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Yakuza (やくざ or ヤクザ), also known as ya-san, are organized crime groups in Japan. The
origin of the name "yakuza" is obscure, but is popularly said to originate from the lowest hand in hanafuda, a popular card game: 8 (ya), 9 (ku) 3 (za) (ie: worthless), and yakuza are sometimes called
"hachi-kyu-san" ("893s") in Japan.
In Japanese legal terminology, yakuza organizations are referred to as boryokudan, lit. "violence groups". In the Western press they are frequently called the "Japanese mafia".
History
Yakuza claim origin from 1612 and the machi-yakko (rebellious bands of city
servants) who fought bandits and oppressive daimyo. Machi-yakko mainly comprised townsfolk, commoners and craftsmen who banded together in organizations modeled after those of the samurai clans. The Tokugawa shogunate executed the last known machi-yakko in 1686; perhaps in part due to this,
they soon became mythologized as Robin Hood-like figures.
Some sources claim that the yakuza's true origin lies in the kabuki-mono (傾奇者,
かぶきもの) or "crazy ones," the bandit gangs of ronin, the masterless samurai who, jobless, resorted to wandering together, occasionally
attacking and looting villages.
The first Yakuza organizations appeared in the 18th century. The first known types were bakuto (gamblers) and tekiya (street peddlers). Tekiya dealt in shoddy
merchandise and protection rackets in marketplaces as well as
prostitution and loan
sharking. In order to maintain control of the marketplaces, the shogunate
gave tekiya leaders official status, allowing them to carry swords and use a surname.
It is with the bakuto, who were known for gambling, that the name yakuza is likely to have originated. The
bakuto also originated the much-discussed tradition of yubitsume (finger-cutting) as a penance. It is likely that the
bakuto were also the origin of the link between irezumi, traditional
Japanese tattooing, and the yakuza.
After the Meiji restoration, yakuza moved to the cities and
begun to dabble in shady construction deals, extortion, blackmail and taking their cut of the rickshaw business. Due
to police action against gambling the bakuto gradually gave way to the tekiya.
Tekiya did very little that was obviously illegal. They began to become involved with various political parties, especially
with the right-wing militants, and aided them when they rose to power. Prior to World War II, yakuza spread their shady activities to conquered Manchuria. After the eruption of the war against the United
States, various yakuza entered into army or government service - otherwise they were imprisoned. Some worked as the Black Dragons and spied on the United States and upset commerce in Asia.
After the war, the yakuza adapted again. During the post-war rationing they
controlled the black market and the gurentai were formed. American
occupation forces fought against them in vain and conceded defeat in 1950. Yakuza also adapted to more western-style activities,
including clothes reminiscent of US gangsters, and begun to use firearms. They also began to feud among themselves.
In the 1960's, Yoshio
Kodama, an ex-nationalist, begun to negotiate treaties with various groups, first with the Yamaguchi-gumi of Kazuo Taoka and Tosei-kai of Hisayuki Machii and eventually with Inagawa-kai. Fights between individual gangs, however, have not stopped.
Organization
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. Some groups may also accept foreigners and burakumin, but this is likely unusual.
Yakuza groups are headed by an oyabun ("father") who gives orders to his subordinates, the kobun
("children"). In this respect, the organization is a variation of usual Japanese Senpai-Kohai (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.
Yubitsume or finger cutting is a form of penance or apology. Upon a first offense, the transgressor must cut off the
tip of his left pinky finger and hand the severed portion to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do this penance to the oyabun
if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation. Prosthetic tips have been developed to disguise this
distinctive appearance, and it was even said when British cartoon Bob the
Builder was first considered for import to Japan that there were plans in place to add an extra digit to each of the title
character's four-fingered hands to avoid scaring children (this was not done, however).
Larger yakuza groups are composed of smaller groups that owe loyalty to a kumicho, the leader of a yakuza "clan."
Kumicho have various underbosses and saiko-komon (senior advisors) that control their own turfs in different areas and
cities under their control. They have various other underlings, including other underbosses, advisors, accountants and enforcers.
Yakuza try to hide their activities behind legitimate front companies and businesses like pachinko parlors or even religious organizations. However, their headquarters are usually open offices.
The most powerful yakuza group is the Yamaguchi-gumi, which controls
some 2500 businesses and 500 gangs and deals in loansharking, illegal
pornography, drugs smuggling, moneylending,
rigged games and shady real estate deals.
Usual activities
Modern yakuza have extended their activities to banking and political corruption. Yakuza continue the usual activities
connected to organized crime - extortion, drug smuggling, prostitution, white slavery, illegal gambling,
protection rackets and so on. Yakuza have also attempted to
influence elections in Japan, mainly by aiding a prospective candidate with money
or even services of their enforcers for the express purpose of controlling him later by blackmail.
Yakuza also practice a uniquely Japanese form of extortion by sending their men to disturb proceedings like stockholder
meetings. They threaten to cause an disturbance that would cause embarrassment and shame to the company unless the company pays
them off. Some companies still include payoffs as part of their annual budget.
Yakuza also have ties to large corporations and other business. Kiegeya specialize in inducing small business owners
to sell their property so that yakuza gangs can sell the land on to real estate companies. The Yamaguchi-gumi also has a foothold
in banking.
Yakuza, who see themselves as modern-day samurai, claim to follow a honorable code
of conduct reminiscent of bushido and that they protect the weaker members of the
society. However, they usually deal forcefully with any kind of criticism of their activities.
In 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." However, various
observers claim that yakuza is still deeply connected to Japanese politics and the Liberal Democratic Party.
Yakuza have also spread outside Japan to USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Philippines. They may have a working relationship with criminal Tongs and
Triads.
See also
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