SHIBUKAWA, Gunma Pref. -- There are probably few foreign nationals in the country who have found themselves charged with running a traditional Japanese company.

Probably fewer still attribute their rise to the kind of bad luck that's more commonly reserved for bad-taste disaster movies or weepy TV dramas.

Darryl Date-Shappard, however, is one such exception. Living in this small city for over 12 years, the 37-year-old American says he has "gone through everything" in that time.