Kakuji Inagawa
Encyclopedia
Kakuji Inagawa also known as Seijō Inagawa (稲川 聖城 Inagawa Seijō; November 1914 – December 22, 2007) was a Japan
ese yakuza
boss best known for founding the Inagawa-kai
, Japan's third-largest yakuza syndicate.
Inagawa, son of a Meiji University
graduate who fell on hard times, never attended school. He was recruited into the yakuza as an enforcer when he was a teenage judo
student.
After serving in World War II
, Inagawa formed the Inagawa-gumi, the predecessor to the current Inagawa-kai, in Atami, Shizuoka
in 1949.
Inagawa was regarded as an "elder statesman" of the yakuza, and a peacemaker skilled in settling disputes between rival gangs. In the early 1960s, he headed the short-lived Kanto-kai
, a federation of Kantō region
gangs organized by Yoshio Kodama
. That organization's rightist philosophy was summed up by Inagawa: "We bakuto
cannot walk in broad daylight," he said. "But if we unite and form a wall to stop Communism
, we can be of service to our nation."
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...
ese 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...
boss best known for founding the Inagawa-kai
Inagawa-kai
The is the third largest of Japan's yakuza 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:...
, Japan's third-largest yakuza syndicate.
Inagawa, son of a Meiji University
Meiji University
is a private university in Tokyo and Kawasaki, founded in 1881 by three lawyers of the Meiji era, Kishimoto Tatsuo, Miyagi Kōzō, and Yashiro Misao. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Japanese universities in Tokyo, Japan....
graduate who fell on hard times, never attended school. He was recruited into the yakuza as an enforcer when he was a teenage judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...
student.
After serving in World War II
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
, Inagawa formed the Inagawa-gumi, the predecessor to the current Inagawa-kai, in Atami, Shizuoka
Atami, 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.
Inagawa was regarded as an "elder statesman" of the yakuza, and a peacemaker skilled in settling disputes between rival gangs. In the early 1960s, he headed the short-lived Kanto-kai
Kanto-kai
The was a Japanese underworld organization formed by Yoshio Kodama in 1964, and named for the Kantō region from which it drew most of its membership. Kodama envisioned the Kantō-kai as a secret national police force, with the aim of forwarding the far right-wing views he and other organized...
, a federation of Kantō region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
gangs organized by Yoshio Kodama
Yoshio Kodama
was a prominent figure in the rise of organized crime in Japan. The most famous 'kuromaku', or behind-the-scenes power broker, of the 20th century, he was active in Japan's political arena and criminal underworld from the 1950s to the early 1970s....
. That organization's rightist philosophy was summed up by Inagawa: "We 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....
cannot walk in broad daylight," he said. "But if we unite and form a wall to stop Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, we can be of service to our nation."