Tadashi Irie
Encyclopedia
is a yakuza
, the head (kumicho) of the Osaka
-based 2nd Takumi-gumi
and the grand general manager (so-honbucho) of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi
. He is regarded as the number-three leader of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate.
Irie began his career as a yakuza when he joined the Fukui-gumi, a Yamaguchi
affiliate based in Osaka
. He later joined the Takumi-gumi
in 1978 when Masaru Takumi
, then the number-two member (wakagashira) of the Fukui-gumi, became an executive underboss (jikisan) of the 3rd Yamaguchi-gumi. Prior to this he was the head of his own clan, the Irie-gumi, which he formed in 1975, but following this he merged it into the Takumi-gumi.
He was known for his unwavering loyalty to Masaru Takumi; he had been offered the Yamaguchi-gumi's executive position several times, but he repeatedly declined, preferring to be Takumi's henchman. In 1997 when Takumi was assassinated by the Nakano-kai
, he succeeded as the head of the Takumi-gumi, making excessively ruthless organized attacks on the Nakano-kai in retaliation.
He entered the Kobe
headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi in 1997 when he became the head of the Takumi-gumi. He was promoted to wakagashira-hosa (one of the number-three underbosses) in 2005, and following the start of the sixth era headed by Shinobu Tsukasa from the Kodo-kai
of Nagoya, he flew the de facto number-three position (so-honbucho).
He has been involved in the Yamaguchi-gumi
's important yakuza wars such as the Osaka War (1975–1978, against the Matsuda-gumi) and Yama-Ichi War
(1984–1989, against the Ichiwa-kai
).
On December 1, 2010 — just 2 weeks after the arrest of the "number-two of the Yamaguchi-gumi" Kiyoshi Takayama
—, Irie, as the "number-three of the Yamaguchi-gumi", was arrested on suspicion of compensating the relatives of a hitman (a member of the Takumi-gumi) who had been jailed for murdering a senior member of the Nakano-kai. He was charged with paying 3.9 million yen ($46,555) to the hitman's relatives, whom he had paid a total of at least approximately US$250,000. He was released on bail on December 24 of that year, and received a jail sentence of 10 months in March 2011.
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...
, the head (kumicho) of the Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
-based 2nd Takumi-gumi
Takumi-gumi
The Second Takumi-gumi is a Japanese yakuza gang affiliated with the powerful Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate.The Kansai-based gang was founded in 1967 by Masaru Takumi, the longtime second-in-command and financial overseer of the Yamaguchi-gumi....
and the grand general manager (so-honbucho) of the 6th 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....
. He is regarded as the number-three leader of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate.
Irie began his career as a yakuza when he joined the Fukui-gumi, a 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....
affiliate based in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
. He later joined the Takumi-gumi
Takumi-gumi
The Second Takumi-gumi is a Japanese yakuza gang affiliated with the powerful Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate.The Kansai-based gang was founded in 1967 by Masaru Takumi, the longtime second-in-command and financial overseer of the Yamaguchi-gumi....
in 1978 when Masaru Takumi
Masaru Takumi
Masaru Takumi was a powerful Japanese organized crime figure assassinated in 1997. Until his death, he was the second-in-command and financial overseer of Japan's largest yakuza gang, the Yamaguchi-gumi...
, then the number-two member (wakagashira) of the Fukui-gumi, became an executive underboss (jikisan) of the 3rd Yamaguchi-gumi. Prior to this he was the head of his own clan, the Irie-gumi, which he formed in 1975, but following this he merged it into the Takumi-gumi.
He was known for his unwavering loyalty to Masaru Takumi; he had been offered the Yamaguchi-gumi's executive position several times, but he repeatedly declined, preferring to be Takumi's henchman. In 1997 when Takumi was assassinated by the Nakano-kai
Nakano-kai
The Nakano-kai was a notorious Osaka-based yakuza gang, founded by Taro Nakano in the years after World War 2. The Nakano-kai was known for its fierce bellicosity and thus sometimes dubbed the "Dojin-kai in the Yamaguchi-gumi".Before 1997, the Nakano-kai had been an affiliate of the Kobe-based...
, he succeeded as the head of the Takumi-gumi, making excessively ruthless organized attacks on the Nakano-kai in retaliation.
He entered the 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...
headquarters of the Yamaguchi-gumi in 1997 when he became the head of the Takumi-gumi. He was promoted to wakagashira-hosa (one of the number-three underbosses) in 2005, and following the start of the sixth era headed by Shinobu Tsukasa from the Kodo-kai
Kodo-kai
The Kodo-kai is a yakuza criminal organization based in Nagoya, Japan. It is a secondary organization of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan...
of Nagoya, he flew the de facto number-three position (so-honbucho).
He has been involved in 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....
's important yakuza wars such as the Osaka War (1975–1978, against the Matsuda-gumi) and Yama-Ichi War
Yama-Ichi War
The Yama–Ichi War was a yakuza conflict mainly fought in the Kansai region of Japan from 1985 to 1989, between the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Ichiwa-kai gangs....
(1984–1989, against the Ichiwa-kai
Ichiwa-kai
The Ichiwa-kai was a yakuza gang based in Osaka, Japan.It was formed on June 13, 1984 when Hiroshi Yamamoto, a top lieutenant in the Yamaguchi-gumi, broke from that gang to form his own organization with over 10,000 members...
).
On December 1, 2010 — just 2 weeks after the arrest of the "number-two of the Yamaguchi-gumi" Kiyoshi Takayama
Kiyoshi Takayama
is a yakuza, the founding head of the Nagoya-based Takayama-gumi, the president of the 2nd Kodo-kai, and the number-two boss of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan....
—, Irie, as the "number-three of the Yamaguchi-gumi", was arrested on suspicion of compensating the relatives of a hitman (a member of the Takumi-gumi) who had been jailed for murdering a senior member of the Nakano-kai. He was charged with paying 3.9 million yen ($46,555) to the hitman's relatives, whom he had paid a total of at least approximately US$250,000. He was released on bail on December 24 of that year, and received a jail sentence of 10 months in March 2011.