Long ago, the people of Miyama had already developed a blockchain system.

In former times, thatched roofs in Miyama were built by the community.

There was a system called Tanomoshiko — a mutual aid association composed of about thirty thatched-roof households. Members harvested thatch together, hand-twisted straw ropes during the winter, and gathered these materials at the home of whichever member was having their roof rethatched.

They did not contribute only materials. They also provided labor, serving as assistants — called tettai — to the master thatcher. For each thatcher, three assistants were required.

When I became a thatcher thirty years ago, villagers were still coming to help in this way. At ten in the morning, during our break, we would drink tea and talk about all kinds of local matters. At lunchtime, people would bring dishes from their homes, and sometimes even sake would be shared. Every day felt like a festival. I remember it as a deeply joyful time.

The exchange of materials and labor among the members was not charity. It was lending and borrowing. Each household kept a ledger, and every contribution was carefully recorded. I once saw such a ledger — it even recorded “one bottle of sake.”

If a family had received help, they were obligated to return the same support when the lender’s roof was thatched. In some villages, even the daily wage of the thatcher was shared among the members. My master once told me he was paid his wage in both hands full of coins.

This system, managed through individual household ledgers, resembles a distributed ledger system — a prototype of what we now call blockchain. The analog version existed centuries ago. Modern blockchain simply digitizes what was once practiced in community life.

There was no central authority. By mutually recording and honoring their lending and borrowing, people built relationships based on equality and fairness.

Today, about five hundred thatched houses remain in Miyama — although sadly, most are now covered with tin. Yet they are roughly the same size. I believe this reflects the shared aspiration that everyone should prosper equally.

Our ancestors, hundreds of years ago, developed a kind of blockchain system and sought to create a society in which all could become equally prosperous.

How extraordinary that is.

We must hold deep respect for their achievement, take pride in it, and carry it forward.