Yakuza
Encyclopedia
, 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 (暴力団), literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" (任侠団体 or 仁侠団体), "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously known for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. They are very prevalent in the Japanese media and operate internationally with an estimated 80,900 members.
(1603 – 1868): tekiya
, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto
, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.
Tekiya (peddlers) were considered one of the lowest social groups in Edo. As they began to form organizations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities. During Shinto festivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair.
The Edo government eventually formally recognized such tekiya organizations and granted the oyabun (leaders) of tekiya a surname as well as permission to carry a sword — the wakizashi
, or short samurai sword (the right to carry the katana
, or full-sized samurai swords, remained the exclusive right of the nobility and samurai castes). This was a major step forward for the traders, as formerly only samurai and noblemen were allowed to carry swords.
Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was illegal. Many small gambling houses cropped up in abandoned temples or shrines at the edge of towns and villages all over Japan. Most of these gambling houses ran loan sharking businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel.
The places themselves, as well as the bakuto, were regarded with disdain by society at large, and much of the undesirable image of the yakuza originates from bakuto; this includes the name yakuza itself (ya-ku-za, or 8-9-3, is a losing hand in Oicho-Kabu
, a form of blackjack
).
Because of the economic situation during the mid-period and the predominance of the merchant class, developing yakuza groups were composed of misfits and delinquents that had joined or formed yakuza groups to extort customers in local markets by selling fake or shoddy goods.
The roots of the yakuza can still be seen today in initiation ceremonies, which incorporate tekiya or bakuto rituals. Although the modern yakuza has diversified, some gangs still identify with one group or the other; for example, a gang whose primary source of income is illegal gambling may refer to themselves as bakuto.
During the formation of the yakuza, they adopted the traditional Japanese hierarchical structure of oyabun-kobun where kobun (子分; lit. foster child) owe their allegiance to the oyabun (親分; lit. foster parent). In a much later period, the code of jingi (仁義, justice and duty) was developed where loyalty and respect are a way of life.
The oyabun-kobun relationship is formalized by ceremonial sharing of sake from a single cup. This ritual is not exclusive to the yakuza—it is also commonly performed in traditional Japanese Shinto
weddings, and may have been a part of sworn brotherhood relationships.
During the World War II period in Japan, the more traditional tekiya/bakuto form of organization declined as the entire population was mobilised to participate in the war effort and society came under strict military government. However, after the war, the yakuza adapted again.
Prospective yakuza come from all walks of life. The most romantic tales tell how yakuza accept sons who have been abandoned or exiled by their parents. Many yakuza start out in junior high school or high school as common street thugs or members of bōsōzoku
gangs. Perhaps because of its lower socio-economic status, numerous yakuza members come from Burakumin
and ethnic Korean backgrounds.
Yakuza groups are headed by an oyabun or kumichō (組長, family head) who gives orders to his subordinates, the kobun. In this respect, the organization is a variation of the traditional Japanese senpai
-kōhai (senior-junior) model. Members of yakuza gangs cut their family ties and transfer their loyalty to the gang boss. They refer to each other as family members - fathers and elder and younger brothers. The yakuza is populated almost entirely by men, and there are very few women involved who are called "nee-san" (姐さん older sister). When the 3rd Yamaguchi-gumi
boss (Kazuo Taoka
) died in the early 1980s, his wife (Fumiko) took over as boss of Yamaguchi-gumi, albeit for a short time.
The yakuza have a very complex organizational structure. There is an overall boss of the syndicate, the kumicho, and directly beneath him are the saiko komon (senior advisor) and so-honbucho (headquarters chief). The second in the chain of command is the wakagashira, who governs several gangs in a region with the help of a fuku-honbucho who is himself responsible for several gangs. The regional gangs themselves are governed by their local boss, the shateigashira.
Each member's connection is ranked by the hierarchy of sakazuki (sake sharing). Kumicho are at the top, and control various saikō-komon (最高顧問, senior advisors). The saikō-komon control their own turfs in different areas or cities. They have their own underlings, including other underbosses, advisors, accountants and enforcers.
Those who have received sake from oyabun are part of the immediate family and ranked in terms of elder or younger brothers. However, each kobun, in turn, can offer sakazuki as oyabun to his underling to form an affiliated organisation, which might in turn form lower ranked organizations. In the Yamaguchi-gumi, which controls some 2,500 businesses and 500 yakuza groups, there are even 5th rank subsidiary organizations.
, or the cutting of one's finger, is a form of penance or apology. Upon a first offence, the transgressor must cut off the tip of his left little finger and hand the severed portion to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do this in penance to the oyabun if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation.
Its origin stems from the traditional way of holding a Japanese sword. The bottom three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword tightly, with the thumb and index fingers slightly loose. The removal of digits starting with the little finger moving up the hand to the index finger progressively weakens a person's sword grip.
The idea is that a person with a weak sword grip then has to rely more on the group for protection—reducing individual action. In recent years, prosthetic fingertips have been developed to disguise this distinctive appearance.
Many yakuza have full-body tattoos. These tattoos, known as irezumi
in Japan, are still often "hand-poked", that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. The procedure is expensive and painful and can take years to complete.
When yakuza members play Oicho-Kabu
cards with each other, they often remove their shirts or open them up and drape them around their waists. This allows them to display their full-body tattoos to each other. This is one of the few times that yakuza members display their tattoos to others, as they normally keep them concealed in public with long-sleeved and high-necked shirts. When new members join, they are often required to remove their trousers as well and reveal any lower body tattoos.
under the enacted in 1991.
Under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law, the Prefectural Public Safety Commissions have registered 22 syndicates as the designated boryokudan groups. Fukuoka Prefecture
has the largest number of designated boryokudan groups among all of the prefectures, at 5; the Kudo-kai
, the Taishu-kai
, the Fukuhaku-kai
, the Dojin-kai
and the Kyushu Seido-kai
.
Designated boryokudan groups are usually large, old-established organizations (mostly formed before the World War II
, some even formed before the Meiji Revolution of the 19th century), however there are some exceptions such as the Kyushu Seido-kai
which, with its blatant armed conflicts with the Dojin-kai
, was registered only two years after its formation.
The numbers which follow the names of boryokudan groups refer to the group's leadership. For example, Yoshinori Watanabe
headed the Yamaguchi-gumi
fifth; on his retirement, Shinobu Tsukasa became head of the Yamaguchi-gumi sixth, and "Yamaguchi-gumi VI" is the group's formal name.
mafia
and Chinese
triads. Yakuza organizations often have an office with a wooden board on the front door, openly displaying their group name or emblem.
Old stereotypes are - members often wear sunglasses and colourful suits so that their profession can be immediately recognized by civilians (katagi), and even the way many yakuza walk is different from ordinary citizens. Their wide gait is markedly different from the unassuming way many Japanese prefer to adopt. Alternatively, yakuza can dress more conservatively and flash their tattoos to indicate their affiliation when the need arises. On occasion, they also sport insignia pins on their lapels. One yakuza family even printed a monthly newsletter with details on prisons, weddings, funerals, murders, and poems by leaders.
Until recently, the majority of yakuza income came from protection rackets in shopping, entertainment and red-light district
s within their territory. This is mainly due to the reluctance of such businesses to seek help from the police. The Japanese police are also reluctant to interfere in internal matters in recognized communities such as shopping arcades, schools/universities, night districts and so on.
In this sense, yakuza are still regarded as semi-legitimate organizations. For example, immediately after the Kobe earthquake, the Yamaguchi-gumi
, whose headquarters are in Kobe
, mobilized itself to provide disaster relief services (including the use of a helicopter), and this was widely reported by the media as a contrast to the much slower response by the Japanese government. The yakuza repeated their aid after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
, with groups opening their offices to refugees and sending dozens of trucks with supplies to affected areas. For this reason, many yakuza regard their income and hustle (shinogi) as a collection of a feudal tax.
Many yakuza syndicates, notably the Yamaguchi-gumi
, officially forbid their members from engaging in drug trafficking, while some yakuza syndicates, notably the Dojin-kai
, are heavily involved in drug trafficking.
Some yakuza groups are heavily involved in sex-related industries.
Some yakuza groups are known to deal extensively in human trafficking
. The Philippines
, for instance, is a source of young women. Yakuza trick girls from impoverished villages into coming to Japan, where they are promised respectable jobs with good wages. Instead, they are forced into becoming prostitutes and strippers.
Yakuza frequently engage in a uniquely Japanese form of extortion, known as sōkaiya
. In essence, this is a specialized form of protection racket. Instead of harassing small businesses, the yakuza harasses a stockholders' meeting of a larger corporation. They simply scare the ordinary stockholder with the presence of yakuza operatives, who obtain the right to attend the meeting by a small purchase of stock.
They also engage in simple blackmail, obtaining incriminating or embarrassing information about a company's practices or leaders. Once the yakuza gain a foothold in these companies, they will work for them to protect the company from having such internal scandals exposed to the public. Some companies still include payoffs as part of their annual budget.
The yakuza have a strong influence in Japanese professional wrestling
, or puroresu. Most of their interest in wrestling activities and promotions is purely financial. The yakuza have mostly gotten involved by financially supporting wrestling promotions with fading fortunes, or simple business loans. Many venues used by wrestling are connected to the yakuza, and as such, when a promotion uses one of their sites, the yakuza receive a percentage of the gate. The yakuza as a whole is regarded as a great supporter of both puroresu and MMA
. It's not unusual for wrestlers to receive specific instructions on what to do in their matches so as to appeal just to yakuza members in the crowd. It is thought in Japan that it is safe to say that none of the large wrestling promotions in Japan would fold, because they would be rescued by the yakuza.
The pioneer of wrestling in Japan, Rikidōzan
, was killed by the yakuza. Former WWE
wrestler Yoshihiro Tajiri
was asked to start a yakuza gimmick, an offer he quickly refused, fearing that he would be targeted by the real yakuza. Professional wrestler Yoshiaki Fujiwara
is often referred to as Kumicho (i.e., "Godfather") and his wrestling promotion was called the Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
. He often portrays yakuza figures as an actor on Japanese television.
Yakuza also have ties to the Japanese realty market and banking, through jiageya. Jiageya specialize in inducing holders of small real estate to sell their property so that estate companies can carry out much larger development plans. Japan's bubble economy of the 1980s is often blamed on real estate speculation by banking subsidiaries. After the collapse of the Japanese property bubble, a manager of a major bank in Nagoya was assassinated, and much speculation ensued about the banking industry's indirect connection to the Japanese underworld.
Yakuza have been known to make large investments in legitimate, mainstream companies. In 1989, Susumu Ishii, the Oyabun of the Inagawa-kai
(a well known yakuza group) bought US$
255 million worth of Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway
's stock. Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission
has knowledge of more than 50 listed companies with ties to organized crime, and in March 2008, the Osaka Securities Exchange
decided to review all listed companies and expel those with yakuza ties.
As a matter of principle, theft is not recognised as a legitimate activity of yakuza. This is in line with the idea that their activities are semi-open; theft by definition would be a covert activity. More importantly, such an act would be considered a trespass by the community. Also, yakuza usually do not conduct the actual business operation by themselves. Core business activities such as merchandising, loan sharking or management of gambling houses are typically managed by non-yakuza members who pay protection fees for their activities.
There is much evidence of yakuza involvement in international crime. There are many tattooed yakuza members imprisoned in various Asian prisons for such crimes as drug trafficking and arms smuggling. In 1997, one verified yakuza member was caught smuggling 4 kilograms (8.82 pounds) of heroin into Canada.
In 1999, Italian-American mafia
Bonanno family
member, Mickey Zaffarano, was overheard talking about the profits of the pornography trade that both families could profit from. Another yakuza racket is bringing women of other ethnicities/races, especially East European and Asian
to Japan under the lure of a glamorous position, then forcing the women into prostitution.
Because of their history as a legitimate feudal organization and their connection to the Japanese political system through the uyoku (extreme right-wing political groups), yakuza are somewhat a part of the Japanese establishment, with six fan magazine
s reporting on their activities. One study found that one in ten adults under the age of 40 believed that the yakuza should be allowed to exist. In the 1980s in Fukuoka
, a yakuza war spiraled out of control and civilians were hurt. It was a large conflict between the Yamaguchi-gumi
and Dojin-kai
, called the Yama-Michi War. The police stepped in and forced the yakuza bosses on both sides to declare a truce in public.
At various times, people in Japanese cities have launched anti-yakuza campaigns with mixed and varied success. In March 1995, the Japanese government passed the Act for Prevention of Unlawful Activities by Criminal Gang Members which made traditional racketeering much more difficult. Beginning in 2009, led by agency chief Takaharu Ando, Japanese police began to crack down on the gangs. Kodo-kai
chief Kiyoshi Takayama
was arrested in late 2010. In December 2010, police arrested Yamaguchi-gumi's alleged number three leader, Tadashi Irie
. According to the media, encouraged by tougher anti-yakuza laws and legislation, local governments and construction companies have begun to shun or ban yakuza activities or involvement in their communities or construction projects. The police are handicapped, however, by Japan's lack of an equivalent to plea bargaining, witness protection
, or the United States' RICO Act. Laws were enacted in Osaka and Tokyo in 2010 and 2011 to try to combat Yakuza influence by making it illegal for any business to do business with the Yakuza.
Ironically, Kobe
, the home city of the largest yakuza syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi
, is one of the safest cities in Japan, because "cheap" criminals such as street gangs and thugs are afraid to attract the yakuza's attention so they avoid being active in the city.
is mostly relegated to Hawaii
, but they have made their presence known in other parts of the country, including Los Angeles
, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas
, Arizona
, Virginia
, Chicago
, and New York City
. The yakuza are said to use Hawaii as a way station between Japan and mainland America, smuggling crystal methamphetamine into the country and smuggling back firearms to Japan. They easily fit into the local population, since many tourists from Japan and other Asian countries visit the islands on a regular basis, and many Hawaii residents are of full or partial Japanese descent. They also work with local gangs, funneling Japanese tourists to gambling parlors and brothels.
In California, the yakuza have made alliances with local Vietnamese and Korean gangs as well as Chinese triads, with Vietnamese as the most common alliance. The alliances with Vietnamese gangs dated back in the late 1980s, and most Vietnamese gangsters were used as muscle, as they had potential to become extremely violent as needed. (Yakuza saw the potential following the constant Vietnamese cafe shoot outs, and home invasion burgalries through out the 80s and early 90s) In New York City, they appear to collect finders fees from American mafiosos and businessmen for guiding Japanese tourists to gambling establishments, both legal and illegal.
Handgun
s manufactured in the U.S. account for a large share (33%) of handguns seized in Japan, followed by China
(16%), and the Philippines (10%). In 1990, a Smith & Wesson
.38 caliber revolver
that cost $275 in the U.S. could sell for up to $4,000 in Tokyo. By 1997 it would sell for only $500, due to the proliferation of guns in Japan during the 1990s.
The FBI suspects that the yakuza use various operations to launder money in the U.S.
In 2001, the FBI's representative in Tokyo arranged for Tadamasa Goto
, the head of the group Goto-gumi
, to receive a liver transplant in the United States
, in return for information of Yamaguchi-gumi operations in the U.S. This was done without prior consultation of the NPA
. The journalist who uncovered the deal received threats by Goto and was given police protection in the US and in Japan.
are most notably involved in illegal immigration. There were cases in the 1990s of yakuza recruiting young women (mainly with diplomas and good English knowledge) with promises of legitimate work in Japan
. When the women arrived in Japan they were forced into prostitution. Some women were able to escape their employers and return home to Mexico and alert authorities. In some incidents, Mexican authorities were able to apprehend the yakuza members and deported them as illegal immigrants.
Similar incidents have also occurred in Peru
where women have been enticed to work in Japan. The Association of Hispanic Women Against Discrimination and Gender Violence or "Women in Action" estimates nearly 3,000 Mexican women recruited by the various yakuza clans prostitute themselves in Japan.
are a group that is socially discriminated against in Japanese society, whose recorded history goes back to the Heian Period
in the 11th century. The burakumin are descendants
of outcast communities of the pre-modern, especially the feudal era, mainly those with occupations considered tainted with death or ritual impurity, such as butchers, executioner
s, undertakers or leather workers. They traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets
.
According to David E. Kaplan
and Alec Dubro, burakumin
account for about 70% of the members of Yamaguchi-gumi
, the largest yakuza syndicate in Japan.
Mitsuhiro Suganuma, ex-officer of the Public Security Intelligence Agency
, testified that burakumin account for about 60% of the members of the entire yakuza.
. In the early 1990s, 18 of 90 top bosses of Inagawa-kai
were ethnic Koreans. National Police Agency (Japan)
suggested Koreans composed 10% along with 70% of burakumin in Yamaguchi-gumi
. Some of the representatives of the designated Bōryokudan are also. The Korean significance had been an untouchable taboo in Japan and one of the reasons that the Japanese version of Kaplan and Dubro's Yakuza (1986) had not been published until 1991 with deletion of Korean-related description such as the component of Yamaguchi-gumi.
Although Japanese-born people of Korean ancestry are a significant segment of the Japanese population, they are still considered resident aliens because of their nationality. But Koreans, who are often shunned in legitimate trades, are embraced by the Japanese yakuza precisely because they fit the group's "outsider" image.
Prominent individuals of Korean descent in the world of the yakuza have included Hisayuki Machii
, the founder of the Tosei-kai, Tokutaro Takayama
, the president of the 4th-generation Aizukotetsu-kai
, Jiro Kiyota, the president of the 5th-generation Inagawa-kai
, Hirofumi Hashimoto, the head of the Kyokushinrengo-kai (a powerful Yamaguchi-gumi
affiliate). Oddly, prominent individuals of Korean (and many other foreign) origin in the world of yakuza tend to be known for their intense Japan
ese nationalism, which is not an inherent tendency of the yakuza itself, often founding their own uyoku (right-wing) organizations.
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
syndicates in 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...
. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan (暴力団), literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" (任侠団体 or 仁侠団体), "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously known for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. They are very prevalent in the Japanese media and operate internationally with an estimated 80,900 members.
Divisions of origin
Despite uncertainty about the single origin of yakuza organizations, most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo PeriodEdo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
(1603 – 1868): tekiya
Tekiya
Tekiya were itinerant Japanese merchants who, along with the bakuto , were the predecessors to the modern yakuza....
, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and 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....
, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.
Tekiya (peddlers) were considered one of the lowest social groups in Edo. As they began to form organizations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities. During Shinto festivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair.
The Edo government eventually formally recognized such tekiya organizations and granted the oyabun (leaders) of tekiya a surname as well as permission to carry a sword — the wakizashi
Wakizashi
The is one of the traditional Japanese swords worn by the samurai class in feudal Japan.-Description:...
, or short samurai sword (the right to carry the katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
, or full-sized samurai swords, remained the exclusive right of the nobility and samurai castes). This was a major step forward for the traders, as formerly only samurai and noblemen were allowed to carry swords.
Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was illegal. Many small gambling houses cropped up in abandoned temples or shrines at the edge of towns and villages all over Japan. Most of these gambling houses ran loan sharking businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel.
The places themselves, as well as the bakuto, were regarded with disdain by society at large, and much of the undesirable image of the yakuza originates from bakuto; this includes the name yakuza itself (ya-ku-za, or 8-9-3, is a losing hand in Oicho-Kabu
Oicho-Kabu
Oicho-Kabu is a traditional Japanese game that is similar to the Western games, blackjack and baccarat. It is typically played with special kabufuda cards. A hanafuda deck can also be used, if the last two months are discarded...
, a form of blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
).
Because of the economic situation during the mid-period and the predominance of the merchant class, developing yakuza groups were composed of misfits and delinquents that had joined or formed yakuza groups to extort customers in local markets by selling fake or shoddy goods.
The roots of the yakuza can still be seen today in initiation ceremonies, which incorporate tekiya or bakuto rituals. Although the modern yakuza has diversified, some gangs still identify with one group or the other; for example, a gang whose primary source of income is illegal gambling may refer to themselves as bakuto.
Structure
The oyabun-kobun relationship is formalized by ceremonial sharing of sake from a single cup. This ritual is not exclusive to the yakuza—it is also commonly performed in traditional Japanese Shinto
Shinto
or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...
weddings, and may have been a part of sworn brotherhood relationships.
During the World War II period in Japan, the more traditional tekiya/bakuto form of organization declined as the entire population was mobilised to participate in the war effort and society came under strict military government. However, after the war, the yakuza adapted again.
Prospective yakuza come from all walks of life. The most romantic tales tell how yakuza accept sons who have been abandoned or exiled by their parents. Many yakuza start out in junior high school or high school as common street thugs or members of bōsōzoku
Bosozoku
is a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs.-Traits and history:The word bōsōzoku is also applied to motorcycle gangs, who share an interest in modifications for motorcycles, such as removing the mufflers so that more noise is produced...
gangs. Perhaps because of its lower socio-economic status, numerous yakuza members come from Burakumin
Burakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....
and ethnic Korean backgrounds.
Yakuza groups are headed by an oyabun or kumichō (組長, family head) who gives orders to his subordinates, the kobun. In this respect, the organization is a variation of the traditional Japanese senpai
Senpai
and are an essential element of Japanese seniority-based status relationships, similar to the way that family and other relationships are decided based on age, with even twins being divided into elder and younger sibling...
-kōhai (senior-junior) model. Members of yakuza gangs cut their family ties and transfer their loyalty to the gang boss. They refer to each other as family members - fathers and elder and younger brothers. The yakuza is populated almost entirely by men, and there are very few women involved who are called "nee-san" (姐さん older sister). When the 3rd 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....
boss (Kazuo Taoka
Kazuo Taoka
was one of the most prominent yakuza Godfathers.Known as the "Godfather of Godfathers", Taoka was third kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization, from 1946 to 1981....
) died in the early 1980s, his wife (Fumiko) took over as boss of Yamaguchi-gumi, albeit for a short time.
The yakuza have a very complex organizational structure. There is an overall boss of the syndicate, the kumicho, and directly beneath him are the saiko komon (senior advisor) and so-honbucho (headquarters chief). The second in the chain of command is the wakagashira, who governs several gangs in a region with the help of a fuku-honbucho who is himself responsible for several gangs. The regional gangs themselves are governed by their local boss, the shateigashira.
Each member's connection is ranked by the hierarchy of sakazuki (sake sharing). Kumicho are at the top, and control various saikō-komon (最高顧問, senior advisors). The saikō-komon control their own turfs in different areas or cities. They have their own underlings, including other underbosses, advisors, accountants and enforcers.
Those who have received sake from oyabun are part of the immediate family and ranked in terms of elder or younger brothers. However, each kobun, in turn, can offer sakazuki as oyabun to his underling to form an affiliated organisation, which might in turn form lower ranked organizations. In the Yamaguchi-gumi, which controls some 2,500 businesses and 500 yakuza groups, there are even 5th rank subsidiary organizations.
Rituals
YubitsumeYubitsume
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 the cutting of one's finger, is a form of penance or apology. Upon a first offence, the transgressor must cut off the tip of his left little finger and hand the severed portion to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do this in penance to the oyabun if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation.
Its origin stems from the traditional way of holding a Japanese sword. The bottom three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword tightly, with the thumb and index fingers slightly loose. The removal of digits starting with the little finger moving up the hand to the index finger progressively weakens a person's sword grip.
The idea is that a person with a weak sword grip then has to rely more on the group for protection—reducing individual action. In recent years, prosthetic fingertips have been developed to disguise this distinctive appearance.
Many yakuza have full-body tattoos. These tattoos, known as irezumi
Irezumi
Irezumi is a Japanese word that refers to the insertion of ink under the skin to leave a permanent, usually decorative mark; a form of tattooing....
in Japan, are still often "hand-poked", that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. The procedure is expensive and painful and can take years to complete.
When yakuza members play Oicho-Kabu
Oicho-Kabu
Oicho-Kabu is a traditional Japanese game that is similar to the Western games, blackjack and baccarat. It is typically played with special kabufuda cards. A hanafuda deck can also be used, if the last two months are discarded...
cards with each other, they often remove their shirts or open them up and drape them around their waists. This allows them to display their full-body tattoos to each other. This is one of the few times that yakuza members display their tattoos to others, as they normally keep them concealed in public with long-sleeved and high-necked shirts. When new members join, they are often required to remove their trousers as well and reveal any lower body tattoos.
The three largest syndicates
Although yakuza membership has declined following an antigang law aimed specifically at yakuza and passed by the Japanese government in 1992, there are thought to be more than 103,000 active yakuza members in Japan today. Although there are many different yakuza groups, together they form the largest organized crime group in the world.| Principal families | Description | Mon (crest) |
|---|---|---|
| Created in 1915, the Yamaguchi-gumi is the biggest yakuza family, accounting for 50% of all yakuza in Japan, with more than 55,000 members divided into 850 clans. Despite more than one decade of police repression, the Yamaguchi-gumi has continued to grow. From its headquarters in 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... , it directs criminal activities throughout Japan. It is also involved in operations in Asia and the United States. Shinobu Tsukasa Kenichi Shinoda , also known as , is a yakuza, the sixth and current kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He was released from prison on April 9, 2011, after serving a six-year sentence for firearms possession.... , also known as Kenichi Shinoda, is the Yamaguchi-gumi's current oyabun. He follows an expansionist policy, and has increased operations in Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... (which has not traditionally been the territory of the Yamaguchi-gumi.) The Yamaguchi family is successful to the point where its name has become synonymous with Japanese organized crime in many parts of Asia outside of Japan. Many Chinese or Korean persons who do not know the name "Yakuza" would know the name "Yamaguchi-gumi", which is frequently portrayed in gangster movies. |
 "The meaning of the samurai sword is in the warrior and the sword as one it could be a dangerous opponent" Yamabishi (山菱) |
|
| The Sumiyoshi-rengo is the second largest yakuza family, with 20,000 members divided into 277 clans. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as it is sometimes called, is a confederation of smaller yakuza groups. Its current oyabun is Shigeo Nishiguchi. Structurally, Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its principal rival, the Yamaguchi-gumi, in that it functions like a federation. The chain of command is more lax, and although Shigeo Nishiguchi is always the supreme oyabun, its leadership is distributed among several other people. |  |
|
| The Inagawa-kaï is the third largest yakuza family in Japan, with roughly 15,000 members divided into 313 clans. It is based in the Tokyo-Yokohama area and was one of the first yakuza families to expand its operations to outside of Japan. Its current oyabun is Yoshio Tsunoda. |  |
Designated boryokudan
A is a "particularly harmful" yakuza group registered by the Prefectural Public Safety CommissionsNational Public Safety Commission (Japan)
The is a Japanese Cabinet Office commission. It is headquartered in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Office at 2-1-2 Kasumigasaeki in Chiyoda, Tokyo....
under the enacted in 1991.
Under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law, the Prefectural Public Safety Commissions have registered 22 syndicates as the designated boryokudan groups. Fukuoka Prefecture
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
has the largest number of designated boryokudan groups among all of the prefectures, at 5; the Kudo-kai
Kudo-kai
The is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 690 active members. refers to the Kudo-kai as an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but that is false...
, the Taishu-kai
Taishu-kai
The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 180 active members.-History:The Taishu-kai was formed around 1954 under the name by , a mineworker who became the first president. The Ota Group was later renamed the , and again renamed the...
, the Fukuhaku-kai
Fukuhaku-kai
The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan. The Fukuhaku-kai is a designated yakuza group with an estimated membership of 280, and has its offices in three other prefectures as well as its headquarters in Hakata, Fukuoka....
, 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....
and the Kyushu Seido-kai
Kyushu Seido-kai
The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 380 active members. Headquartered in the southern Fukuoka region of Omuta, the Kyushu Seido-kai maintains its offices in five other prefectures including Tokyo....
.
Designated boryokudan groups are usually large, old-established organizations (mostly formed before the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, some even formed before the Meiji Revolution of the 19th century), however there are some exceptions such as the Kyushu Seido-kai
Kyushu Seido-kai
The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 380 active members. Headquartered in the southern Fukuoka region of Omuta, the Kyushu Seido-kai maintains its offices in five other prefectures including Tokyo....
which, with its blatant armed conflicts with 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....
, was registered only two years after its formation.
The numbers which follow the names of boryokudan groups refer to the group's leadership. For example, Yoshinori Watanabe
Yoshinori Watanabe
was a yakuza, the fifth kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an Anti-Gang law passed in 1992...
headed 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....
fifth; on his retirement, Shinobu Tsukasa became head of the Yamaguchi-gumi sixth, and "Yamaguchi-gumi VI" is the group's formal name.
| Name | Headquarters | Reg. in | Name | Headquarters | Reg. in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.... VI |
Hyogo Hyogo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :... |
1992 |  Dojin-kaiDojin-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.... |
Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.... |
1992 |
| 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:... |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
1992 | Shinwa-kai II | Kagawa Kagawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Shikoku island. The capital is Takamatsu.- History :Kagawa was formerly known as Sanuki Province.For a brief period between August 1876 and December 1888, Kagawa was made a part of Ehime Prefecture.-Battle of Yashima:... |
1992 |
| Sumiyoshi-kai Sumiyoshi-kai The , sometimes referred to as the , is the second-largest yakuza group in Japan with an estimated 20,000 members.The Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller gangs. Its current sosai, or president, is Shigeo Nishiguchi. Structurally, the Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its main rival, the... |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
1992 | Soai-kai Soai-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Chiba, Japan. The Soai-kai is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 230 active members.-History:The Soai-kai was formed in 1945 by Toramatsu Takahashi, then a member of a Yokohama-based bakuto group named the Sasada-ikka... |
Chiba Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture... |
1992 |
| Kudo-kai Kudo-kai The is a yakuza group headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 690 active members. refers to the Kudo-kai as an affiliate of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but that is false... IV |
Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.... |
1992 | 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:... III |
Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded... |
1993 |
 Kyokuryu-kaiKyokuryu-kai 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... IV |
Okinawa 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... |
1992 | Taishu-kai Taishu-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 180 active members.-History:The Taishu-kai was formed around 1954 under the name by , a mineworker who became the first president. The Ota Group was later renamed the , and again renamed the... |
Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.... |
1993 |
| 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:... |
Okinawa 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... |
1992 | Sakaume-gumi Sakaume-gumi The is a yakuza organization based in Osaka, Japan. The Sakaume-gumi is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 110 active members.The Sakaume-gumi is an old-established, small group that focuses primarily on gambling, and not on other activities like extortion and drugs... VIII |
Osaka Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :... |
1993 |
| Aizukotetsu-kai Aizukotetsu-kai The , based in Kyoto, is Japan's fourth-largest yakuza organization. Its name comes from the Aizu region, "Kotetsu", a type of Japanese sword, and the suffix "-kai", or society.... VI |
Kyoto Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:... |
1992 | Kyokuto-kai Kyokuto-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Tokyo, Japan. The Kyokuto-kai is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 1,200 active members.-History:The Kyokuto-kai was registered as a designated yakuza group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law in July 1993.... |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
1993 |
| Kyosei-kai Kyosei-kai The is a yakuza group based in Hiroshima, Japan, with an estimated 280 active members and 470 semi-active members. The Kyosei-kai is the largest yakuza organization in the Chugoku region.-History:... V |
Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded... |
1992 | Azuma-gumi Azuma-gumi The is a yakuza organization based in Osaka, Japan. The Azuma-gumi is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 170 active members.-History:The Azuma-gumi was registered as a designated yakuza group under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law in August 1993.... II |
Osaka Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :... |
1993 |
| 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:... VII |
Yamaguchi Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :... |
1992 | Matsuba-kai Matsuba-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Tokyo, Japan. The Matsuba-kai is a designated yakuza group with an estimated 1,500 active members and 600 semi-active members.-History:... |
Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
1994 |
| Kozakura-ikka Kozakura-ikka The is a yakuza organization based in Kagoshima, Kyushu, Japan, with an estimated 100 active members. The Kozakura-ikka is the only designated boryokudan group in Kagoshima Prefecture.... IV |
Kagoshima Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.- Geography :Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers... |
1992 | Fukuhaku-kai Fukuhaku-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka on the Kyushu island of Japan. The Fukuhaku-kai is a designated yakuza group with an estimated membership of 280, and has its offices in three other prefectures as well as its headquarters in Hakata, Fukuoka.... III |
Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.... |
2000 |
| 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... IV |
Okayama Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Okayama.- History :During the Meiji Restoration, the area of Okayama Prefecture was known as Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province.- Geography :... |
1992 | Kyushu Seido-kai Kyushu Seido-kai The is a yakuza organization based in Fukuoka Prefecture on the Kyushu island of Japan, with an estimated 380 active members. Headquartered in the southern Fukuoka region of Omuta, the Kyushu Seido-kai maintains its offices in five other prefectures including Tokyo.... |
Fukuoka Fukuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen.... |
2008 |
Other notable bōryokudan
| Name | Japanese name | Headquarters | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tōkyō-Morishiro-Hoshi-ikka-Ōta III | 東京盛代星一家太田三代目 | Iwate Iwate Prefecture is the second largest prefecture of Japan after Hokkaido. It is located in the Tōhoku region of Honshū island and contains the island's easternmost point. The capital is Morioka. Iwate has the lowest population density of any prefecture outside Hokkaido... |
Seigo Ōta |
| Genseida-Kōyū-kai | 源清田交友会 | Ibaraki Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province... |
Shiroo Tanabe |
| Yorii-bunke V | 寄居分家五代目 | Gunma Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until... |
Hiroshi Godai |
| Kameya-ikka V | 五代目亀屋一家 | Saitama Saitama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History... |
Akira Shirahata |
| Yoshiha-kai VII | 七代目吉羽会 | Saitama Saitama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History... |
Kiyomasa Nakamura |
| Takezawa-kai | 竹澤会 | Chiba Chiba Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region and the Greater Tokyo Area. Its capital is Chiba City.- History :Chiba Prefecture was established on June 15, 1873 with the merger of Kisarazu Prefecture and Inba Prefecture... |
Haruo Ōtawa |
| Anegasaki-kai | 姉ヶ崎会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Shigetami Nakanome |
| Iijima-kai VIII | 八代目飯島会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Kanji Nishikawa |
| Okaniwa-kai | 岡庭会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Seiichiro Okaniwa |
| Kanda-Takagi VII | 神田高木七代目 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Akira Nagamura |
| Shitaya-Hanajima-kai VII | 下谷花島会七代目 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Isamu Ōsaka |
| Jōshūya-kai | 上州家会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Katsuhiko Itō |
| Shinmon-rengōkai | 新門連合会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Naoaki Kasama |
| Sugitō-kai | 杉東会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Tomoaki Nohara |
| Daigo-kai | 醍醐会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Hideo Aoyama |
| Chōjiya-kai | 丁字家会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Goro Yoshida |
| Tōa-kai | 東亜会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Yoshio Kaneumi |
| Hashiya-kai | 箸家会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Hiroshi Minemura |
| Hanamata-kai | 花又会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Akira Kiyono |
| Masuya-kai | 桝屋会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Sotojiro Higashiura |
| Matsuzakaya-ikka V | 五代目松坂屋一家 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Takiti Nishimura |
| Ametoku-rengōkai | 飴德連合会 | Kanagawa Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period... |
Hideya Nagamochi |
| Yokohama-Kaneko-kai | 横浜金子会 | Kanagawa Kanagawa Prefecture is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period... |
Takashi Terada |
| Sakurai-sōke | 櫻井總家 | Shizuoka Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Shizuoka.- History :Shizuoka prefecture was formed from the former Tōtōmi, Suruga and Izu provinces.The area was the home of the first Tokugawa Shogun... |
Hiroyoshi Sano |
| Chūkyō-Shinnō-kai | 中京神農会 | Aichi Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region. The region of Aichi is also known as the Tōkai region. The capital is Nagoya. It is the focus of the Chūkyō Metropolitan Area.- History :... |
Eizō Yamagashira |
| Marutomi-rengōkai | 丸富連合会 | Kyōto Kyoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Kyoto.- History :Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Kyoto prefecture was known as Yamashiro.... |
Hitoshi Kitabashi |
| Chūsei-kai | 忠成会 | Hyōgo Hyogo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :... |
Masaaki Ōmori |
| Matsuura-gumi II | 二代目松浦組 | Hyōgo Hyogo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :... |
Kazuo Kasaoka |
| Takenaka-gumi II | 二代目竹中組 | Okayama Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Okayama.- History :During the Meiji Restoration, the area of Okayama Prefecture was known as Bitchū Province, Bizen Province and Mimasaka Province.- Geography :... |
Masashi Takenaka |
| Chūgoku-Takagi-kai II | 二代目中国高木会 | Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded... |
Akio Kitayama |
| Kumamoto-kai II | 二代目熊本會 | Kumamoto Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system... |
Yutaka Tozaki |
| Sanshin-kai | 山心会 | Kumamoto Kumamoto Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system... |
Atsushi Inoue |
| Murakami-gumi III | 九州三代目村上組 | Ōita Oita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.- History :Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, and Toyo no kuni... |
Hajime Murakami |
| Shinjuku | 桝屋会 | Tōkyō Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Shou Sasaki |
Japan
Much of the current activities of the yakuza can be understood in the light of their feudal origin. First, they are not a secret society like their counterparts of the ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
and Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
triads. Yakuza organizations often have an office with a wooden board on the front door, openly displaying their group name or emblem.
Old stereotypes are - members often wear sunglasses and colourful suits so that their profession can be immediately recognized by civilians (katagi), and even the way many yakuza walk is different from ordinary citizens. Their wide gait is markedly different from the unassuming way many Japanese prefer to adopt. Alternatively, yakuza can dress more conservatively and flash their tattoos to indicate their affiliation when the need arises. On occasion, they also sport insignia pins on their lapels. One yakuza family even printed a monthly newsletter with details on prisons, weddings, funerals, murders, and poems by leaders.
Until recently, the majority of yakuza income came from protection rackets in shopping, entertainment and red-light district
Red-light district
A red-light district is a part of an urban area where there is a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters, etc...
s within their territory. This is mainly due to the reluctance of such businesses to seek help from the police. The Japanese police are also reluctant to interfere in internal matters in recognized communities such as shopping arcades, schools/universities, night districts and so on.
In this sense, yakuza are still regarded as semi-legitimate organizations. For example, immediately after the Kobe earthquake, 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....
, whose headquarters are in 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...
, mobilized itself to provide disaster relief services (including the use of a helicopter), and this was widely reported by the media as a contrast to the much slower response by the Japanese government. The yakuza repeated their aid after 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...
, with groups opening their offices to refugees and sending dozens of trucks with supplies to affected areas. For this reason, many yakuza regard their income and hustle (shinogi) as a collection of a feudal tax.
Many yakuza syndicates, notably 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....
, officially forbid their members from engaging in drug trafficking, while some yakuza syndicates, notably 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....
, are heavily involved in drug trafficking.
Some yakuza groups are heavily involved in sex-related industries.
Some yakuza groups are known to deal extensively in human trafficking
Human trafficking in Japan
Japan is a destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children trafficked to Japan for commercial sexual exploitation come from the People’s Republic of China, South Korea, Southeast Asia,...
. The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, for instance, is a source of young women. Yakuza trick girls from impoverished villages into coming to Japan, where they are promised respectable jobs with good wages. Instead, they are forced into becoming prostitutes and strippers.
Sokaiya
, are a form of specialized racketeer unique to Japan, and often associated with the yakuza that extort money from or blackmail companies by threatening to publicly humiliate companies and their management, usually in their .-History:Sōkaiya originate from the late 19th century...
. In essence, this is a specialized form of protection racket. Instead of harassing small businesses, the yakuza harasses a stockholders' meeting of a larger corporation. They simply scare the ordinary stockholder with the presence of yakuza operatives, who obtain the right to attend the meeting by a small purchase of stock.
They also engage in simple blackmail, obtaining incriminating or embarrassing information about a company's practices or leaders. Once the yakuza gain a foothold in these companies, they will work for them to protect the company from having such internal scandals exposed to the public. Some companies still include payoffs as part of their annual budget.
The yakuza have a strong influence in Japanese professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, or puroresu. Most of their interest in wrestling activities and promotions is purely financial. The yakuza have mostly gotten involved by financially supporting wrestling promotions with fading fortunes, or simple business loans. Many venues used by wrestling are connected to the yakuza, and as such, when a promotion uses one of their sites, the yakuza receive a percentage of the gate. The yakuza as a whole is regarded as a great supporter of both puroresu and MMA
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
. It's not unusual for wrestlers to receive specific instructions on what to do in their matches so as to appeal just to yakuza members in the crowd. It is thought in Japan that it is safe to say that none of the large wrestling promotions in Japan would fold, because they would be rescued by the yakuza.
The pioneer of wrestling in Japan, Rikidōzan
Rikidozan
, better known as Rikidōzan , was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler...
, was killed by the yakuza. Former WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
wrestler Yoshihiro Tajiri
Yoshihiro Tajiri
, is a Japanese professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment. He is currently competing in SMASH as TAJIRI.-Early years :...
was asked to start a yakuza gimmick, an offer he quickly refused, fearing that he would be targeted by the real yakuza. Professional wrestler Yoshiaki Fujiwara
Yoshiaki Fujiwara
is a Japanese actor, and professional wrestler who has worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE, and UWF.-New Japan Pro Wrestling and Universal Wrestling Federation :...
is often referred to as Kumicho (i.e., "Godfather") and his wrestling promotion was called the Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi
Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Group was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion based in Japan, operating from 1991 to 1995...
. He often portrays yakuza figures as an actor on Japanese television.
Yakuza also have ties to the Japanese realty market and banking, through jiageya. Jiageya specialize in inducing holders of small real estate to sell their property so that estate companies can carry out much larger development plans. Japan's bubble economy of the 1980s is often blamed on real estate speculation by banking subsidiaries. After the collapse of the Japanese property bubble, a manager of a major bank in Nagoya was assassinated, and much speculation ensued about the banking industry's indirect connection to the Japanese underworld.
Yakuza have been known to make large investments in legitimate, mainstream companies. In 1989, Susumu Ishii, the Oyabun of 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:...
(a well known yakuza group) bought US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
255 million worth of Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway
Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway
The , also known in Japanese as for short, is a major private railway operator in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo....
's stock. Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission
Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission
The is a Japanese commission which comes under the authority of the Financial Services Agency. It is responsible for “ensuring fair transactions in both securities and financial futures markets.”...
has knowledge of more than 50 listed companies with ties to organized crime, and in March 2008, the Osaka Securities Exchange
Osaka Securities Exchange
is the second largest securities exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled. As of 31 December 2007, the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, introduced at the Osaka Securities Exchange in...
decided to review all listed companies and expel those with yakuza ties.
As a matter of principle, theft is not recognised as a legitimate activity of yakuza. This is in line with the idea that their activities are semi-open; theft by definition would be a covert activity. More importantly, such an act would be considered a trespass by the community. Also, yakuza usually do not conduct the actual business operation by themselves. Core business activities such as merchandising, loan sharking or management of gambling houses are typically managed by non-yakuza members who pay protection fees for their activities.
There is much evidence of yakuza involvement in international crime. There are many tattooed yakuza members imprisoned in various Asian prisons for such crimes as drug trafficking and arms smuggling. In 1997, one verified yakuza member was caught smuggling 4 kilograms (8.82 pounds) of heroin into Canada.
In 1999, Italian-American mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
Bonanno family
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
member, Mickey Zaffarano, was overheard talking about the profits of the pornography trade that both families could profit from. Another yakuza racket is bringing women of other ethnicities/races, especially East European and Asian
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
to Japan under the lure of a glamorous position, then forcing the women into prostitution.
Because of their history as a legitimate feudal organization and their connection to the Japanese political system through the uyoku (extreme right-wing political groups), yakuza are somewhat a part of the Japanese establishment, with six fan magazine
Fan magazine
A fan magazine is a commercially written and published magazine intended for the amusement of fans of the popular culture subject matter which it covers. It is distinguished from a scholarly or literary magazine on the one hand, by the target audience of its contents, and from a fanzine on the...
s reporting on their activities. One study found that one in ten adults under the age of 40 believed that the yakuza should be allowed to exist. In the 1980s in Fukuoka
Fukuoka Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyūshū Island. The capital is the city of Fukuoka.- History :Fukuoka Prefecture includes the former provinces of Chikugo, Chikuzen, and Buzen....
, a yakuza war spiraled out of control and civilians were hurt. It was a large conflict between 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....
and 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....
, called the Yama-Michi War. The police stepped in and forced the yakuza bosses on both sides to declare a truce in public.
At various times, people in Japanese cities have launched anti-yakuza campaigns with mixed and varied success. In March 1995, the Japanese government passed the Act for Prevention of Unlawful Activities by Criminal Gang Members which made traditional racketeering much more difficult. Beginning in 2009, led by agency chief Takaharu Ando, Japanese police began to crack down on the gangs. 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...
chief 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....
was arrested in late 2010. In December 2010, police arrested Yamaguchi-gumi's alleged number three leader, Tadashi Irie
Tadashi Irie
is a yakuza, the head of the Osaka-based 2nd Takumi-gumi and the grand general manager of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi. He is regarded as the number-three leader of the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate....
. According to the media, encouraged by tougher anti-yakuza laws and legislation, local governments and construction companies have begun to shun or ban yakuza activities or involvement in their communities or construction projects. The police are handicapped, however, by Japan's lack of an equivalent to plea bargaining, witness protection
Witness protection
Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness or any person involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during and after a trial, usually by police...
, or the United States' RICO Act. Laws were enacted in Osaka and Tokyo in 2010 and 2011 to try to combat Yakuza influence by making it illegal for any business to do business with the Yakuza.
Ironically, 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...
, the home city of the largest yakuza syndicate 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....
, is one of the safest cities in Japan, because "cheap" criminals such as street gangs and thugs are afraid to attract the yakuza's attention so they avoid being active in the city.
United States
Yakuza activity in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is mostly relegated to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, but they have made their presence known in other parts of the country, including Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, San Francisco, Seattle, Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The yakuza are said to use Hawaii as a way station between Japan and mainland America, smuggling crystal methamphetamine into the country and smuggling back firearms to Japan. They easily fit into the local population, since many tourists from Japan and other Asian countries visit the islands on a regular basis, and many Hawaii residents are of full or partial Japanese descent. They also work with local gangs, funneling Japanese tourists to gambling parlors and brothels.
In California, the yakuza have made alliances with local Vietnamese and Korean gangs as well as Chinese triads, with Vietnamese as the most common alliance. The alliances with Vietnamese gangs dated back in the late 1980s, and most Vietnamese gangsters were used as muscle, as they had potential to become extremely violent as needed. (Yakuza saw the potential following the constant Vietnamese cafe shoot outs, and home invasion burgalries through out the 80s and early 90s) In New York City, they appear to collect finders fees from American mafiosos and businessmen for guiding Japanese tourists to gambling establishments, both legal and illegal.
Handgun
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s manufactured in the U.S. account for a large share (33%) of handguns seized in Japan, followed by China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(16%), and the Philippines (10%). In 1990, a Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson is the largest manufacturer of handguns in the United States. The corporate headquarters is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1852, Smith & Wesson's pistols and revolvers have become standard issue to police and armed forces throughout the world...
.38 caliber revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
that cost $275 in the U.S. could sell for up to $4,000 in Tokyo. By 1997 it would sell for only $500, due to the proliferation of guns in Japan during the 1990s.
The FBI suspects that the yakuza use various operations to launder money in the U.S.
In 2001, the FBI's representative in Tokyo arranged for Tadamasa Goto
Tadamasa Goto
is a retired yakuza. He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi, a Fujinomiya-based affiliate of Japan's largest known yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi....
, the head of the group Goto-gumi
Goto-gumi
The was a Japanese yakuza organization founded by Tadamasa Goto. The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo...
, to receive a liver transplant in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in return for information of Yamaguchi-gumi operations in the U.S. This was done without prior consultation of the NPA
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....
. The journalist who uncovered the deal received threats by Goto and was given police protection in the US and in Japan.
Mexico
Yakuza in MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
are most notably involved in illegal immigration. There were cases in the 1990s of yakuza recruiting young women (mainly with diplomas and good English knowledge) with promises of legitimate work in 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...
. When the women arrived in Japan they were forced into prostitution. Some women were able to escape their employers and return home to Mexico and alert authorities. In some incidents, Mexican authorities were able to apprehend the yakuza members and deported them as illegal immigrants.
Similar incidents have also occurred in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
where women have been enticed to work in Japan. The Association of Hispanic Women Against Discrimination and Gender Violence or "Women in Action" estimates nearly 3,000 Mexican women recruited by the various yakuza clans prostitute themselves in Japan.
North Korea
Yakuza member Yoshiaki Sawada and Young Yakuza,Shou Sasaki(Munzir-San) was released in North Korea after spending 5 years within the country for bribing a North Korean official and drug-smuggling.Constituent member
According to a 2006 speech by Mitsuhiro Suganuma, a former officer of the Public Security Intelligence Agency, around 60 percent of yakuza members come from burakumin, the descendants of a feudal outcast class and approximately 30 percent of them are Japanese-born Koreans, and only 10 per cent are from non-burakumin Japanese and Chinese ethnic groups.Burakumin
The BurakuminBurakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....
are a group that is socially discriminated against in Japanese society, whose recorded history goes back to the Heian Period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
in the 11th century. The burakumin are descendants
Lineal descendant
A lineal descendant, in legal usage, refers to a blood relative in the direct line of descent. The children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc...
of outcast communities of the pre-modern, especially the feudal era, mainly those with occupations considered tainted with death or ritual impurity, such as butchers, executioner
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
s, undertakers or leather workers. They traditionally lived in their own secluded hamlets
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
.
According to David E. Kaplan
David Kaplan (author)
David E. Kaplan is an investigative reporter and director of the Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Prior, he was with the American newsweekly U.S. News & World Report.-Works:...
and Alec Dubro, burakumin
Burakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....
account for about 70% of the members of 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 in Japan.
Mitsuhiro Suganuma, ex-officer of the Public Security Intelligence Agency
Public Security Intelligence Agency
The is the national intelligence agency of Japan. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice in the government of Japan, and is tasked with internal security and espionage against threats to Japanese national security based on the Subversive Activities Prevention Act.As the national agency with...
, testified that burakumin account for about 60% of the members of the entire yakuza.
Ethnic Koreans
While Koreans in Japan make up only 0.5% of the population, they are a prominent part of yakuza, despite or perhaps because Koreans suffer severe discrimination in Japanese society along with burakuminBurakumin
are a Japanese social minority group. The burakumin are one of the main minority groups in Japan, along with the Ainu of Hokkaidō, the Ryukyuans of Okinawa and Japanese residents of Korean and Chinese descent....
. In the early 1990s, 18 of 90 top bosses of 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:...
were ethnic Koreans. National Police Agency (Japan)
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....
suggested Koreans composed 10% along with 70% of burakumin in 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....
. Some of the representatives of the designated Bōryokudan are also. The Korean significance had been an untouchable taboo in Japan and one of the reasons that the Japanese version of Kaplan and Dubro's Yakuza (1986) had not been published until 1991 with deletion of Korean-related description such as the component of Yamaguchi-gumi.
Although Japanese-born people of Korean ancestry are a significant segment of the Japanese population, they are still considered resident aliens because of their nationality. But Koreans, who are often shunned in legitimate trades, are embraced by the Japanese yakuza precisely because they fit the group's "outsider" image.
Prominent individuals of Korean descent in the world of the yakuza have included Hisayuki Machii
Hisayuki Machii
, nicknamed the , was the founder of one of Japan's most notorious yakuza gangs, the Tosei-Kai.A Korean, Machii was born Jeong Geon Yeong in 1923 when Korea was under Japanese occupation. After World War II, Machii settled in Tokyo and became involved in postwar Japan's thriving black market...
, the founder of the Tosei-kai, Tokutaro Takayama
Tokutaro Takayama
was a yakuza, the president of the Fourth Aizukotetsu-kai. An ethnic Korean, he rose to power as the head of the Kyoto-based gang until his retirement in the 1990s....
, the president of the 4th-generation Aizukotetsu-kai
Aizukotetsu-kai
The , based in Kyoto, is Japan's fourth-largest yakuza organization. Its name comes from the Aizu region, "Kotetsu", a type of Japanese sword, and the suffix "-kai", or society....
, Jiro Kiyota, the president of the 5th-generation 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:...
, Hirofumi Hashimoto, the head of the Kyokushinrengo-kai (a powerful 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....
affiliate). Oddly, prominent individuals of Korean (and many other foreign) origin in the world of yakuza tend to be known for their intense 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...
ese nationalism, which is not an inherent tendency of the yakuza itself, often founding their own uyoku (right-wing) organizations.
See also
- BōsōzokuBosozokuis a Japanese subculture associated with motorcycle clubs and gangs.-Traits and history:The word bōsōzoku is also applied to motorcycle gangs, who share an interest in modifications for motorcycles, such as removing the mufflers so that more noise is produced...
- Criminal tattooCriminal tattooTattoos are commonly used among criminals to show gang membership and record the wearer's personal history—such as his or her skills, specialties, accomplishments and convictions. They are also used as a means of personal expression. Certain designs have developed recognized coded meanings...
- List of criminal enterprises, gangs and syndicates
- MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
- Organized crimeOrganized crimeOrganized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
- Punch permPunch permA is a type of tightly permed male hairstyle in Japan that was popular among yakuza , chinpira , bōsōzoku , truck drivers, construction workers, and enka singers, from the 1960s till the mid-1990s...
- Russian MafiaRussian MafiaThe Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
- Triads