There is a guy from Japan who truly deserves to be more talked about in trading circles. Takashi Kotegawa is practically a ghost on the internet—few photos, no social media presence—but his market feats are so absurd that many speculate whether he even exists.

Well, he does exist. And his story is insane.

Kotegawa started with $13,600 in 2001, at a time when the internet bubble was crashing everything in Japan. While most traders were getting hurt, he noticed something: in a bear market, it’s easier to profit by shorting and then catching quick recoveries. Over 8 years, he turned that $13,600 into $150 million. No typo.

His strategy was simple but effective. Kotegawa used Bollinger Bands, RSI, and a 25-day Moving Average as references. Basically, he looked for stocks that fell at least 20% below the 25-day moving average and entered positions expecting a bounce. He would close the same day or hold overnight. Nothing complicated, but executed with brutal discipline.

But there’s one trade that became legendary.

It was 2005. J-Com Holdings had just gone public, and Kotegawa was glued to the screen all day. Then, an epic mistake by a trader at Mizuho Securities: he tried to sell 1 share at 610,000 yen but ended up placing an order for 610,000 shares at 1 yen. Total chaos in the market.

Kotegawa saw the opportunity and bought 7,100 shares. When the market recovered, he made $17 million in a single day. That’s right: $17 million in ONE trade. That’s why they call him “J-Com Man.”

What impresses me most about Takashi Kotegawa is that after making a fortune that would send anyone into retirement, he remains humble. No show-offs, no luxury cars, no expensive watches. His only big investment was a new apartment—imagine that, moving out of a small room. He treats trading as an art, not as a way to get rich.

To me, Kotegawa proves that discipline and patience are worth more than luck. Of course, the J-Com trade involved some luck, but those 8 years of consistent profits? That was pure execution.