The Yakuza is the largest crime syndicate in the world. More than 100 thousand men involved in the criminal business unquestioningly obey the “godfathers” of their clans. And, oddly enough, one of them was a woman - Fumiko Taoka, chosen as the oyabun of the Yamaguchi-gumi clan and successfully coping with her duties for several years.
“Yakuza” is a compound word that means the most unfavorable combination of cards in the game of bakuto. Probably, such a connotation determined the depth of the fall of people forced to step on a slippery slope, and perhaps it warned: “it’s better not to joke with us, otherwise it will end badly.”
The Yakuza came from the people
It is believed that the yakuza appeared in the 17th century, during the Edo period. Historians consider the first yakuza to be professional bakuto players, or traveling hawker traders - tekiya. They formed gangs that controlled and protected trade, and also engaged in a variety of illegal activities, gradually becoming an increasingly powerful armed force. According to another version, the Yakuza descended from gangs of ronin (poor samurai without a master) and the matiyakko opposing them. The ronins formed groups to plunder villages and attack townspeople, while young city dwellers, who called themselves machi-yakko, united to organize resistance. In the second half of the 20th century, life in Japan changed radically, and the interests of the yakuza also changed. Now they focused on controlling black markets, supplying illegal labor, distributing drugs and organizing front companies. The external attributes of the Yakuza remained largely the same: colored tattoos all over the body, cruelty, smart costumes, specific slang and the custom of cutting off the phalanx of one’s finger as an apology for a mistake.
Facts about the Yakuza
Sinister Encounters
The yakuza legally operates bars called Host/Hostess clubs, where patrons can meet the hostess or owner of the establishment for drinks and conversation.
The host or hostess is the one who is responsible for greeting customers upon entering the restaurant with a smile. They are received into the establishment, seated and given a menu. They are the organizers, the shepherds, the first and last impression of the restaurant. Keeping the restaurant tidy, making sure customers are happy, and keeping track of what's happening at each table are just some of the ways a host or hostess helps make the restaurant and its guests happy.
Seems innocent enough. In fact, Japanese girls and young women sometimes visit these clubs to feel like adults (to have an "adult experience" ). The owner convinces them to buy increasingly more expensive drinks (for which he receives a commission). At the end of the night, if the woman cannot pay the bill, she is forced to pay off her debts through prostitution. To make matters worse, the Yakuza have a system that ensures that these women, sometimes in their teens, will never be able to pay off their debts and will be forced to become sex slaves.
Bloody Yakuza Civil War
One of the worst Yakuza wars in history occurred in 1985. The problems began much earlier when the oyabun (patriarch/father) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Kazuo Taoka, died of a heart attack. His deputy, Kenichi Yamamoto, was in prison and it was decided that he would become leader when he was released. To the delight of the police, he died in prison. The lieutenants elected a new leader, but a man named Hiroshi Yamamoto was unhappy with the result. He formed his own gang, the Ichiwa-kai , and shot and killed their elected leader, starting a war.
By the end of the conflict (from 1985 to 1989), 36 people were killed and hundreds were injured. The whole country followed the great battle of the largest Yakuza group and its rebel warlords: newspapers published daily reports in which they counted losses on both sides. Eventually the surviving rebels begged for mercy.
Yakuza. Farewell to Kazuo Taoka took place under police protection. 1985
Political participation
The yakuza are particularly large supporters and donors to Japan's right-wing Liberal Democratic Party (the party's president was Shinzo Abe ). The LDP has been in power almost continuously since its founding in 1955, with the exception of the period between 1993-1994 and 2009-2012. She regained control of the government in the 2012 elections. It has 285 seats in the lower house and 113 seats in the upper house, and in coalition with Komeito the ruling coalition has supermajority in both houses. They also help strengthen support for the party by using their influence in rural areas where workers depend on their yakuza-owned companies.
Heirs of the Samurai
The yakuza have much in common with another famous Japanese class, the samurai. Their hierarchical structures are based on obedience and honor, they use violence to achieve their goals and believe that pride and honor are of paramount importance. Because of this, many people consider the Yakuza to be the modern-day heirs to the samurai legacy.
Modern samurai.
26. Bad hand
The Yakuza got their name from the Bakuto people. Bakuto (博徒) were traveling players active in Japan from the 18th to the mid-20th century. In the Japanese card game Oicho-Kabu (a game similar to Baccarat), the cards ya-ku-sa are 8-9-3, the worst possible hand that can be drawn.
Different views
Japanese police and media refer to the yakuza as "boryokudan", which means "violent group", a name considered offensive by members of the community because it also includes common gangsters. As for themselves, the Yakuza, they proudly call themselves "Ninkyō dantai", which means "organization of knights" . I guess no one would want to name their own gang after the Dead Hand in a card game.
Part of society
Yakuza members are often considered a normal and accepted part of Japanese society; in fact, membership is not illegal. Many receive pensions and pay taxes. Police believe that completely banning the yakuza will only force them underground and become even more dangerous.
US Operations
Over the years, the Yakuza expanded its activities throughout the United States, with the largest concentration of members in Hawaii. Members of the Sumiyoshi-kai syndicate collaborate with Hawaiian gangs of color in the field of drug smuggling, racketeering, gambling, the sex industry, organizing the smuggling of American weapons to Japan and Mexico, as well as financial fraud.
The United States has added four Japanese mafia bosses to its sanctions list. They are part of the country's largest organized crime group, Yamaguchi-gumi.
Criminal background
The yakuza are believed to have originated in the mid-Edo period (1603-1868) from two distinct outcast groups, Tekiya (peddlers) and Bakuto (gamblers). Both groups were at the lowest and most despised social level, and gradually began to engage in more organized illegal activities.
From head to toes
One of the most common ways in which the Yakuza stand out in society is through their tattoos all over their bodies. This custom originates from the Bakuto , who covered their bodies with colorful tattoos. Tattoos are called irezumi and they usually cover the entire body except for a stripe down the middle of the chest. Having a tattoo is a symbol of wealth and they also prove a man's stamina because the traditional process is extremely painful and takes many hours and years.
Criminals in Japan were punished with facial tattoos.
20. Circumcision
The usual punishment for a crime in the Yakuza is the cutting off of part of the little finger, which is wrapped in a handkerchief and presented to the boss as an apology. In ancient times, one who was missing part of a finger could not use his sword skillfully, so he became dependent on his patron.
19. Pyramid
The Yakuza hierarchy is organized in the form of a pyramid. The patriarch, called kumicho, is at the top of the family, and his lieutenants, subordinates and other minor gang members move down the pyramid.
Relationship between son and father
All yakuza clans are related to each other by the oyabun-kobun relationship - roles that are compared to teacher and student, as well as father and son. Kobun swears an oath to the oyabun of complete obedience and fidelity, in exchange for guidance and protection. Any member of the clan can be either a kobun or an oyabun, acting as a boss to those below him in rank and subordinate to those above him.
17. Helping hand
Despite all their criminal activities, the Yakuza are also quick to lend a helping hand in times of need. After the 2011 tsunami, the organization was among the first to go to the affected areas.
In 1995, after a terrible earthquake, the Yakuza delivered supplies using helicopters, scooters and boats. It has been suggested that their outcast background makes them sympathetic to people in trouble, but some people think this is simply a PR stunt designed to make it harder for the police to deal with them.
Yakuza killers?
Despite myths that portray the yakuza as ruthless killers, they are actually reluctant to kill unless in self-defense. Instead, they prefer to use lesser methods such as yubitsume (cutting off a finger) for punishment.
Sex and trade
Human trafficking is a big problem in Japan , and much of it is controlled by the yakuza, although it actually started out as an sanctioned operation. During World War II, they collaborated with the Japanese government to kidnap and supply women to Japanese soldiers and then to the American occupiers. Now the business has expanded to include pornography, human trafficking (often children) and sex tourism.
With honor
The Yakuza do not consider violent death to be something terrible. Violent death is considered poetic, tragic and honorable. They also have something of a Robin Hood complex and are known to help the poor steal from the rich. These romantic ideas help present them in a positive light to the public.
Division by three
The Yakuza organization is divided into three main syndicates. The largest syndicate is the Yamaguchi-gumi , which has over 55,000 members divided into 850 clans. The Yamaguchi Syndicate has extensive international operations. The Yamaguchi-gumi is one of the richest communities in the world of organized crime, generating billions of dollars in profits per year. They are also involved in stock market manipulation and creating pornographic websites.
Positive image
In 2012, to boost morale, the Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate distributed a newsletter to its regular members. The magazine's home page contains instructions for younger members on how to behave and uphold traditional Yakuza values. Haiku, fishing articles and calls for charity filled the rest of the magazine, in what was seen as an attempt to provide some publicity for the group. In 2014, Yamaguchi-gumi opened her own website, which is wildly popular.
Do it for me
The sakazuki ritual is the exchange of cups of sake between an oyabun (father) and a kobun (son). This is the most important ritual in the yakuza world and represents the strengthening of the bonds between them and the organization.
10. A man's world
There are very few women in high positions in the Yakuza organization. The few women who are recognized in the organization are usually the wives of the bosses and are referred to as an-san or big sister.
9. Cramming
If you're pursuing a life of crime in Japan because you're tired of school, I've got some bad news for you. All Yamaguchi-gumi members must pass a 12-page entrance exam. The test was created to ensure that its members are familiar with the law and will not get into trouble with the police.
8. Open
The Yakuza make no attempt to hide their headquarters and even have metal signs outside . They do this to focus on their legitimate business and allow their bosses to manage covert affairs from the "shadows" while keeping their hands clean from direct involvement in illegal activities.
7. Stigma
Yakuza wives often receive the same tattoos as their husbands to show their devotion to their spouses and the criminal organization. They show off their tattoos at festivals and pose for pictures and the press. However, Japanese society still associates the yakuza with crime, and therefore they cannot appear in public places covered in tattoos.
Creepy collection of Yakuza tattooed skin. 18+ Tokyo, photo.
Corporate blackmail
The yakuza practice a form of grand bribery or blackmail called sokaiya. They start by purchasing enough shares in the company to gain a seat at the shareholders' table. They find out all the possible dirt about the management and politely threaten to reveal this information at the meeting if they do not give them money or a controlling stake (raid takeover in Japanese). Since the Japanese fear nothing more than being embarrassed, this tactic is generally effective.
5. Fight back
Yamaguchi-gumi headquarters in Kobe
Sokaiya became so common that in 1982 the country passed laws prohibiting corporations from paying for their activities. This had little effect on the Yakuza and simply forced them to find more subtle ways to racketeer. The most successful way corporations have found to fight back is to schedule their shareholder meetings on the same day. Since the Yakuza is reducing the number of members, they cannot be everywhere at once, it effectively reduces the number of cases.
Adding a finger
If you look closely, you'll notice that the children's cartoon character Bob the Builder only has four fingers, but that's unless you're in Japan. The Japanese version of Bob is drawn with five fingers. Why? They didn't want little Japanese kids to think Bob was a member of the Yakuza.
Black market
In Japan, tattoos are highly frowned upon due to their association with the yakuza. Because of this, getting a tattoo in Japan is very expensive, as there are very few artists in the country. Sometimes a yakuza family will pay for someone's tattoo on the condition that they "take back what is theirs" after the person dies. This "art" is so valuable that it is sometimes removed from the owner's corpse, sold on the black market, and even displayed in galleries.
Samurai sword
The katana, the traditional samurai sword, is still used as a traditional killing weapon. The swords have been used in several high-profile crimes, such as the murder of Fujifilm vice president Juntaro Suzuki, who was killed in 1994 for refusing to pay the Yakuza.
Japanese Godfather
Kazuo Taoka, known as the "Godfather of Godfathers", was the third leader of the largest Yakuza organization from 1946-1981. He grew up an orphan and eventually took up street fighting in Kobe under the tutelage of his future boss, Noboru Yamaguchi. His signature strike, with his fingers into his opponent's eyes, earned him the nickname "The Bear". In 1978, he was shot (in the back of the neck) by rival gang members at a nightclub in Kyoto, but survived. A few weeks later, his abuser was found dead in a forest near Kobe.
Third kumicho Taoka Kazuo.
The gang has turned grey: most of the Yakuza are over 50 years old.
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Lady "go-stop"
The structure of any Yakuza clan is simple and hierarchical. At the top of the organization is the oyabun, or kumicho (boss), below him are several advisers, and even lower are the commanders of grassroots gangs and ordinary fighters. The vast majority of yakuza initiates are, of course, men. If women join gangs, they most often have extremely limited rights. Any woman, in the minds of the yakuza, can be either his wife or daughter, or a prostitute. Both the former and the latter do not have the right to vote, because girls are not accepted into the gang. The only exception is the wives and mistresses of senior management. These are usually called ane-san (elder sister). Typically, an ane-san performs a number of important functions. She deals with issues of organizing the everyday life of the oyabun’s closest assistants and members of their families, she happens to act as a mediator in resolving conflicts between her husband and subordinates, in addition, she manages some part of the finances. Ane-san is the shadow of the boss, she does not lead herself, but is aware of all events. In Japanese society, there are stories about onna-oyabun, godmothers, who exercised direct leadership over the clans. These stories are perceived rather as a beautiful myth, although in fact, with all the patriarchy of the Japanese in general and the Yakuza in particular, there were precedents, and this is not a myth at all. Both before and after World War II, a number of cases were recorded when clans were ruled by women, and those who had passed the initiation ritual - sakazukigoto and were officially considered full-fledged yakuza. As in any closed, male-dominated society, a matriarchal component is extremely common in Japan's crime families. There must be a senior woman in the group: the mother or wife of the patriarch. It is necessary to evaluate the successes and blame the failures of the members of your restless “family.” Beginning in 1946, a woman named Yoshiko Matsuda, after the death of her husband, who was killed in a fight, controlled the large Kanto Matsuda-gumi gang, consisting of two thousand fighters. Yoshiko controlled the black market of one of the Tokyo districts and even waged a war with Taiwanese competitors. In 1956, she died of a drug overdose. Since 1959, a gang of 40 people was commanded by Tsune Hoshino, her group controlled the gambling business in the Komatsugawa area on the outskirts of Tokyo. Theater singer Nami Odagiri was the boss of the Ryugakai gang in Osaka. She spent eight years behind bars, but upon release, she again organized a criminal group. But perhaps the most famous of the onna-oyabun can be called Fumiko Taoku. In 1981, after the death of her husband Kazuo Taoki, the legendary oyabun, she officially headed the largest yakuza group in Japan, and she ruled it very boldly and successfully.
"I give you my life"
Naturally, women isolated in this way from society begin to see the light in their man’s window and try in every possible way to please him. If he is a simple chimpira (young low-ranking yakuza), then the girl becomes the main source of income for such a family. She is the one who works - either of her own free will or under the compulsion of the guy himself, for whom “plowing is not his concept.” In general, in the masculine subculture of borekudan, a woman is perceived as an inferior being and serves only to support and satisfy a man.
Those higher in the hierarchy, as a rule, change mistresses to demonstrate their status - here it is no longer so important how much she earns, what matters is what she looks like. But in any case, she has no vote, she doesn’t decide anything and gets nothing from the machinations into which the Yakuza often drags them into as a cover-up.
Even at the very top, being the wife of an oyabun, a woman's position does not change much. Although external attributes like an expensive car with a driver and a personal bodyguard are present. She certainly doesn't have to work hard to make ends meet, and she's often the one with the best knowledge of the gang's finances, but she still remains out of business.
The boss's wife is usually called ane-san, that is, "elder sister." And her main task is to support her husband, regulate minor squabbles in the families of his subordinates and take care of their well-being.
The role of women in these families is especially noticeable in raising children, since fathers prefer not to interfere in this. The Japanese mafia was initially based not on family ties, as is customary in the West, but on fraternization rituals, and perhaps that is why the offspring of the yakuza do not become criminals so often. And mothers do everything possible, such as ensuring a good education, so that their children do not become members of the borekudan.
The Ane-san themselves write in their autobiographies about their undeniable authority among members of the crime syndicate and considerable influence on their husband, but even they admit unconditional submission to the man. And there can be no question of the similarity of their characters with O-Ren from “Kill Bill” or the image of the oyabun woman exploited in pop culture.
Their life is a service for the good of the family, and they themselves are the shadow of their husband.
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Oyabun's widow
Kazuo Taoka joined the Yamaguchi-gumi back in 1929, as an ordinary fighter. He did not shy away from street fights, and received the nickname Kuma (“Bear”) for his manner of gouging out opponents’ eyes. Step by step climbing the career ladder, Kazuo became an oyabun. It was under his skillful leadership that the group became the largest and most influential in the country. Its number reached 13 thousand members, and its sphere of interests included everything from show business to smuggling, prostitution and gambling. There were a number of assassination attempts on Kazuo, but he died in 1981 from a heart attack. Before his death, Oya-bun appointed a successor, who became Yamamoto Kenichi. But in order to “take office,” Yamamoto had to first be released from prison. In a hurry to take advantage of the death of the crime boss and further weaken the clan, which was left without a head, the police carried out mass arrests among members of the Yamaguchi-gumi. In such a difficult situation, the group needed a leader. The rules allowed the wife of the late boss to temporarily lead the clan, which the gang leadership took advantage of, handing over the reins of power to Fumiko. Moreover, she participated in the leadership of the clan, although indirectly, even under her husband. Kazuo was often guided by the advice of an intelligent, tough and practical woman, perhaps that is why he successfully ruled his comrades for 35 years. Thus, in 1981, 60-year-old Fumiko Taoka became the onna-oyabun of the Yamaguchi-gumi. It was supposed to be for two or three months until the appointed successor was released, but he fell ill and died in prison. As a result, Fumiko held the post for three years. Opinions about how successfully she led the clan vary: some considered her rule too harsh and talked about garlands of cut off fingers and mass desertion from the ranks of the gang, others considered her a worthy successor to Kazuo. In fact, Fumiko, skillfully relying on strength, diplomacy and cunning, did not allow the weakened clan to disintegrate. Under her leadership, the criminal community was not only able to increase the number of fighters, but also mastered new areas of the criminal business, for example, drug trafficking.
How to become a Yakuza woman?
This is one of the most common Internet queries among Japanese women regarding finding a partner. In popular books written by the wives of the heads of Japanese crime syndicates, their image is associated with a luxurious life, not without danger, but much more luxurious than that of the common man.
This myth is especially common among young people, and most Yakuza women associate their lives with them at a very young age. These are either teenage girls from dysfunctional families seeking an escape from everyday realities, or girls who grew up in the neighborhood or with gang members. There is also an opinion that girls from the mizushubai industry - nightlife entertainment for adults - are greedy for local gangsters.
Although the girls themselves like to say that they fell in love with a guy who turned out to be a yakuza, this is deceit. In a country where almost everyone knows where the headquarters of mafia clans are, what corporations they own, and how the metropolitan areas are divided, it would be strange not to know that your boyfriend is a bandit.
These women are undoubtedly attracted by the very type of dangerous guy, and not so much by the opportunity to get out of poverty, because among them there are also quite wealthy women with decent professions. So anyone who can bear him and the life he offers can become the wife or mistress of a criminal element.
