Samurai History, NFT History, and your chance to go to Kyoto Japan

Kyoto, Japan

🔰🔰 In the beginning 🔰🔰

We love NFTs; in some form or other we have for years. In 2017 Mack had already (co)invented CryptoKitties and Jon was alpha testing it — all while most of you were still trying to convince your crypto-curious friend that Bitcoin was a scam, or at best figuring out what vaporware ICO to buy.

But we didn’t stop there; we continue to push the frontiers of what’s possible with blockchain technology. While so many people claiming to be ushering in the metaverse are releasing, buying, or endlessly tweeting about pixelated animals’ PFPs, we’re out here shaping the future.

Big Head Club is building a business to last decades. For that to be true, for our Strange and Marvelous NFTs to stand the test of time, we can’t afford to blindly copy whatever trend has degens frothing one week to the next. We have to have a long-term vision about NFTs that can change the world and religiously adhere to that vision.

While so many people were obsessed with get-rich-quick schemes and day trading shit coins, Mack and the team at Dapper pioneered the 721 standard that nearly every one of you reading this can be directly thankful for. Your JPEG fortune is built on the standard we created, and the new ground we discovered. All while people laughed…and then raged. And then forget.

Today, while projects run by semi-anonymous founders pay bot accounts to spam people on Discord pretending they’re creating real value, we’re out here putting our name on our work. And once again we’re changing the game, by crafting immensely high-quality NFTs that act as access to immensely high-quality education.

Ryōan-ji

👹 👺 Enter Oni Ronin 👹 👺

During his time at Dapper, Mack met a Japanese friend who goes by the moniker Lil’ ハンズ. They spent years scheming on work they could do together, waiting for the opportunity to strike. And finally, an idea was minted. But they knew that for their vision to be realized — to create real art, and make real money — they needed the perfect collaborator.

For 15 years Mack lived next door to an artist named Maldoror. They drank too much wine, argued about art, and tried to create beautiful things together. They made stunning VR worlds…worlds that failed. Undeterred, Mack got Maldoror jade rocks that he carved into incredibly intricate skulls, and they sold them together in Gastown. When Big Head was born, Maldoror was the first artist Mack called, long before Stoner Cats (the NFT collectible we launched this summer) ever crossed their path, and asked if he wanted to work together.

So Lil’ ハンズ, Maldoror, and Big Head started to collaborate, and Oni Ronin was born. Oni Ronin is a celebration of Samurai culture, rooted in history, coated in fantasy, and baked in an oven of deep cultural admiration. With our ever-growing community, we want to learn about and celebrate one of the most interesting groups of people across all of history.

We believe we need to create a best-in-class experience across the board for our collectors. To that end, we’ve put together:

The best art, both visual and audible, in a PFP project seen this year.

1. Of course, this is subjective, and if you want to fight on Twitter about it that’s up to you — but unless you’re bringing a Galaxy Egg to the fight, this isn’t a very interesting conversation.
2. There are 20 real haiku, written by real Samurai as their death Haiku. This is an ancient tradition practiced by a class of people obsessed with living and dying well. These haikus are a cornerstone of that. The metadata title for each Haiku attribute is the real name of the author. Each is a springboard into its own pool of real history. Bonus fun fact: the calligraphy of each poem was written in old style Japanese by Lil’ ハンズ’s mother.
3. Breathtaking audio of the haiku — if you’re willing to test your Ronin in the Trial of Ascension.
4. As collectors feel the call of Ascension, the number of Fallen Ronin increases and the number of Oni Ronin decreases. It’s a deflationary NFT, maybe not the first of its kind but definitely a model we’ll see many projects replicate in the future.
5. Every Ronin, whether Oni, Fallen, or Golden, will be able to claim a 100% unique companion: a Kitsune fox spirit, famous in Japanese folklore.

Rock-solid tech.

1. Our gas mitigation strategies stopped gas wars and whale splash from wreaking havoc on our community.

An incredible education-driven roadmap.

1. Dr. Bender is our first history professor, and very likely not our last. We have STRONG conviction that we can put together the best curriculum on Samurai history in the English language, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.
2. On top of history lessons, we’ve partnered with haiku experts, calligraphy teachers, and a group based in Japan to lead all sorts of experiential perks for token holders, from meditation sessions and lessons in flower arranging to guided tea ceremonies and more. This kind of elite education has never before been seen in NFTs.

🛫🇯🇵 A trip to Kyoto, Japan 🇯🇵🛬

Kinkakuku-ji

As much we love the digital world we all call home these days, there’s still nothing like the smell of local flora; the feeling of running your fingers along ancient bricks; seeing first-hand the same places Samurai saw hundreds of years ago.

To that end, we’re sending one lucky community member and their guest on an incredible trip to the Kyoto area of Japan.

At the time of drawing, you must still own a Ronin, and have it unlisted.

1. Every Ronin you mint is 1 entry in the draw.
2. Every Ronin you send through the Trial of Ascension is 3 entries in the draw
3. At 4:00 pm PDT on Wednesday, October 27, we’re going to close the contest and use the immutable blockchain to pick the winner.

The winner will receive the following:

1. A stay at the Four Seasons Kyoto.
2. Local experiences include a real Japanese sword-slashing experience.
3. Samurai armour fitting.
4. An authentic Japanese dinner hosted by a local guide raised in Kyoto and an Oni Ronin producer.
5. Historical temple and shrine tour including Kiyomizu, Kinkaku, and Fushimi Inari.
6. Kyoto National Museum tour
7. Cruise at Lake Biwa.

Of course, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic, so the trip shouldn’t happen right now. The prize will be eligible to be claimed for up to one year, and if the winner decides not to go within that timeframe, they can take an equivalent prize value in eth, which is 3Eth.

(All images thanks to the lovely folks at unsplash.)