Harukichi Yamaguchi
Encyclopedia
was the founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi
, which grew to become Japan
's largest and most powerful yakuza
organization.
Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe
in 1915, and was its kumicho or Godfather until his death in 1925, when he was succeeded by his son Noboru Yamaguchi
.
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....
, which grew to become Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's largest and most powerful yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
organization.
Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
in 1915, and was its kumicho or Godfather until his death in 1925, when he was succeeded by his son Noboru Yamaguchi
Noboru Yamaguchi
was the second kumicho, or Godfather, of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza gang in Japan.He assumed control of the gang in 1925 upon the death of his father, the gang's founder, Harukichi Yamaguchi. He ruled until the outbreak of World War II in 1942. He was succeeded in 1946 by his protege, Kazuo Taoka....
.