small margin of profit. Reasonableness in price was his best and most effective means of advertising. It used to be the custom for Japanese wholesale houses of Honolulu to credit little country stores liberally. For payment of one hundred dollars, three hundred dollar's worth of goods were sold with a grace period of three months. The wholesale merchants themselves had a one year grace period from the export merchants of Japan. The Japanese retail merchants were yet in the kindergarten stage and the big American wholesalers of Honolulu extended no credit to them. Seikichi obtained a better bargain for himself by demanding that he get special prices for his goods as he was getting only two hundred dollar's worth of articles for his hundred in cash. Besides, he was able to rely on Yone for special articles that could be bought cheaper than from the wholesalers. He only had to work harder and make many more friends.
Soon, not only Makaweli but neighboring plantations were included in his sphere of activity. It would not long remain a one man affair; he would in a short while send for his bride, one chosen by his parents. With a wife to help him at the store, he could resume peddling to the outlying camps. A wife was a necessity now. As to her feminine charms and adaptability and capabilities as a wife, the wiser and experienced eyes of his parents and elders would be more discerning than the judgment of a love-hungry youngster. There would be children and many of them. Employed help would be obtained and he would have branch stores in strategic places over Kauai. He would eventually expand to Honolulu where he would start a wholesale department. If everything should proceed as scheduled (he had drawn up a plan in his solitary moments of day-dreaming) he would have offices in San Francisco and Kobe. All the profits enjoyed by middlemen would be eliminated and he would emerge as Seikichi Arata, the international trader. Opportunity in Hawaii was abundant. It was there for the picking. Only hard work and a little imagination were necessary requisites. Courage was the deciding factor to embark on any untried experience.
In 1898, he wrote to his father:
My Dear Father,
I hope everybody, beginning with my august parents, is well, even during this present season of oppressive heat. I am well and pray do not trouble your mind on my account. I am fortunate in having prospered in my new venture. My humble store has quadrupled in business and I believe this fact is the result of your unceasing prayers at the altar of the gods for the success of your son in Hawaii. Under the circumstances I feel keenly the want of an extra pair of hands to assist me in my work and also to add completeness to my life. I am old enough to have a wife and would beseech my beloved parents to send me a helpmate who would meet with your approval. To your wise judgment I leave the entire matter. For only with such experienced eyes can a mother to bear sturdy sons to the Aratas be selected.
Sincerely, your son
Seikichi
Four months later, an answer and a parcel post arrived:
My Dear Son,
Your mother and I were extremely glad to receive your letter. The summer months were bad but now cool autumn is here. The present is the season of "high clear sky when horses wax fat " After the harvest we are now taking life easy. The 210th day monsoon storms did not strike this region and we are all rejoicing over a bumper crop of rice.
Regarding your request, we have been more than pleased. It is high time that you thought of such serious matters. We lost no time and approached Moemon-san who is almost a professional match-maker, to see if he had on his roster of eligible girls one that would meet with your approval. It was with chagrin that they were as the ancient saying goes, "too short for obi and too long for tasuki." So I took off and made rounds of relatives in different villages. When I came to Mitajiri and visited with Gengoro Yamaki, he was pleased and said his second daughter, now nineteen, might be available for this match. You know the Yamakis are related to us by marriage, but there is no blood relationship. Their line is not tainted with insanity, epilepsy, leprosy, or other obnoxious diseases. She had a few years of schooling—can write and do arithmetic—is healthy. As to her feminine charms, I am sending you a recent photograph so that you may judge for yourself Let me know your reaction. Your mother and I are enthusiastic about this match. The girl is not adverse to going to Hawaii.
Your loving Father.
Hurriedly, Seikichi opened the parcel. Under several wrappings of newspaper, a photograph of a buxom lass appeared. Under a coiffure that abruptly rose from her forehead—hair brushed up to leave both ears clear and a lump protruding at the nape of the neck—there was a rather round, plump face. She could not be called a beauty, but was by no means ugly. The full length picture showed her to be taller than the usual Japanese girl. Even the thick, many layered kimono could not hide the fact that she was well formed and strong limbed. Anyway, he wanted a helpmate, and a mother of his children. She must not be too tall, for he was not himself tall and it did not look dignified to have a wife taller than he. If her temperament, outlook on life, and womanly virtues passed the scrutiny of a jealous mother, then she must be allright. There was an irrepressible smile of satisfaction on his mouth. Life was sweet; there were many things to work for; the vista of human endeavor was unlimited.
A letter of acceptance, with a money order for two hundred dollars enclosed, was sent to his father on the following day. However, he did not breathe a word of his secret to anyone. He was too bashful to be tormented with well-intentioned but at times vulgar teasing by his friends. The
