History of Japan

When I was 8 years old, I got a Nintendo for Christmas. It was the first Japanese thing I ever had. Within minutes I had read the instruction manual and had it running Super Mario. My parents sat with me on the couch while I collected mushrooms and jumped on bad guys. At the time, it was cool and fun, but little did I know Japan gifting video games to the world in the 1980’s would change everything.

Very similar to how Satoshi Nakamoto changed everything.

Since then, I’ve regarded Japan as a special country. Not just because of life expectancy or GDP, but because Japan is a country that refines nearly everything until it is perfect. There’s a saying — the best pizza in the world isn’t in Italy, it’s in Toyko. When Japan does its thing, there is no competition.

So how did a country that was a series of isolated islands, cut off from the rest of the world, with firmly closed borders until the 19th century get so advanced? And what lessons are there for crypto and Zcash?

Here’s what I consider the main points in Japans history, from a very far zoomed out, outsiders perspective.

• 552 a.d., Korea brings Buddhism to Japan.
• In 1185, the military was decentralized into regional Samurai warriors, called the Shogun, who defend against invasions, such as the Monguls who invaded from the mainland.
• Decentralized samurai clans were powerful and effective, but they fought against one another within Japan. This led to infighting and open civil war for hundreds of years.
• In the 16th century, guns arrive. A lost Portugese black boat arrived in southern Japan. They see this as an opportunity to set up trade, including muskets/guns. It took just a few years for the clans with the guns to win over the rest of Japan and unify everyone.
• 268 years of peace, under the Tokugawa shogunate who had guns. This peace was called the Edo period. This is when Japanese culture flourished.
• In 1853, a United States boat arrived in Tokyo to offer military protection to the government and set up trade. With the backing of the US, Emporer Meiji ended the decentralized samurai rule and set up a new capital in Tokyo.
• The United States introduced Japan to railroads, phone lines, and other technology. Japan’s modernization meant for the first time in their history, they would open their borders to global trade.
• Newly industrialized, powerful, and with an appetite for expansion, Japan began conquering nearby land, including Korea, Taiwan, and parts of China. On December 7, 1941, all on the same day, Japan attacked Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, and Hawaii at Pearl Harbor, but with attacks on the US state, they poked the bear.
• After WW2 ended with bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered. Japan became occupied by the United States for several years, was demilitarized, and given a new constitution.
• The reforms set by the United States worked well. Japan post-war experienced unprecidented economic growth, freedom, and urbanization.
• Over the last 80 years, Japan has been a model of success for the entire world.

Lessons for Zcash?

1. Decentralization is awesome, but it’s only a first step. Be prepared for in fighting and resource grabbing.
2. Take advantage of opportunities, such as boats that arrive on your shore.
3. Making allies matters, and don’t poke the allies in an effort to get bigger.