33003 the Yakuza

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The Yakuza

Background

In Japan, organized crime and criminals come under the general

heading of Yakuza. According to tradition, the name is derived

from the worst possible score in a Japanese card game. It comes

from Japan's counterpart to Black Jack, Oicho- Kabu. The

general difference between the cardgames is that in Oicho- Kabu

is that a winning total of the cards is 19 instead of 21. As you see,

the sum of 8, 9 and 3, is 20, which is over in Oicho-Kabu. In a

hand resulting in a score of 20, the worst possible score, a player's

final score would be zero. Among the losing combinations, the

phonetic sound of an 8-9-3 sequence is ya - ku - sa. It's from there

the name, yakuza is derived... without worth to society. This

doesn't mean that they have no use for the society, it means that

the members are people that somehow do not fit in the society, in

other words societies misfits.

The Yakuza were itinerant gamblers, peddlers, renegade warriors

and roving bandits. They served shoguns and municipalities and

their legend includes a distinct Robin Hood quality that recently

emerged during the recent Kobe Earthquake. The Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza clan quickly mobilized providing on the scene

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assistance to Kobe's earthquake victims long before the national

government resolved to act. Yakuza form a central theme in

Japan's popular culture and trace their origins to at least the 17th

century. Therefore, among the world's criminal organizations the

Yakuza are older than the Sicilian Mafia.

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Yakuza strength rises and falls according to the tides of Japanesesociety, with estimates of core membership ranging from 80,000

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to more than 110,000 in the years from 1945 to 1996. Some

authorities believe Japan's National Police routinely undercount

the Yakuza, numbering only those names found in confiscated

membership rolls, or recorded from routine police intelligence

reports. Like the Sicilian Mafia and other underworldorganizations, the Yakuza are formed into families, but in Japan

other distinctions emerge including that of the oyabun - kobun

(father role - child role) relationship, between Yakuza chiefs and

their underlings.

The Yakuza evolved into their current form late in the 19th-

century under figures like Toyama Mitsuru. This son of a

Samurai founded the Genyosha (Dark Ocean) Society, and later

Toyama's top aide Ryohei Uchida founded the Amur River

Society (Black Dragons). Like organized crime in other cultures,

the Yakuza began to control construction labor and docksidelabor, adding to traditional areas of enterprise in the vices,

prostitution, gambling, liquor distribution, and entertainment. In

the late 1960s or early 1970s the Yakuza moved into the lucrative

narcotics trade and in recent years have stepped up their trade in

firearms and other contraband. According to various sources,

Yakuza have formed alliances and working relationships with

Chinese Triads, Sicilian and American Mafia, Columbian drug

cartels, Jamaican Posses, and assorted other criminal

organizations throughout the world.

Because of their unique role in Japan's history and popular

culture, and their usefulness in providing muscle to control labor

unions, and providing anonymous services to the public for a

variety of typical underworld products in vice and contraband

accommodations between Yakuza, police, ultranationalists,

government, political parties, and secret societies seems to be an

accepted fact of life in Japan. Yakuza are active worldwide,

wherever criminal enterprises flourish. The Yakuza have been

very skillful in the employment of intermediaries and the absence

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of Japanese within a community does not mean an absence of

Yakuza.

Kabuki-Mono

Yakuzas origin can be followed far back as to the year 1612, when

men known as kabuki-mono (the crazy ones). Their odd clothing

style, the distinct haircuts and bad behavior, longswords quickly

got everybody's attention. They were known as masterless

samurais, ronin, and several of them began to wander around in

Japan as a band of robbers, plundering villages and small cities.

Machi-Yakko

Yakuza however not see kabuki-mono as their "ancestors"

instead they feel that they are machi-yakko(City servant), Machi-

yakko became the people's heroes, praised by the citizens for

their help against kabuki-mono. The Machi-yakko were often

weaker, far less trained and equipped than kabuki- mono.

Therfore they were compared with England's Robin Hood.

Kabuki-mono were known for their ruthless behavior and

terrorizing all the surrounding areas. They were well known for

stabbing people for pleasure. Kabukimono were gave their

groups scary names and spoke in vulgar slang. The currentyakuza did not evolve until about the middle of the 17th century.

Its members were bakuto (gamblers) and tekiya (street vendors).

Something that was remarkable were their loyalty to each other.

They protected each other regardless even if it meant going

against their own family.

Kabuki-mono generally came from shoguns or samurais whom

during long peaceful times were forced into unemployment.

Almost all yakuza have the same type of background poor,

criminals and misfits. The Yakuza became a family for them.

They got help with problems, got attention and could feel acertain saftey.

The Industrialization of Japan

When Japan began to industrialize, the yakuza followed Japan's

deploying society. They began to recruit employees within the

construction business and people working at the docksides. They

began to check the rickshaw business. The gambling side of the

Yakuza was at this time sorta put to the side, because the policewere cracking down roughly on the bakuto- gangs. Tekiya on the

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contrary flowered and expanded since most of their activities

were not considered illegal but more importantly not on the

surface of society. Yakuza began to develop an interest for policy

and started affiliations with certain political officials. They began

to cooperate with the authorities in order to get certaincontributions and to ease the harassment from the authorities.

About up until the year 1925 Japan had an Emperor. But the

course of events in the world was proving that a democratic rule

was better than aristocratic, therefore Japan initiated a public

vote for all men 1925. Within a few years the communist and

socialist parties were found. Around then the prince, that became

emperor 1926, existed however his staff of military and some

other officials did not agreed with democracy. The economical

depression at the end of 20th century created suspicion against

the western worlds liberalism. They took advantage of this anddifferent secret organizations were created that trained its

members in warfare, languages, assassination, blackmail etc. The

ultranationalism terror lasted on into the 1930s. They murdered

two prime ministers, two finance ministers, attacked several

politicians, and industrialist. The Yakuza supplied them with the

muscles and men in order to help and train these underworld

organization. This type of yakuza is called the unyoke (political

right).

The Occupation Years

After WWII when the American troops occupied Japan they saw

the yakuza as the biggest threat against their forces. They began

to watch the yakuza's activities. The American troops rationed

out food and as a result the black market flowered and made the

gangs rich and powerful. It were during the occupations that a

new sort of yakuza began to grow, gurentai (street hustler). They

were for the most part involved in robbery and black market.

Yakuza became influenced by the American gangster movies andbegan to dress in black suits with white shirts, black sunglasses

and cropped hair. They became tougher and more violent, the

sword became history, now it was firearms. It was about this time

that not just gamblers and storekeepers became exposed to

violence but also the ordinary person was becoming more of a

victim. Between about the years of 1958 and 1963 the number of

yakuza- members increased with over 150%, to 184,000

members, now are they well below that. There are an estimated

5,200 different gangs in Japan. Also during that time they began

to mark out their territories and wars started between the gangs.

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It is believed that the wars between the gangs were settled by a

man named Yoshio Kodama. Kodama was Japan's underworld

counterpart to America's Al Capone.

The Yakuza OrganizationFor the yakuza it doesn't matter were you came from, which

country or from which class of society you belonged to, you can

become a member anyway. Yakuza takes care of the misfits in the

society. Yakuza members can be youth that been abandoned by

their parents, youths seeking refuge from the high pressures of

school, refugees from Korea, China etc. The boss becomes their

father and their comrades as brothers. The Yakuza offers not only

companionship but also money, status, and authority. A part of a

group were you feel useful and needed. There are no thresholdsor requirements in order to become a member. But when you are

inside strict obedience to the superiors is demanded. The yakuza

sees himself, as Machi-yakko, the people's rescuer and helper. Far

before any working courts existed in Japan the yakuza existed. If

your clans chief couldn't or wouldn't help resolve a dispute you

could turn to the local yakuza for help. They solved the problem

in return for money. The solution however was more brutal than

if you had turned to the police. The yakuza structure exists in two

types of yakuza, clan yakuza and freelance yakuza.

Freelance Yakuza

Freelancing yakuza are generally wanna be's yakuza that don't

commit serious crimes and they are usually little more than a

group of hustlers. They have however some difficulties surviving

since the clan yakuza do not afford them any protection or

assistance and generally doesn't allow them to operate within

their territories. Clan yakuza can tip the police about crimes that

the freelance yakuza commit. If the freelance yakuza earns tomuch money, the clan yakuza kills the freelancing yakuza or

makes him disappear without a trace. The clan yakuza however

have certain uses for a freelance yakuza. If the clan yakuza needs

something done that they not want the clan to be associate with,

they can turn to a freelancing yakuza that, for a sum of money,

does the job for them. A freelance yakuza can also be used as a

scapegoat for crimes. A freelancer is truly a genius if he can

manage to begin his own clan and stay alive. Usually a freelance

yakuza becomes a clan member unless he gets killed.

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Clan Yakuza

The clan have been compared to the Sicilian mafias "family".

The clan is structured much like a common family in traditional

Japan. The clan has a hierarchy structure. The clans head chief iscalled Oyabun, that means Father. Beneath him he has his

children(Wakashu) and brothers(Kyodai). These are not his real

children and brothers, only designations of rank and position

they have within the clan. All the members in the clan obey the

Oyabun and in return he protects them against all dangers.

Oyabun is almighty within the clan and his words is the law. All

obey him without hesitation or concern for their own life. Beneath

him, oyabun has an adviser that is called Saiko-komon and he has

a staff of advocates, accountants, secretaries and advisers. The

children's (Wakashu) boss called Waka gashira. He is numbertwo in the clan after Oyabun, not in rank but in authority. He

acts as a middleman to see that the oyabun's orders are being

accomplished.

The children leaders over their own (sub) gangs and over time

can move up in the structure. In that way the clan becomes a

ramification with several sub families. The oyabun's "brothers"

or Kyodai, boss is called Shatei gashira. Shatei gashira is of

higher rank than Waka gashira but doesn't have more authority.

"The Brothers" have their own "children" or "youngerbrothers"(Shatei). Shatei, has its own sub gangs etc. Everyone

obeys its gangleader, but it's always the oyabun's word that

counts.

Tattoos

It's usual within yakuza circuits to tattoo themselves, usually is it

their clan's badges that they have all over their body. The origin

of the yakuza tattoo comes from the Bakuto. They usually

tattooed a black ring around the arm for each crime they

committed. Finally it became a symbol of strength. It can take

over 100 hours to do an entire back tattoo. The tattoo was to

illustrate you were unwilling to accommodate yourself to societies

rules and norms. Now is it to illustrate your clan affiliations.

Yubitsume

The manner comes originally from the Bakuto. If a gambler

couldn't pay back a debt or something like that the persons tip of the little finger got cut off, which damage the hand and the

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person could not hold his sword as well as before. Also that way

other people could see if a person haven't paid a debt, which

could bring certain problems, since gambling always been

prohibited in Japan. Yubitsume is when you cut of one of your

fingers and send it to the Kumicho. This is done as an apology fordisobedience. It can be done to atone for a wrongdoing but can

also be done to spare one of your "children". When you have

done something that your Kumicho dislikes you take a sharp

item, cut off a fingertip, wrap it in paper and send it to the

Kumicho and beg for his forgiveness. If it's the first time you cut

off the little fingertip there after it becomes the next little finger

and so on. Because of that you may see yakuza members that are

without several of his fingers. This helps often at wrongdoings,

but if you've done something all to seriously, as e.g betray the

entire clan, there´s nothing that can help you from becoming astatistic.

NOTE: Reprinted from "Okinawa Japan Virtual Ginza Your Door

to Okinawa Japan". Available on-line at

http://www.virtualginza.com/yakuza.htm. Virtual Ginza is an

excellent source of all things Okinawan

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33003 the Yakuza