Quote from gnome:
1st historical reference... rice markets... Japan, 1600's.
Munehisa Homma (1724-1803), was a rice merchant from Sakata, Japan who traded in the Ojima Rice market in Osaka during the Tokugawa Shogunate. He is often considered to be the father of the Candlestick chart and his trading success reputedly led to him becoming an honorary Samurai.
