Kyokuryu-kai
Encyclopedia
The is a yakuza
criminal organization based on the Okinawa island of Japan
, with an estimated membership of 210–270.
Headquartered in Naha, Okinawa
, the Kyokuryu-kai is one of the two designated yakuza groups in Okinawa Prefecture
along with its splinter group Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
, and had been Okinawa's largest organized crime group since 1983 until 1990 when the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai broke away.
Clan. These two gang groups were practically not "yakuza
" groups descended from the yakuza tradition (firstly Okinawa was originally not Japan) but were just a bunch of primitive bandits whose activities were like mugging United States military servicemen and smuggling stuff from nearby wealthier places such as Taiwan and Hong Konghttp://www.asyura2.com/0601/livedoor1/msg/143.html, and they had originally opposed each other until that merger. They formed the union in the year of 1970, shortly before the return of Okinawa to Japan, with the alleged purpose of preventing yakuza's invasion from the mainland.
From 1973 to 1981, the Kyokuryu-kai was in fierce conflict with the Yamaguchi-gumi
, the largest known yakuza syndicate attempting to expand its influence into Okinawa at that time. Later dubbed the and described as a "war of slaughter", this conflict often involved carbines, magnum bullets and hand grenades among other weapons, and was considered one of the most brutal yakuza conflicts in the 20th century. Unlike the Dojin-kai
, which had also been in conflict with the Yamaguchi-gumi in the late 20th century, the Kyokuryu-kai had never committed unconventional gruesome acts such as mass destruction and mass murder, but the victims included an innocent katagi, or ordinary civilian; a policeman who was shot with a carbine by a Kyokuryu member.
The first president resigned in 1976, and the second president was shot to death in 1982 by an affiliate organization. Yoshihiro Onaga became the third president in 1983, and membership reached 1,000. In 1990 an internal war broke out, and Kiyoshi Tominaga founded a splinter organization, the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
. In June 1992 the Kyokuryu-kai, along with the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai, was registered as a designated yakuza group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law.
The Kyokuryu-kai seems to have adopted the yakuza tradition extensively; the National Police Agency
's 1993 Police White Paper introduced a total of two notable cases of yubitsume
, or finger cutting, and in these two cases, one was of a Kyokuryu-kai member, the other was of an Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai member.
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...
criminal organization based on the Okinawa island of 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...
, with an estimated membership of 210–270.
Headquartered in Naha, Okinawa
Naha, Okinawa
is the capital city of the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa.Naha is a coastal city located on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands...
, the Kyokuryu-kai is one of the two designated yakuza groups in Okinawa Prefecture
Okinawa Prefecture
is one of Japan's southern prefectures. It consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over long, which extends southwest from Kyūshū to Taiwan. Okinawa's capital, Naha, is located in the southern part of Okinawa Island...
along with its splinter group Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
The is a yakuza criminal organization based on the Okinawa island of Japan. A designated yakuza group with an estimated 523 active members and 145 semi-active members, the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai is the largest yakuza organization in Okinawa Prefecture.-History:...
, and had been Okinawa's largest organized crime group since 1983 until 1990 when the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai broke away.
History
The Kyokuryu-kai was formed in 1970 as the by two gang groups, the Naha Clan and the KozaOkinawa, Okinawa
is the second-largest city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, following Naha, the capital city. It is located in the central part of the island of Okinawa, about 20 km north of Naha....
Clan. These two gang groups were practically not "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 descended from the yakuza tradition (firstly Okinawa was originally not Japan) but were just a bunch of primitive bandits whose activities were like mugging United States military servicemen and smuggling stuff from nearby wealthier places such as Taiwan and Hong Konghttp://www.asyura2.com/0601/livedoor1/msg/143.html, and they had originally opposed each other until that merger. They formed the union in the year of 1970, shortly before the return of Okinawa to Japan, with the alleged purpose of preventing yakuza's invasion from the mainland.
From 1973 to 1981, the Kyokuryu-kai was in fierce conflict with 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....
, the largest known yakuza syndicate attempting to expand its influence into Okinawa at that time. Later dubbed the and described as a "war of slaughter", this conflict often involved carbines, magnum bullets and hand grenades among other weapons, and was considered one of the most brutal yakuza conflicts in the 20th century. Unlike the Dojin-kai
Dojin-kai
The is a yakuza organization headquartered in Kurume, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, a designated yakuza syndicate, with approximately at least 850 members....
, which had also been in conflict with the Yamaguchi-gumi in the late 20th century, the Kyokuryu-kai had never committed unconventional gruesome acts such as mass destruction and mass murder, but the victims included an innocent katagi, or ordinary civilian; a policeman who was shot with a carbine by a Kyokuryu member.
The first president resigned in 1976, and the second president was shot to death in 1982 by an affiliate organization. Yoshihiro Onaga became the third president in 1983, and membership reached 1,000. In 1990 an internal war broke out, and Kiyoshi Tominaga founded a splinter organization, the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai
The is a yakuza criminal organization based on the Okinawa island of Japan. A designated yakuza group with an estimated 523 active members and 145 semi-active members, the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai is the largest yakuza organization in Okinawa Prefecture.-History:...
. In June 1992 the Kyokuryu-kai, along with the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai, was registered as a designated yakuza group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law.
The Kyokuryu-kai seems to have adopted the yakuza tradition extensively; the National Police Agency
National Police Agency (Japan)
The is an agency administered by the National Public Safety Commission of the Cabinet Office in the cabinet of Japan, and is the central coordinating agency of the Japanese police system....
's 1993 Police White Paper introduced a total of two notable cases of yubitsume
Yubitsume
is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger...
, or finger cutting, and in these two cases, one was of a Kyokuryu-kai member, the other was of an Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai member.
Condition
The Kyokuryu-kai had been in conflict with the Okinawa Kyokuryu-kai for years, but it has been reported that they are pondering a reconciliation since 1998.Activities
The Kyokuryu-kai's official policy forbids its members from engaging in drug trafficking.Presidents
- 1st (1970-197*): Yoshitada Nakamoto
- 2nd (1976–1982): Shinzan Tawada
- 3rd (1983-2010): Yoshihiro Onaga
- 4th (2010-present): Shoichi Hanaki