So why are they such assholes?
Can't really speak for the fishmaster on the Ranger, sometimes there is a bit of sadism mixed in. A lot of Japanese haven't quite got the stress thing under control. I suppose also, it is in some ways a throwback to the samurai era, where if one can endure the most difficult of situations, it will make you a more highly skilled and tough person.
They also say that if you are forced to face the harshness when learning, once you get beyond the apprenticeship days, the fact that you have had to put so much of yourself into the situation, it becomes that you are not very likely to want to give up the occupation at any point, no matter what arises. There is truth in that, and probably many Treehousers can attest to that in their jobs, as well.
My teacher used to say to me, "I know what's going through your mind, how you hate me, but you should be hating my teacher as well, because I'm just doing for you what he did for me". Not the best of individual thinkers here, more a follow each other society. I wouldn't be telling this, if I didn't respect the people here at the forum to try and understand. I heard from a peer, that when my teacher was an apprentice, he had a nervous breakdown, had to be hospitalized for a short period. So I guess he felt compelled to dish it out as well, in his own mind was doing me a favor. I know it sounds weird and extreme, but all I can say, is that there are both deep good things in this approach, and also some less than positive aspects to it as well. In my case, did it make me a skilled and tough woodworker...I'd like to think yes. Did it injure me...for sure as well. That's the aspect of traditional work, for good and for bad, just passing it along and not questioning it....almost like religion.
Sometimes, even after the severest of days, Mr.Maita would say to me, how about we go out for a drink after work. I would usually decline, I couldn't compartmentalize the difference between when working and when not, as far as the personal relationship. If I had better learned to do that, it could have saved me a lot of grief. The Japanese are highly skilled at that. Another problem was, when my teacher got drunk, it made him crazy and even more scary....I didn't know what was going to come up. Strange society, for sure.