1. The Discomfort of Earning
A partner introduces TokiQR, an order comes in, and 10% is returned. The mechanism is simple.
But when receiving that 10%, somewhere in the partner's mind, a question surfaces: "Is this right?"
The person they introduced was a friend. An acquaintance from a trip. A chance encounter at a café. That person pays ¥5,000, and ¥500 flows to the partner. The nature of the relationship trembles, if only for a moment.
It was supposed to be goodwill. They shared it because they genuinely believed in it. But once revenue enters the picture, the motive feels contaminated. "Was it really goodwill, or was it for the ¥500?"—the partner begins to doubt themselves.
This guilt is not unnatural. It is, in fact, healthy. At the intersection of human relationships and money, everyone pauses at least once.
2. The User's Perspective—"Was I a Business Target?"
The same tremor can occur on the ordering side.
"Did they recommend it so enthusiastically because there was revenue in it for them?"
The moment this suspicion takes root, trust in the referrer shifts. What seemed like a genuine recommendation begins to look like a sales pitch. Was there calculation behind that smile? Was the enthusiasm driven not by conviction about the product, but by the expectation of ¥500?
This feeling is not unreasonable. Humans are creatures who care about motives. Even when the outcome is identical, perception changes depending on the motive. Whether someone recommended something of their own accord or because of a reward—the result is the same, but the meaning within the relationship is entirely different.
And once this suspicion is born, it is hard to erase. No matter what the referrer says, the single thought—"but you were earning from it"—can invalidate all goodwill.
3. The Maker's Guilt
It's not just the partner. TokiStorage itself stands before the same question.
Someone wants to preserve a precious voice. A child's laughter. A parent's words from beyond. Their own message to the future. That deeply personal emotion becomes an order, which becomes revenue.
The human desire to "leave something behind" is among the most private and most fragile of feelings. The fact of generating revenue from that fragility cannot be wrapped neatly. One can say "we provide a permanent preservation service." But beneath that statement lies the structure of converting another person's vulnerability into economic value.
It would be possible to look away from this structure. But it should not be done.
4. What Information Asymmetry Destroyed—Three Personal Experiences
So far, this has been about structure. From here, I write from my own experience.
Behind the Estimate
I was once introduced to a development project as a freelancer. I was free to set my own price. I estimated nervously. I delivered the work.
When I found out what had actually happened, the introducer had marked up my estimate by more than three times and presented it to the client as the final quote. I learned this after the fact.
The amount I had quoted was an honest assessment of my skills and time. I had no idea what the introducer had added on top. The client had no idea what the actual developer had charged. Of the three parties, only the introducer held the complete picture.
As the maker, I felt deeply disappointed. Not because my work was undervalued. But because my estimate had been used as a tool of information asymmetry.
What Happened in Maui
Another experience put me on the other side.
In Maui, someone introduced me to a client out of goodwill. At the time, I had said "I'll help out." Through dialogue with the client, I made a paid proposal, and the engagement began.
I should have told the introducer that the support had become paid. But before I could, the client disclosed it to the introducer. Distrust was born on the introducer's side.
The client was happy with the work. There was no issue with quality. But for the introducer, there was an information gap between "goodwill introduction" and "paid engagement." That gap created distrust. I was surprised and disappointed.
The True Nature of a Tea Gathering
I experienced information asymmetry in yet another form.
I was invited to a tea gathering. I thought it was a casual meetup. It turned out to be a network marketing recruitment event.
The so-called ABC method—an Adviser (authority figure) is brought in by a Bridge (the introducer) to meet the Customer (the prospect). Behind the label of "tea gathering," there was a designed funnel. If I showed interest in the product, the introducer would receive a commission.
The problem with this structure is not whether the business itself is good or bad. It is that I was not told the purpose of the gathering before I attended. I was invited to "a tea gathering," and what awaited me was a sales pitch. Information asymmetry had broken the foundation of trust.
I don't think the introducer had malicious intent. They may have truly believed in the product. But designing the setting before giving the other person the materials to judge—that itself contaminates the relationship.
I Decided Never to Repeat This
What all three experiences share is information asymmetry. Only one party holds the full picture, while the others are forced to judge based on partial information. Within that structure, even goodwill distorts. Even trust breaks.
After these experiences, I made a decision. Never again.
This is why TokiStorage makes transparency a design principle. It is not an ideal. It is a structure learned from pain.
5. Sanpo-yoshi—An Ancient Wisdom
The Omi merchants' sanpo-yoshi—good for the seller, good for the buyer, good for society.
The core of this philosophy is not the justification of profit. It is the question: can you design a structure where, even after taking profit, all three parties are still satisfied?
Mapping TokiQR's partner revenue to the three sides:
- The maker (TokiStorage)—Products reach people, the business sustains. Reinvestment into the next product becomes possible.
- The user—Voice, images, and text are preserved permanently. A single QR code becomes a vessel for 1,000 years.
- The partner—The natural act of introduction is economically rewarded. No upfront cost, no quota.
Each party is satisfied within their own context. But whether sanpo-yoshi truly holds cannot be verified by subjective claims alone. Unless the materials for judgment are available to all, sanpo-yoshi is merely self-declaration.
The Prerequisite of Sanpo-yoshi—Information Symmetry
When a seller claims "sanpo-yoshi," do the buyer and society have the means to verify it? Is the profit margin visible? Is the revenue-sharing structure disclosed? Is the evidence for "good for society" presented?
The essence of sanpo-yoshi is not goodwill. It is information symmetry. Unless all three parties can see through the structure, no one can judge whether it is truly "good."
6. Donating 10% of Revenue—A Standard, Not Virtue
TokiStorage donates 10% of revenue.
This is not "generosity." It is a "standard."
If you earn revenue, the duty to return a portion to society is a natural conclusion. But the essential meaning of donation lies neither in the amount nor the ratio.
Donation is a structural declaration that "revenue is not the final destination." Revenue sustains the business, funds partner returns, improves the product, and then—a portion flows back to society. When this entire flow is disclosed, the meaning of revenue changes.
There is no special rationale behind the number 10%. But having a standard, declaring it publicly, and executing it—these three steps represent the minimum accountability for the act of earning.
Donation is not done to erase guilt.
It is done to prove to oneself that revenue is circulating.
7. "I'm Glad I Found Out"—The User's Reframing
Let us return to the user's perspective once more.
Among users, some say this: "I'm glad I found out." "If no one had told me, I would never have encountered this option."
They didn't know the option of preserving a voice permanently existed. They had never encountered the idea that a QR code could become a vessel for 1,000 years. Without the partner's introduction, this choice would never have appeared in their life.
Within this feeling, gratitude toward the partner arises naturally. When the value of the "opportunity" gained through the introduction far exceeds the partner's revenue, the imbalance vanishes.
Pay ¥5,000 to preserve a voice permanently. The person who told you about it receives ¥500. When these two facts are placed on a scale, most users do not feel it is unfair. They may even think "only ¥500?" Because the act of being told, in itself, was worth more than that.
The Line Between Sales and Introduction
However, for this feeling to hold, there is one condition: the introduction must not be "pushy."
Saying "there's something interesting" and demanding "buy this" are entirely different acts. The former is providing an opportunity; the latter is pressure. Whether the partner can maintain the former posture determines the success or failure of sanpo-yoshi.
This is why TokiQR's partner program has no quotas. With quotas, introductions become pressure. Without quotas, introductions remain introductions.
8. "Was I a Business Target?"—The Anatomy of Distrust
Now, let us confront the most uncomfortable emotion head-on.
The distrust a user feels upon learning that the partner earns revenue. "Was I seen as a business target?" What is the true nature of this suspicion?
It is a sense of betrayal.
People want to believe they were "chosen." They want to trust that the person who made the recommendation did so out of genuine care. When a revenue motive enters the picture, "for my sake" seems to be replaced by "for ¥500."
But are these two truly mutually exclusive?
When you recommend a friend's restaurant, you know your friend gains a customer. Does that stop you from recommending it? When a doctor prescribes medication and earns from it, do you distrust the prescription? When a bookseller recommends a title and the sale becomes store revenue, do you doubt the recommendation?
Goodwill and revenue coexist. The problem is not the fact of coexistence, but whether the coexistence is hidden.
9. Dissolution Through Transparency
Guilt, distrust, suspicion—all amplify when something is "hidden."
If the partner hides the fact of earning, the user feels deceived. If TokiStorage hides its profit structure, the partner feels exploited. Opacity poisons even goodwill.
Conversely, when everything is visible, what happens?
TokiQR discloses everything:
- The partner's revenue share is 10%—stated on the setup page
- The full pricing structure—stated on the order page
- The design philosophy of the partner program—disclosed in this and other essays
- TokiStorage's donation standard—10% of revenue
Users can order knowing that ¥500 of their ¥5,000 goes to the partner. Partners can make introductions knowing their revenue share and the maker's profit structure. The maker can receive revenue having shown everything.
Transparency does not "build" trust. It "dissolves" distrust. Trust is born from accumulated actions. But distrust is born from missing information. Transparency fills that gap.
The Decision Not To—After Knowing
Transparency does not only enable the decision to purchase. The decision not to purchase also becomes healthy only when information is fully disclosed.
To know the structure, know the price, know the partner's revenue share—and still decide "not now." This is proof that transparency is functioning, and it is part of sanpo-yoshi. Only a decision made in the absence of coercion can truly be called "good."
The Free QR Is Real
There is another element that dissolves the partner's guilt.
A QR code created with TokiQR functions digitally even without ordering a physical QR. It can be bookmarked. It can be shared as a link. The person who was introduced holds a real, working QR code without paying a single yen.
What the partner introduced was not a "product." It was an "opportunity." That opportunity has already been delivered, whether paid or free. At the moment of introduction, the value has already been passed.
The "good" in sanpo-yoshi cannot be established by goodwill alone.
Only when all three parties can see through the structure can they say "this is good."
Transparency determines the melting point of sanpo-yoshi—the temperature at which everything fuses together.
10. Where Guilt Belongs
The guilt of earning revenue should not be eliminated.
Guilt is the healthy awareness that one is profiting from another's actions. When this awareness is lost, people begin to justify exploitation. A person who can say "it's just business" without hesitation is less trustworthy in the long run than one who continues to ask "is this right?"
When a partner feels guilt—that is proof they see the person they introduced as a human being. When a user feels suspicion—that is proof they value the relationship with the referrer. When the maker feels unease—that is proof they haven't forgotten the source of their revenue.
The problem is when these emotions metastasize through concealment. Placed within transparency, guilt becomes "prudence," distrust becomes "verification," and unease becomes "respect."
Revenue is not a sin.
Concealing revenue is.
Sanpo-yoshi means a state where three parties view the same structure and each, from their own position, can say "this is right." What creates that state is not goodwill. It is transparency.
Partners should introduce with confidence. Users should decide with full knowledge of the structure. The maker should receive revenue while carrying their unease—and remain honest regardless.
When everything is visible, what remains is not guilt. It is responsibility.