The is a 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...

 group based in Hiroshima

Hiroshima

is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...

, 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 280 active members and 470 semi-active members. The Kyosei-kai is the largest yakuza organization in the Chugoku region.

History

The Kyosei-kai was formed in May 1964 from seven yakuza clans united by 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....

 Tatsuo Yamamura.

Condition

The Kyosei-kai is known for its history of fierce conflicts with various other yakuza groups, and therefore, the Kyosei-kai is thought to be most responsible for creating Hiroshima's "town of violence" image. Notably the Kyosei-kai has been in 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 yakuza syndicate, since early 1960s.

The Kyosei-kai was a leading member of two anti-Yamaguchi federations, the Kansai Hatsuka-kai (formed in 1970) and the Nishinippon Hatsuka-kai (formed in 1989), and has formed a new anti-Yamaguchi federation named the Gosha-kai since 1996 with three other Chugoku-based organizations, the Kyodo-kai

Kyodo-kai

The is a yakuza group based in Hiroshima, Japan. The Kyodo-kai is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 180 active members and 300 semi-active members, and is the second largest yakuza group in the Chugoku region after the Kyosei-kai.-History:...

, the Asano-gumi

Asano-gumi

The is a yakuza group based in Okayama, Japan. The Asano-gumi is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 130 active members.-History:The Asano-gumi was formed in 1945 as a bakuto organization named the by Kunio Oyama. The group restarted as the Asano-gumi with the head of Shin'ichi Asano in...

, the Goda-ikka

Goda-ikka

The is a yakuza group based in Yamaguchi, Japan. The Goda-ikka is a designated yakuza group and Yamaguchi Prefecture's largest yakuza group with an estimated 440 members.-History:...

, and the Shikoku

Shikoku

is the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of the island of Kyūshū. Its ancient names include Iyo-no-futana-shima , Iyo-shima , and Futana-shima...

-based Shinwa-kai.

In popular culture

The Battles Without Honor and Humanity yakuza film series is based on the 20th-century actural yakuza conflicts done by Hiroshima yakuza syndicates, particularly the Kyosei-kai.

Presidents

• 1st (1964–1965): Tatsuo Yamamura
• 2nd (1965–1970): Takeshi Hattori
• 3rd (1970–1987): Hisashi Yamada
• 4th (1990–2003): Isao Okimoto
• 5th (2004-present): Atsumu Moriya