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Woodland Patchwork is a newly created micronation in Japan. A micronation is a microstate which is not officially recognized by a nation-state.

Most micronations and microstates come about when someone takes a shine to a little patch of dirt somewhere, or perhaps an oil rig or an old military fort. This one's a little different. The founder of Woodland Patchwork, Hideyuki Yoshida aka "ken elwood", has claimed 2.5 million acres of unused land in Japan, using acquisitive prescription (legal squatting). According to the Micronation.org wiki page, 20% of this land is arable, which should provide more than enough food for the residents of the new micronation.

Further dispensing with tradition, the official currency of "the Patch" is Bitcoin. No need for the big banks to come and build branches in these mountains - WP will be able to collect their taxes and pay their vendors over the Internet from day one.

Details on the government structure of Woodland Patchwork are still hazy - it's governed by the Laws of the Universe and Free Thought, apparently. There appear to be seven administrative districts which encompass the widely non-contiguous territory claimed (in red, orange and yellow on the map above), each with a head who participates in a central council. No word on democratic structures yet. The government of Japan has yet to respond publicly to their new neighbor.

Currently, only 11 “Woodlanders”, “Woodlander” being the demonym for a resident of Woodland Patchwork, reside within “The Patch.”  They often gather at the first established hamlet in “The Patch,” Yakozue, which is located on the east side of the Hida Mountains in Shinshu.  80% of the land is dense forest while 20% of the land is arable, which is enough to support this fledgling micronation’s food needs.  While no actual nation has given official recognition to the micronation, Woodland Patchwork has made international headlines with their choice of official currency.

Many Bitcoiners, including myself,  thought that the Principality of Sealandia would be the first state entity to recognize Bitcoin as their official currency; unfortunately, they have not yet started using Bitcoin as their official currency.  There are several other potential jurisdictional areas that could be utilizing Bitcoin as their official currency in the coming years.  Edan Yago of Honduras writes about startup cities that may soon become a reality.  Blueseed, a Cruise Ship Startup Community, received a large some of Bitcoin funding directly from the Bitcoin Foundation.  While Woodland Patchwork may not be a micronation targeted at startups specifically, the fact that they have decided to choose Bitcoin as their official currency speaks volume to the penetration of Bitcoin into the minds of forward-thinking individuals.

Maybe Satoshi Nakamoto is one of the 11 “Woodlanders” currently residing in “The Patch.”


http://www.wallstreetcrypto.com/2013/12/a-bitcoin-micronation-woodland-patchwork.html (http://www.wallstreetcrypto.com/2013/12/a-bitcoin-micronation-woodland-patchwork.html)
http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/2013/12/15/woodland-patchwork-bitcoin/ (http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/2013/12/15/woodland-patchwork-bitcoin/)
http://mw.micronation.org/wiki/Woodland_Patchwork (http://mw.micronation.org/wiki/Woodland_Patchwork)

I am not familiar with how Japan treats micronations inside its own borders...but I suppose good luck to them.

According to wikipedia population - 28. Looks more like a student project for now. ;D

Good luck to them  :) Now the real question is will the Japanese Government let this continue should it take off exponentially? I would have to say no  ;D