Munehisa Homma

Munehisa Homma (1724-1803), also referred to as Sokyu Homma or Sokyu Honma, was a wealthy rice merchant from Sakata, Japan who lived during during the Tokugawa Shogonate.

The Dojima Rice Exchange of Osaka, established in 1697 was the worlds first futures exchange. Initially, only physical rice was traded, but beginning in 1710 a futures market was established where coupons representing future delivery of rice were traded. Homma thrived in this secondary market of trading rice coupons.

Renowned for his success in the markets, Homma became a financial advisor to the government and was awarded the rank of honorary Samurai. He is widely credited as a pioneer in technical analysis and as the father of Japanese Candlestick charting.

In 1755, he wrote The Fountain of Gold – The Three Monkey Record of Money, a text focused on market psychology.

Steve Nison discovered Candlestick Charting from a Japanese broker and set about bringing this charting approach to the west.