Rohit S.

Background

• Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Period) - from the mid-15th century to early 17th century

• Defined by nearly constant military conflict

• Unification of Japan under Oda Nobunga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokukgawa Ieyasu

• Tokugawa Shogunate established in 1600 (Battle of Sekigahara)/1603 (appointment of Shogun) – start of peace time

• Excess of military forces (samurai class)

Ronin

500 000 samurai left jobless, despite casualties suffered during the Imjin War

Many were well educated and readjusted to life in market society as merchants, profiting from expansion of domestic trade from Sakoku policy

Ronin – wandering samurai without a master chose other paths to survive

Some became bandits (kabuki-mono)

Others became peddlers (tekiya) and gamblers (bakuto)

Bushido

Literally way of the samurai

Yakuza identify their code of conduct with that of the samurai

Violent death as honourable and poetic

Giri – obligation/duty

Ninjo – compassion/emotion

Kabuki-mono

Literally the crazy ones

Gangs composed of former samurai during peace time

Bandits groups looted towns and villages as they wandered throughout Japan

Some groups designated as hatamoto-yakko (servants/bannermen of the shogun) also became violent due to idleness

Inspiration for Japanese kabuki theatre tradition

Mythical Origins

Machi-yokku (servants of the town) – civilian police force

Folk heroes who rose up to defend against bandits, tightly-knit groups

Gamblers in their spare time (bakuto)

Legend/romantic ideal of yakuza origins

Shapes perception within yakuza as ninkyou dantai (chivilarous organizations)

Versus common perception as bouryokudan (violent groups)

Bakuto

Ran illegal gambling houses and brothels

Played dice and card games

Used abandoned temples/shrines

Commonly hired by government during Edo Period to cheat construction and irrigation workers out of their wages for a percentage

Expanded into loan sharking and other activities

Modern yakuza who make a living off gambling still call themselves bakuto

Yakuza Etymology

Cards games commonly played with kabufuda (gambling cards) or hanafuda (flower cards)

Deck of numbers 1-10, 40 cards total

Oicho-kabu – Japanese version of blackjack objective for a total score of 19

Players dealt 3 card

Ya (8), ku (9), za (3) – worst hand

Became common saying for something useless or bad luck

Ended up being applied to bakuto themselves

Tekiya

Similar to Western snake oil salesmen – sold shoddy merchandise with deceit, expanded to meet demand for illegal goods (black market)

Controlled booths/stalls during fairs – start of protection racket, turf wars, etc.

Organized to protect themselves and their interests against the shogunate

Oyabun granted status and surname, even allowed to carry a wakizashi short sword

Some worked as information brokers or even spies for the shogunate

Traditions

Oyabun-kobun (father-child) relationship entailing blind loyalty and absolute obedience

Began yubitsume (finger-cutting) as a punishment/apology to the oyabun or prior to expulsion from the group

Origin in weakening katana grip

Function of group solidarity and reliance

Tattoos

Tattooing (irezumi) also began as punishment, evolved to represent strength and fortitude, unwillingness to conform to society and personal characteristics

Still done by hand with bamboo or steel needles, five times more painful than with a tattoo gun

Popular designs – mythical beats, animals

Tsuzoku Suikoden Goketsu Hyakuhachinin (108 Warriors of Suikoden) – appeal of ferocity, outlaw status and individual qualities in Kuniyoshi Utagawa and also Hokusai Katsushika’s illustrations

Based on 14th century Chinese novel (Shuihu Zhuan) about a band of robin-hood types

Ritual

• Sakazuki-goto – for creating the oyabun-kobun blood bond (father-son), joining the family

• Literally event of cups, sake drinking from a cup

• Common Japanese practice, for example at weddings, for bonds and coming together

• Sake as bond between man and gods, blessing of good harvest, extension to earthly bonds

• Yakuza ceremony performed at a Shinto shrine

• Significance of sakazuki cups as a physical contract, returned or destroyed for expulsion

Meiji Restoration

Start of political parties and militarism

Yakuza also modernized, formed strong ties with those in government (ultranationalists)

Did 'favours‘ as the cost of doing business

Trained militarily, in languages, assassination, blackmail, and so on by secret groups

Assassinated political rivals, pressured various groups, soldiers/terrorists (i.e. Manchuria)

By 1930's – role in assassinating prime minsters, finance ministers, coups, etc.

Yakuza in WWII

Sold opium with the help of industrialists and military under the Opium Monopoly Bureau

Funded the war effort and made occupied populations more obedient (i.e. China)

Ran thousands of brothels for soldiers by kidnapping and forcing Korean women and wives/daughters of debtors into prostitution

Firms like Mitsui and Suzuki were involved

Post-WWII Origins

Proliferation of gurentai (hoodlums/hired goons)

Used threats and extortion to operate

Start of gun culture and new level of violence

Reason for bouryokudan label

Inspired by prohibition era gangsters

Yakuza dress also American-inspired

Post-WWII Strengthening

Larger than the Japanese military, police

Used to control labour, oppose communism, provide information

Majority of US aid going to Europe, flourishing black market for everyday needs by funnelling of military stockpiles

Sale of amphetamines (combat drugs) to suppress hunger

Unspoken agreement between zaibatsu, government and yakuza

The Godfathers

Yoshio Kodama (WWII and post-WWII) – known as a visionary for uniting the yakuza

Kazuo Taoka (origins of Yamaguchi-Gumi)

Hisayuki Machii (origins of Korean Yakuza) – Tosei-kai/Tao-kai fifth largest clan

Kenichi Shinoda (sixth and current kumicho of the Yamaguchi-Gumi) – currently most powerful

Modern Day 100 000+ members in 22 syndicates and 2500 clans

Corporate-style organizational structure with franchise based growth

1. Yamaguchi-Gumi – 50 000 in 850 clans

2. Sumiyoshi-Rengo – 20 000 in 270 clans

3. Inagawa-Kai – 15 000 in 310 clans

4. Matsuba-kai – 2000

Daimon (family crest):

Modern Day

1980s bubble economy led to keizai yakuza

Increasing involvement in big business (insider trading, real estate, construction, banking, etc.)

1992 anti-gang law – severe sanctions

Uneasy and shifting political alliances

International expansion

Decaying police-yakuza relations

Syndicate violence over territory

Need to negotiate with Korean and Japanese organize crime

Modern Day

Increased defection and legitimate opportunities

New biker/speed gangs (bosozoku) causing discord, disregard for old ways

Korean yakuza – discrimination against Japanese Koreans (0.5 percent of Japan)

Burakumin/eta/dowa – outcasts from four divisions, untouchable status inherited due to ancestor’s ‘impure’ occupations (i.e butchers, executioners, and others)

Overall sixty percent are burakumin, thirty percent Korean, ten percent other Japanese

Conclusion

• Historically those of lowest class/caste who gained influence (socio-economic origins)

• Integral component of Japanese society with origins dating back to before the Edo period

• Unique culture and ritual practices with a variety of historical influences that is changing

• Worldwide operation in the some of the most vile businesses