Candles have many characteristics that help traders understand what price is doing, allowing them to make faster and more profitable trading decisions. Japanese candlestick charts are thought to be among the oldest types of charts, having been developed several centuries ago in Japan for the purpose of price prediction in one of the world's first futures markets.
Homma recognized that he could profit from his understanding of the market's emotional state, which most aspiring traders still struggle with today. Homma's competitive advantage was his understanding of the vast difference between the value of something and its price. The same disparity between price and worth exists in currencies today as it did with rice in Japan decades ago.