He is sometimes considered to be the father of the candlestick chart, a form of technical analysis used in stock markets.
[3] In 1755, he wrote (三猿金泉秘録, San-en Kinsen Hiroku, The Fountain of Gold - The Three Monkey Record of Money), the first book on market psychology.
In this, he claims that the psychological aspect of the market is critical to trading success and that traders' emotions have a significant influence on rice prices.
He notes that recognizing this can enable one to take a position against the market: "when all are bearish, there is cause for prices to rise"[4] (and vice versa).
Some sources claim he wrote two other books (酒田戦術詳解, Sakata Senjyutsu Syokai, A Full Commentary on the Sakata Strategy) and (本間宗久相場三昧伝, Honma Sokyu Soba Zanmai Den, Honma Sokyu --- Tales of a Life Immersed in the Market)