Chapter 37

It took three weeks to get to Japan, for I had business meetings in many other countries too. In Tokyo, like in Europe, I found the war damage still very visible. There were still raggedly dressed people wandering around but the economy was starting to recover.

I had conversed over the phone with three drug companies and one seemed to be the best choice. When I and some accountants were able to see the books firsthand, I made them an offer in cash and a licence to make the vaccine. It took them a considerable amount of time to come to an agreement but here I owned half the company, too.

The Pill was offered and trials would begin soon but I knew it would not be accepted. The doctors would rather perform expensive abortions than allow the drug to be used. Margaret Sanger would come over and try to change their minds but women were second-class citizens no matter what the new laws said. With the dealings I would make her, I hoped, to put pressure on the medical profession and get their opinions changed.

With one and a half million dollars I bought thirty-seven acres of prime land with devastated buildings on the individual parcels in Tokyo. I knew how much it would one day be worth. With a few million more I could build on the land to make an inroad to a very restrictive Japanese market.

While all this was going on, three young Japanese ladies took Helen, Laura and Aron around. I had talked to Silva and his father about this need and they had talked to their contacts and friends here in Japan. One was able to find some help that I would need. With me busy much of the time, I would like the family to be shown around and perhaps pick up not only some the language but also a much more rounded education. I had continued my own studies of the language for I knew the country was important to me.

One of the ladies, Seiko, was taking care of her younger sister because her immediate family had been killed in the bombing and disease at the end of the war. The younger sister, Mineko, was eleven now and just a bit older than Aron. I put the two together to let them learn from each other. I was quite sure they would not be bored.

The last woman, Yasuko, was still just a bit older than Laura, like Seiko was and would provide company for another of my wives. Their job was to show the country and much more than just teach the customs and the language. With the investments I was going to make in Japan, I had to have somebody here to look after the family interests. All of the Japanese women knew a small amount of English. By the time we were ready to go home, I was sure they would know English much better.

I searched out and found the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, or what was called Tōkyō Tsūshin Kōgyō. It had been growing since 1946 and made voltmeters, electrically heated cushions, consumer tape recorders, resonator sound generators and similar devices. Ibuka Masaru and Morita Akio owned the company along with the Mitsui Sumitomo Bank.

In a few years, after a good string of transistor products, it would change its name to penetrate the European and North American markets. Sony seemed to fit the image in my head.

I was introduced to both men. The men, I knew, were still fairly young. Akio was thirty and Masaru not much older. The two men were polite to me and I think they only saw me because of my notoriety. They had a licence to build the first transistor but not the variety that I made. This was a serious setback to them and the rest of the world.

The war had not been over for long and hard feelings took a long time to cool. These two men I had to handle carefully. Either I helped them and myself, or I simply had to find another electronics company and bring them to prominence, like Sony would one day become.

In my previous life I had expended a lot of effort to learn the language. The words and inflection were very hard and the written language even harder. I had been adding to that knowledge with this sort of meeting in mind. My vocabulary was good but even with my memory it was difficult to get the intonation and grammar to even a mediocre level. This trip through Europe and the East had required me to do a lot more studying.

Being polite and having a goodly amount of patience was necessary in any dealings with the Japanese. That was one of the failings on the American investors for they were not used to the time taken to reach a deal. The Japanese and the rest of the world saw the Americans as boors for they rushed at everything they did. They did not take the time to learn much about the people they were dealing with.

Sony's first radio was not going to be produced for another four years and a pocket version would be a year after that. It might be even longer, for they were severely restricted in the technology available to them. The two products in question were presented to the two men and put on a table in front of them.

Mr Morita turned on the smaller unit carefully as if it would break easily. When the clear sound came out he said, "This is amazing, Mr Kramer. We had heard that you were making these products but had not seen any yet."

The other unit was plugged into the wall and then the unit was tested. It had more transistors and sported an FM band. I had patented the ferrite bar antenna only recently and from the very start all my inventions were patented in Japan through an intermediary.

"This, too, is amazing. It has even better sound than tube models I have heard. Why is it that you have brought these two radios to us?"

"Self interest is my first reason. The second is a need to help the people of Japan rebuild after the war. Your country has many great assets, one of which is the people that works very hard to pull the country out of the rubble of war."

Mr Morita said, "That is very gratifying to hear. I can see by your age that you had nothing to do with bringing such destruction on our heads. Though the Canadians opposed us with the British." This was an insult, though it was minor.

"My grasp of your language is very crude and possibly inaccurate. It seems that you still hurt too much from the effects of the recent war to discuss business with a foreigner. I will just leave these two gifts here and I can search for further assistance among your countrymen." I still sat. This was an indication that the conversation might still be salvaged.

Mr Morita listened to my words and must have weighed his hate against possible gains. "I am sorry, Mr Kramer. It is true that we still hurt. All of us have lost loved ones to your country and others. Please accept my apology."

It was my turn to weigh his words then I said, "I will accept your apology and give my own apology for mentioning your words that may not have even been intended."

The man nodded then said, "You are not like the Americans I have met. Only few ever even try to learn our language and customs."

"The effort was small compared to what your country means to me. I see your country soon as one of the top eight of the world in power and prestige. I would like to be one of the people building this country with both of you."

Though the Japanese like to be laid back they still must do business. I brought out two binders of paper written in the Japanese language. I gave one to Ibuka Masaru who had not spoken to me yet. I assumed that he would rather not talk to a foreigner. This group of documents had been labouriously done. They listed what I had to offer and what the product would bring to the company.

Ibuka Masaru could not hold his curiosity in any longer. "What is it you want for our assistance?"

"Before I answer that, I would like to point out that every article needed to produce these products are now being produced in our laboratories. A laboratory, though, is not able to meet the demands of my industry or, I think, yours. I will offer licences for all the products needed. I will also give you the services of six young Canadian engineers. They are currently working with me to develop new products. The radios you see before you should bring twenty million American dollars to the manufacturer. For my help with the first product I want only ten percent of your company. Everything in the papers before you has prints made and the product functional."

The two men sat up straight but said nothing for a few minutes. When it did come it was Ibuka Masaru who said, "Our company is not for sale, Mr Kramer."

"I am sorry to hear that, Mr Ibuka. If you took the entire line of products and my assistance, it would only give me fifty percent. The figures I gave to you are my honest estimate of their value. This is many thousands of times more in value than what your company now is. Owning half of a company worth many billions of American dollars is not really something to be sneered at."

Morita Akio said, "I am sorry, Mr Kramer, for being so abrupt. Perhaps it would be better to assess your offer further before rejecting it so quickly. We have our own engineers to go over what you have brought us. It is quite possible that what you have said could be justified. Would you give us a few days to go over your basic offer?"

"That is suitable. I also thank you for being so quick in giving me some of your valuable time."

I walked out of the building wondering how far the men would go. Their hate was very near the surface and it looked like they would bite off the hand that would be feeding them. There were many more up-and-coming Japanese companies with dynamic leadership that would love to get what I offered. It looked like I would have to get a small portion of a great many companies instead of a large portion of just one.

More were to be visited, for the two men would not get all my products but ones they could handle. Perhaps I could get one of those other groups to take the name Sony and lead the world in electronics. There were certainly enough famous Japanese companies to pick through. The trouble was finding the appropriate companies, for at present they had different names from what they would have later.

The other appointments were not until tomorrow, so I spent the rest of the day taking pictures like a regular tourist. I had been to Japan almost thirty times, with many more being just stopovers. The city, though, was not as I saw it now. A sudden smile came to me as I pictured future Japanese tourists doing the same thing when they visited other countries as wealthy visitors.

I didn't have to be back at the hotel for the girls were being taken by their guides on a trip and would not be back until tomorrow night. One girl and her sister had lived nearby, in a matter of speaking and this was a way of showing the family what Japanese rural life was like.

That night I went out to see what the city was like after dark. I ate in a small Japanese restaurant where there were only small tables and no seating at all. I ate little but found myself sampling different dishes from different eateries.

I stepped into a few nightclubs but was usually restricted by a bouncer. I found the usual things: men smoking in a dark room while women circulated looking for somebody to pay for their time. There was no karaoke or even strippers but this was the fifties and I didn't know the current city very well.

I was a bit lonely by now and was almost back to my hotel when I abruptly met an answer to my wish.

A young and very pretty Japanese woman came running out of an alley and collided with me. We were both knocked to the ground and the woman, without saying anything, just got up and continued to run. All she gave me was one look as she ran away. Her face, though, told me that she was in a great deal of trouble. Not only was there blood but I saw bruising, too.

From the alley I heard more running steps and got ready one more time. I didn't want anybody just chasing a woman, for I had seen the abject fear in her features.

I backed up a bit and judging from how quick the steps were, knew about where and when the person would be. Like with the girl, I walked forward but this time I was ready. A thin Japanese man of about twenty-five came around the corner at a run and I moved my hands to protect myself. Like the robbers at the bank the man ran into my fist and I didn't have to strike him at all. My knee did come up and the man ran his groin into me.

A short length of bamboo fell from his hand as he groaned and fell to the concrete. There were four or five witnesses and I had tried to make it look as much like an accident as possible, even if it was the second on in just seconds. I bent over the man and asked if he was all right. It was a foolish question but I needed to play the part. In a moment others came to the altercation and I explained how the accident occurred. In another moment I had backed out of the group and walked back the way I had just come from.

I didn't know why I followed the running woman. It may be because she was pretty but I could usually find pretty women even at my age. The woman, though, was in trouble and the need to protect was a strong instinct.

About six alleys down, I heard some heavy breathing and walked down the narrow corridor till I found the young woman hiding behind some garbage cans. As soon as she saw me she got up to run again but slipped and fell. When I got to her she screamed but very weakly, for she was out of breath.

When she moved into a single beam of light from the street, I saw that her face was bruised more than I noticed before. She was about to cry out again and I could feel her muscles tense in preparation to fight.

"I am not the one chasing you. The man is on the sidewalk now, in pain. He can't catch you now."

The woman looked like she didn't really understand what I was saying. "Stand up. I will get you out of here." I had to actually help her up now but she didn't want to leave the safety of the alley. As the occasional person walked by the opening the woman tensed.

"Do you have a safe place to go?" I said this three times before the woman even looked at me. When she seemed to see me for the first time I repeated my question. She didn't answer but just looked at me.

"Do you want to come with me? I will get you cleaned up. Nobody will hurt you." The girl still did not answer, so I took this as an affirmative answer. I waited five minutes to let the girl get her breath and then only gently held her one wrist. I was happy to see she was meekly following me.

At the mouth of the alley she stopped and I cautiously looked around the corner. Maybe a hundred feet away was the man I kneed. He was walking unsteadily with the bamboo still in his hand. I smiled at the girl and led her back the way she had come. We went almost all the way to the back but could not find an unlocked door or another way out. There were more garbage cans and I quietly put the girl between some and covered her with loose paper that was drifting in the alley. It was not clean or dry. The girl at least did understand and stayed where I put her.

I climbed some ironwork protecting a window and just waited in the deep shadows. It was hard to do what I was doing and hoped the man if he came down the alley would not expect the girl to do this. In the end it was all for nothing. The man staggered into the alley and went only a bit past where the girl had been the first time before leaving to check other places.

In five minutes I said, "He has left a few minutes ago. You are safe," before jumping down. I pulled the papers off and found the girl actually sleeping.

When I woke her up she was very startled. When she had calmed down I took off my light jacket and put it around her shoulders. I had felt her dress and knew that it was ripped. We made it to the alley one more time and there was no sign of the pursuer. When a taxi came by I stopped it. I showed some American money then went back to the alley and pulled out the girl. In the light I saw that she was hurt even more than I first thought. With both of us in the vehicle the driver took us to my hotel.

I took the girl to the front door and the doorman was not going to even open the door for us. He looked at me as I stared at him. He knew who I was, then thought better of his intransigence and opened the door.

The concierge was the same way till I demanded, "Where are your first aid supplies?"

"You can't..."

"Do you want me to buy this hotel and then fire you?"

The man looked stunned then said, "Over there." He reached under the counter and took out a key. He led the way and soon he opened the door to a small first aid station just off the lobby.

I did a much more thorough check of the girl. She was dirty and had streaks of blood on her face and some lacerations on her arms. Her dress was ordinary so she was not exactly poor.

There was a sink and I cleaned her up the best I could. The desk clerk was standing open mouthed as if administering first aid was an unheard of event.

"Take us to the sauna."

"It is for guests only."

"Do you want me to get very angry and get you fired? I don't think there are many jobs as good as yours. Now, take us, or I will make sure you never work in any hotel again."

"Yes, Sir. Right this way."

In a few minutes we were in front of the sauna. "Get the housekeeper to take this woman's clothes to clean and repair them. Put the charges on my bill. Now go."

As the man hurried off, the girl barely followed his exit. I took the girl's hand and got her to sit down. The Japanese do not have the nudity taboo we have, so it was not too hard to get her naked. My own clothes followed suit and I led her into the room. My clothes went into a locker while the girl's remained on the bench to be taken away.

I put a towel for each of us to sit on in the small, dark room and another for her to hide behind. She allowed me to look at her arms, then at her legs. It looked like the woman had been systematically beaten. I wondered why this was. Japanese women were for the most part very subservient to a man and the man would get anything they wanted.

For fifteen minutes I talked to the girl but she was still too distraught to answer. When it was time, I took the girl from the sauna and got her into a shower. The hotel was fairly modern and catered to the rich but most rooms did not even have their own washrooms, yet. This was mainly due to whether the customer wanted western or oriental decor. I had chosen the traditional Japanese styling.

I washed her with care and the woman didn't seem to mind what I did. I found some long robes and I wrapped the woman in one and wore another myself before retrieving my clothes. The woman's dress was gone.

That night I ordered some food from room service and after she ate with me, she fell asleep. I could see that she was not used to a man sitting with her while she ate. Women here ate after the males did. There was very little I could do, so I went to bed in another room but left the sliding door open between.

The next morning I found the woman trying to sneak out but she might have been looking for the washroom. I startled her but managed to take her to relieve herself. She eventually came out of the room and saw that I was waiting for her. She meekly followed me back to my room.

We sat down and this meant that she was on her knees on the floor while resting on her legs the traditional way. I sat on the floor more comfortably and said, "My name is Kramer Alex," in the way the Japanese used names. "You ran into me last night and I saw how frightened you were. When the man chasing you came around the corner I ran into him and hurt him. That is why he took so long to follow." The woman had not even looked at me but kept her face looking down.

"Your dress was ripped. A housekeeper is washing and repairing it for you now. I do not know when it will be done but I have some women's clothes that may fit you. Would you wear some western fashions till your clothes are ready?" I remained quiet and it took a full minute for her to nod her head.

"Please, get up and I will see what fits." The girls had not taken all their clothes on the short trip. Helen was this girl's height but Helen's breasts and frame were much larger. Even Laura had larger breasts but she was also a taller woman. The girl ended up in some of my clothes and some of the girls'.

I took out my brush set and politely ordered the woman to kneel on a pad on the floor. I did her hair the way I did my wives'. I even hummed a few songs to put the woman at ease, for I could see that she was still very tense.

"My mother brushed my hair too when I was small. When she and my father died I had to do this for myself. My new family loves me but I still liked it when I got brushed." I paused for a few more strokes and then said, "I like to be called Alex. What is your name?"

The women tensed as if this were a deep secret. "My... my name is Akuro."

When nothing more was added I said, "Hello Akuro. I am glad to meet you. I am getting hungry. Would you like to eat with me?"

She looked frightened so I added, "I will have a breakfast delivered."

In twenty minutes the food was delivered and we ate together. She still must have felt odd eating with me. During the time we waited, I told her a bit about myself and especially my family. She now knew how much I loved both Helen and Laura and how I looked on Aron as more of a son than a foster brother. I brought out my wallet and showed her pictures of the family.

In return she gave me some short sentences about herself but most were still kept very hidden. Because of this I did not pry, even to ask her family name. The incidents of last night were still too fresh for me to snoop.

I learned that her family was all dead. She had been married young and then widowed soon after. She started to talk about many things when I urged her to but she would usually get upset. I could build my own story about her from the severity of her responses.

I said, "My family has some tutors with them but there is always too much for all of them to do. Would you consider taking employment with my family till we leave Japan?"

Her face did brighten a bit and then she said, "Yes Master. I will do whatever I must to serve your family."

This must have been something said in olden times for it was difficult to follow. The terms I had not encountered yet. I sat up straight and accepted her services in the best words I could summon.

"Akuro, you know that I came to your country to try to make some money and get your countrymen to begin to make money, too. I have some appointments that I have to attend to do this." She looked at me very frightened but I continued, "My family will be coming back around mealtime tonight and I would like you to begin your services to my family then. You are free to do as you wish as soon as your dress arrives. You will still be my employee but this will be one of your days off. If you decide to stay in the room, I will have a meal delivered and your dress will come as soon as it is finished. Will you be here when I return?"

Akuro paused and it took a while but she said in a very traditional way again that she would be here when my family got back, for her employment demanded this.

We both stood and I nodded my head the way an employer would to a favoured employee. On the way out, I asked at the desk about the status of the dress and stated that I had a new employee staying with us. I arranged for the dress to be sent up as soon as possible and for a meal to arrive at the appropriate time. I left a note for Laura or Helen about whom they would find in our rooms. I compared Akuro to Linda when I made the three-paragraph note.

Hayakawa Electric Industry Company was my next goal. The president and founder Tokuji Hayakawa met me soon after arrival. The man was still very strong and vigorous at fifty-seven. He had kept the industry running during the war years and made a good profit. His company was now growing but all in the direction of old technology. Tubes were for the most part soon going to be obsolete in all but a few rare instances. Our magnetron was one.

Tokuji Hayakawa talked to me with three other men. One was a translator that might be needed to get some of the finer points made clear. We sat in a large room with an impressive desk and chairs. I had two binders again for this company and brought them out of a small leather case.