Wow, that's a fantastic question! So, here's the deal. The whole idea behind this project actually came from a very personal experience I had. I was on a creative break in Taiwan, wanting to explore my artistic side after leaving my tech job in San Francisco. I needed a place where I could focus on my art without the pressure of paying exorbitant rent every month. That's when I realized Asia, and particularly Taiwan and Japan, could provide the perfect environment for my creative journey.
While in Taiwan, I started looking into places where I could continue my creative sabbatical, and Japan caught my attention. I've always been fascinated by Japanese design and UX, and the creative nuances in the country really intrigued me. There's this concept called Shokunin spirit, which is like having an artist's soul. It's about delving deep into your craft, discovering new details, nuances, and layers that you didn't initially see. It felt like the perfect place for me to explore and grow as an artist.
That's when I stumbled upon the Akiya situation in Japan. It turns out there are many abandoned houses, and you can actually buy one for the price of a year's rent in cities like New York or San Francisco. So, I thought, "Hey, this could work for me!" I started looking into the process, but quickly realized there were a lot of financial, operational, and logistical aspects I had no clue about. I needed to contact Akiya banks, get a specific signature stamp called Hanko, figure out taxes, and understand the tourist visa and time restrictions. It was overwhelming.
That's when I had this lightbulb moment. I reached out to my community and network, asking if anyone was interested in joining me on this Akiya adventure. And that's how this group and community came to life. We wanted to purchase an Akiya together, but we also wanted to build something more. We wanted to share insights, learn from each other, and make the journey a collective experience. And let me tell you, it has resonated with so many people who have come across this project. It has grown into a vibrant and open community, where we all learn and share together.
So, yeah, I know that was a bit of a long explanation, but I wanted to give you some context about art, community building, and the idea of sharing and learning collectively. Hope that helps!
So, let me break it down for you. In the beginning, it was just a personal project between me and a few friends. We kept it casual and started a Discord server to see if others would resonate with the idea. We wanted to do things publicly and openly, even the operational and logistical aspects.
We started the Discord server around March or April of last year [2022]. At that time, it was pretty low-key. We were both interested in Web3 and wondered if we could form a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) around this idea. We wanted to experiment with different governance models and potentially have a shared treasury where the community could vote on funds and even decide on new houses in different locations. It was an exciting experiment for us. And over time, the community grew.
We didn't put too much effort into pushing the project forward initially because Japan was still closed due to the pandemic. We weren't even sure if we could enter the country. But when the borders finally opened on October 11, 2022 (I remember the exact day), we thought, "Okay, this is it! We can go to Japan and conduct proper research for the project." That's when we decided to take the project more seriously. Around the same time, I started my second sabbatical in October or November, and I dedicated that time to creating art and nurturing this project. That's when I became full-time on it.
Since then, it's been about six to seven months, a little over half a year. In December, a group of around five or six of us went to Japan. We explored houses, met with local communities and governments, and even had a conversation with a town that was interested in transitioning all its citizens into Web3. It was amazing to see Japan's seriousness about Web3 and their dedication to transparency and public goods in a technologically advanced way.
During our visit, we organized an Akiya meetup in December and connected with different artistic and creative communities. We met people who had started artist residencies and drew inspiration from their models. We also had various adventures and explored different Akiya properties. One particular property that caught our attention was the Tsuji residence, which you may have seen mentioned earlier in the Discord chat. It was a beautiful property with the potential to house a community, but it was quite expensive. Although it wasn't technically an Akiya, we saw it as a potential hub for our project. We even put down a deposit for it, but I can share more about why it didn't work out later on.
So, to summarize, the project has officially been around for about six months, but the community started forming a year ago. It's now taking shape and becoming clearer in its direction. We've gone through iterations and shifts in our project's focus, and who knows how it will evolve in the future? It's a constant journey of growth and adaptation.
So, let's talk about DAOs. DAO stands for decentralized autonomous organization, which essentially means it's a company or organization that operates on Web3 principles and is governed through distributed decision-making. Think of it as a group chat with a shared treasury. One of the key aspects of Web3 is transparency, so in a DAO, all transactions and financial information are publicly available. This creates a high level of accountability, transparency, and context for understanding how funds have been used in the past and how they can be governed in the future.