Inagawa-kai
Encyclopedia
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 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...
groups, with approximately 15,000 members. It is based in the Kanto region, and was one of the first yakuza organizations to begin operating overseas.
History
The Inagawa-kai was founded in Atami, ShizuokaAtami, Shizuoka
is a city located in the eastern end of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of February 2010, the city has an estimated population of 39,755 and a population density of 645 people per km². The total area is 61.56 km².-Geography:...
in 1949 as the by Kakuji Inagawa
Kakuji Inagawa
Kakuji Inagawa , also known as Seijō Inagawa was a Japanese yakuza boss best known for founding the Inagawa-kai, Japan's third-largest yakuza syndicate....
. Most of its members were drawn from the bakuto
Bakuto
Bakuto were itinerant gamblers in Japan from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. They were one of the forerunners of the modern Japanese crime gangs known as yakuza....
(traditional gamblers), and illegal gambling has long been the clan's main source of income. It has also expanded into such fields as drug trafficking, blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, and prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
.
The Inagawa-gumi was renamed the Inagawa-kai in 1972. After Kakuji Inagawa, the gang was led by Susumu Ishii
Susumu Ishii
Susumu Ishii a.k.a. 石井 隆匡 was the second kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also 5th socho of the Yokosuka-ikka....
, who led it to unprecedented financial prosperity during the 1980s Japanese bubble economy
Japanese asset price bubble
The was an economic bubble in Japan from 1986 to 1991, in which real estate and stock prices were greatly inflated. The bubble's collapse lasted for more than a decade with stock prices initially bottoming in 2003, although they would descend even further amidst the global crisis in 2008. The...
. At one point the clan's assets were estimated to be over $1.5 billion. After Ishii's death in 1990, Inagawa's son Toi Inagawa
Toi Inagawa
Toi Inagawa a.k.a. Yuko Inagawa was kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan from 1990 until 2005. He was also 2nd socho of the Inagawa-ikka....
took over as kumicho and led the clan until his death in May 2005. Yoshio Tsunoda took up the mantle in 2006, heading the clan until his death in February 2010. Kazuo Uchibori may be next in line to lead the clan, but his status as a kyodaibun (blood brother) to Takeuchi Teruaki, a senior member of the Yamaguchi-gumi
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....
, may complicate things.
February 2009 saw the Inagawa-kai 'Honbu' (Head Office) relocate from the Roppongi district of Tokyo to Akasaka. There is currently strong resistance from the local political groups and residents of Akasaka meaning that the location of the new Honbu may change yet again.
The Inagawa-kai quietly helped to provide relief in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
by sending supplies to affected areas. As a whole, the group shipped over 100 tons of supplies, including instant ramen, bean sprouts, paper diapers, batteries, flashlights, tea and drinking water, to the Tōhoku region.
Key persons
Inagawa-kai's renowned figures in the 20th century include Tatsuo Deguchi (known as the "Moroccan Tatsu" or "Tatsu of Morocco"), Kingo Yoshimizu, Kijin Inoue, Takamasa IshiiSusumu Ishii
Susumu Ishii a.k.a. 石井 隆匡 was the second kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also 5th socho of the Yokosuka-ikka....
, Haruki Sho, and Kiichiro Hayashi. , known as "Gotenba boss", was originally a Chinese national who moved to Japan as a forced laborer with his family. He was best known as the Grand Advisor for the third-generation Inagawa-kai and was one of the most respected godfathers in Inagawa history.
Leadership
- 1st kaicho: Seijo Inagawa (real name: Kakuji InagawaKakuji InagawaKakuji Inagawa , also known as Seijō Inagawa was a Japanese yakuza boss best known for founding the Inagawa-kai, Japan's third-largest yakuza syndicate....
) - 2nd kaicho: Takamasa IshiiSusumu IshiiSusumu Ishii a.k.a. 石井 隆匡 was the second kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also 5th socho of the Yokosuka-ikka....
(real name: Susumu IshiiSusumu IshiiSusumu Ishii a.k.a. 石井 隆匡 was the second kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also 5th socho of the Yokosuka-ikka....
) - 3rd kaicho: Yūkō InagawaToi InagawaToi Inagawa a.k.a. Yuko Inagawa was kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan from 1990 until 2005. He was also 2nd socho of the Inagawa-ikka....
(real name: Toi InagawaToi InagawaToi Inagawa a.k.a. Yuko Inagawa was kaicho of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan from 1990 until 2005. He was also 2nd socho of the Inagawa-ikka....
) - 4th kaicho: Yoshio Tsunoda
- 5th kaicho: Kiyota Jiro (korean name: Sin Byon-Gyu, 신병규)