Author: Felis Catus
09 August 2021 23:23
Tags: Japan mafia yakuza
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The Yakuza is one of the largest and most powerful criminal groups in the world, and, like the country in which it operates - Japan - it is shrouded in mystery. Hidden behind many layers of semi-legal businesses, this organization is an integral part of Japanese reality. Today we will lift the veil of secrecy over 15 of its secrets!
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Yakuza is technically legal
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The Yakuza operates openly in Japan. Its headquarters, decorated with identification marks - metal plates, can be found right on the streets. In addition, the yakuza operates several business networks in various fields - from construction to the porn industry. There are also Japanese mafiosi who operate illegally - for them the police have adopted the designation “boryokudan”.
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Bloody Rites
The yakuza originally practiced an initiation ritual called "yubitsume." It involved cutting off the phalanx of a finger. By performing such an action, the newcomer could demonstrate the seriousness of his intentions and sincere devotion to his family. However, later they decided to remove this ritual from the initiation, considering it unnecessary.
For some time, yubitsume was used as a punishment for infractions committed in front of the syndicate. In modern Japan, a cut off phalanx is a symbol of shame and indicates membership in criminal groups. To avoid censure, former criminals buy artificial phalanxes.
Yakuza tattoos are made by hand
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Members of the Yakuza can be immediately recognized by their bodies covered with tattoos. It is because of them that they wear clothes that completely cover their body in order to be able to be identified only “among their own.” Tattoos take up all the space on the skin, with the exception of a small strip between the chest and abdomen, which is left so that the liver does not fail. The traditional tattooing technique of Japanese mafiosi has been perfected over centuries, and it does not use electrical devices.
Structure
Structure of the Yakuza
The Yakuza is headed by a high boss (or chief). Subordinate to him are the saiko komon (administrator), waka-gashira (senior lieutenant or boss of the regional clan) and shatei-gashira (junior lieutenant). Lawyers and accountants report to Saiko Komon, while bandits of lower-ranking groups report to regional chiefs and shatei-gashira.
The boss of a yakuza clan has complete power over his subordinates and finances.
The Yakuza try to attract young people into their ranks; as a rule, these are 20-year-old boys familiar with crime. Anyone who joins the clan does not immediately become an equal representative of the clan - he undergoes an “internship” for three years, proving his suitability.
Each clan hunts in a certain territory, the boundaries of which it leaves only in emergency cases - when receiving a very lucrative offer or to fight with opponents.
Each Yakuza clan has its own “office”, the address of which is in the telephone directory and can be identified by the clan emblem hanging above the entrance to the premises.
Sometimes bloody territorial “disputes” arise when a more powerful clan seizes other people’s territories, thereby strengthening its power.
As we mentioned above, particularly distinguished Yakuza members receive rewards. As a rule, their immediate bosses give them lands, which the recipients will “supervise”, receive profits and pay a certain percentage to the clan.
Their wives get tattoos too
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The wives of yakuza members play virtually no role in their business; for the most part, they follow traditional ideas about a woman’s place in the family - raising children and taking care of the house. Nevertheless, the spouses demonstrate their devotion to their husbands by also applying tattoos to their bodies, and willingly show them off and pose for the camera. Yakuza members and their wives are almost the only group in Japan that gets tattoos; for other Japanese, these decorations are stigmatized as a “mafioso attribute.”
Initiation ceremony
A member of the Yakuza takes an oath of allegiance and seals the words with blood from a cut finger. Then the “recruit” and the boss take cups of sake (a Japanese rice drink) mixed with highly salted fish scales and sip them. Then they exchange them and slowly drink all the contents to the bottom, and the boss gets a full cup, but the newcomer does not.
After this initiation, the real parents lose authority, and their role passes to the boss and the “top” of the clan, who are now obliged to protect their new “son”.
They really help their country
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Believe it or not, the Yakuza have come to the aid of their country in difficult situations many times. For example, during the earthquakes in Kobe, where many yakuza headquarters are located, a huge number of city residents were provided with safe shelters, and in general the yakuza responded to what was happening faster than the government.
Sokaiya technique
When a newcomer passes all the tests, he is allowed to study criminal practices. And one of the most common practices is “pumping out money.”
The essence of the sokaiya technique is as follows: a mafioso buys up part of the company’s shares, becoming a member of the board of directors, and then begins to dig under the head of the company. Its purpose is to find personal information. If such data becomes known to the decoy, he begins to blackmail the manager.
The Japanese value status very much, and the fear of being disgraced is a vulnerable point for every respectable citizen. Therefore, directors of large enterprises are sometimes willing to pay huge amounts of money so that their secret hobbies do not become public knowledge. And if a person agreed to the blackmailer’s demands, they will no longer leave him alone.
They are outcasts in Japanese society
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Descendants of the Burakumin, a Japanese outcast caste, make up up to 60% of all Yakuza members. The Burakumin, who became a separate group from the 11th century, were practically untouchable and engaged in “dirty” professions unworthy of the rest of the population. Many of them joined organized crime - no wonder the Yakuza was formed as a result!
INITIATION
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The whole gang gathers. The initiated “kobun” (junior) sits opposite his patron “oyabun” (senior). Then it’s time for “sakazuki goto” – drinking sake together. Each is poured according to his status - the newcomer receives the least, the cup of his future leader is filled to the brim. During the ritual, the newcomer breaks ties with his parents and becomes a member of the Yakuza family. Pseudo-family relationships among the Japanese mafia are not just a sound; clan members are like brothers, and the oyabuna is their father and protector.
Origin of the name "Yakuza"
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Many people have heard the word “yakuza”, but few know where it comes from. The term “yakuza” comes from groups of card players - bakuto, named after one of the combinations of the game oycho-kabu (Japanese version of poker). “I” translated from Japanese meant “eight”, “ku” - “nine”, “za” - a modified “san”, that is, “three”; the total is twenty, or the worst number in this Japanese card game. At first, the word “yakuza” began to mean “useless thing,” then “useless person,” and since the Bakuto were considered outcasts and losers, they began to associate themselves with a losing combination in cards. Subsequently, the name "yakuza" came to be applied not only to the bakuto, but also to all Japanese organized crime groups and is still used to designate them along with the term "boryokudan".
Original types of Yakuza.
While there is some certainty about the exact origins of the yakuza, most modern yakuza stem from two factions that emerged during the Edo period: the tekiya , who primarily peddled illegal, stolen, or shoddy goods; and "bakuto" who were involved or directly involved in gambling. Tekiya ("peddlers") were considered one of the lowest castes of the Edo period.
When they began to form their own organizations, they took on certain administrative responsibilities, such as trading only in certain areas (ie, each had their own area) or protecting their commercial activities. During Shinto festivals, tekiya set up stalls and some members of the group were hired as security. Each tekiya paid rent in exchange for a stall and protection during the festival. Finally, the Edo government officially recognized tekiya organizations and granted their "employees" ("oyabun") the right to bear a surname and a sword.
This was a huge step forward for traders, because... up to this point, only samurai and nobles could carry swords. Bakuto (“players”) stood much lower on the social ladder than merchants, because gambling was illegal (and, in general, continues to be so now - for money, in any case. But here, however, there are a certain number of tricks). Small-scale gambling dens proliferated in abandoned temples and shrines on the outskirts of towns and villages throughout Japan. Most of them were able to provide some loan to their clients and maintained their own security force. The Bakuto were despised by all sections of society in general and most of the negativity associated with the Yakuza stems from the "players" and their activities. Actually, the name “Yakuza” is the self-name of Bakuto.
Due to the economic situation in the mid-period and the dominance of the merchant class, the developing yakuza factions consisted of misfits who could not adapt to society and criminals who extorted in local markets and sold counterfeit or shoddy goods. The roots of the yakuza can still be found in the initiation rites of tekiya and bakuto. Despite the fact that modern yakuza are much more diverse in their areas of activity, many of them still identify themselves with one or another of the original groups. For example, yakuza whose primary source of income is illegal gambling may well consider themselves bakuto.
Yakuza members are forced to cut off parts of their fingers
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If you can't see the tattoos on the body of a person who supposedly belongs to the Yakuza, look at his fingers. Sometimes entire phalanges of their fingers are missing. This is because when a member of the Yakuza makes a mistake, the internal code of ethics requires him to cut off the knuckle of his finger and present it to the boss. If the boss accepts the “gift”, the mistake is forgiven!
Traditions
This gang has a very strict code of conduct, which is probably why it has existed for so long. Everyone must have good relations with each other and unquestioningly obey the higher “leaders” of the criminal group.
Yakuza must remain loyal to their clan in any situation. If the boss orders you to take someone’s blame upon yourself, even if it means torture or prison, you must do it.
You cannot betray members of your family (group) and steal from them, enter into conflicts with other groups without the permission of the boss, and in no case should you “encroach” on ordinary law-abiding citizens. If one of the Yakuza members causes harm to innocent people, he will have to compensate them for the damage and be punished.
It is desirable for Yakuza members to have an official business, which would serve as a screen to hide the proceeds of criminal activity.
The Yakuza must perceive death as something inevitable (although it is inevitable for absolutely everyone) and not be afraid of its imminent onset. They must be intolerant of the enemy and build relations with him only from a position of strength. In some Yakuza clans, cannibalism is not prohibited (eating an enemy means helping the clan). You need to be able to endure hardships and pain, you cannot show fear in any situation (it is advisable not to experience it at all).
Many of the above qualities are good for all people to have, and these are the qualities that samurai in the past should have had. For the Japanese, Bushido (the code of conduct of samurai) is very important, because they often perceive the Yakuza as an organized group of some kind of noble Robin Hoods, helping to fight bad criminal manifestations in the country, even with the use of force, if necessary. And, of course, all this attracts young youths who want to connect their lives with the “real family” of the yakuza. And no one remembers their criminal business...
Chopping off phalanges of fingers in the Yakuza
If one of the members violates the laws of the Yakuza, he is subject to punishment - personally cutting off a finger (more precisely, a phalanx) using a katana sword or a tanto knife. The same punishment awaits those who decide to leave the ranks of the Yakuza. The cut off stump, wrapped in a rag, is given to the boss as proof of atonement. How many misdeeds - so many cut off fingers. In past centuries, systematic violation of Yakuza laws and, as a result, the loss of several fingers, led to the inability to hold a sword well in the hands (in those years it was the main weapon of the Yakuza), therefore malicious violators were recognized as unfit to perform their duties and were expelled from the clans by the boss . Now cutting off phalanges is a tribute to the rituals of the past.
In my opinion, the code of conduct of modern yakuza is very accurately characterized by the words of boss Yoshinori Watanabe: “Unconditional unity. Reckoning and silence. Necessary punishments and rewards, as well as appropriate use of force.”
But now all these strict Yakuza laws have become “worse,” which ultimately led to a weakening of discipline and its slow transformation into an ordinary organized criminal gang.
This is the largest gang in the world
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The Yakuza is considered the largest gang in the world - the group consists of more than 100,000 people, not even counting the service personnel who are not full members of the Yakuza. The number 100,000 may seem large to you, but back in the 1950s and 60s. The Yakuza numbered about 180,000 people.
EXAMINATIONS
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To become a member of Japanese crime, just knowing how to drink sake is not enough. Nowadays, there is a big hunt for the Yakuza by the state, which means you need to be well educated in the legal field so as not to get caught and drag the whole gang with you. In 2009, the Yamaguchi-gumi organization introduced a mandatory exam for its members. In addition to jurisprudence, it contains a variety of issues on criminal practice. Starting from how to steal vehicles to the problems of selling industrial waste.
The Yakuza have bases in America
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If you think that the Yakuza's activities are limited to Japan, you are greatly mistaken. They are expanding not only into neighboring Asian countries, but also... into the USA! Their largest base in America is in Hawaii. Their main activities are drug smuggling to America and smuggling American weapons to Japan. There are also several yakuza syndicates operating in the United States; the funds of two of them were frozen by Obama personally not so long ago.
Rituals, signs and traditions of the Yakuza
For several centuries, the Yakuza have used extensive tattoos as a sign of distinction and often as a sign of belonging to a group or clan. This also indicates their position in the group.
Initially, when artisans and peasants joined the yakuza, they received new sonorous names, for example, Nine Dragons or Tiger and Crane. Then the corresponding images were applied to their back or chest and complemented with various patterns. As a result, very often it turned out that the tattoo covers the entire body of the yakuza.
And these days in Japan, tattoos are primarily associated with the yakuza. However, in reality this is a stereotype, because after the official ban of the yakuza, many of them try not to be different from those around them.
Another ritual has already been mentioned above. This is the so-called yubitsume ritual, that is, cutting off a finger for wrongdoing. Today, old yakuza who are missing several fingers try to hide it with the help of prosthetics.
Another type of punishment is seppuku, or ritual murder by ripping open the abdomen. Seppuku was more popular among the samurai, however, it was also sometimes committed by the yakuza.
Yakuza will be one of the main beneficiaries of the 2020 Olympics
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In case you didn't know, the 2020 Olympics will be held in Tokyo, which is great news for the yakuza; almost the entire construction business in Japan is controlled by this gang, and the Olympics will require the construction of many sports facilities. The involvement of the yakuza in this process became painfully obvious in 2015, when photographs of the head of the Japanese Olympic Committee and yakuza bosses together at events circulated online. The budget for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics is $50 billion, and even if the Yakuza's profit is only 5% of that, it will be quite impressive.
History of origin
The medieval feudal lords of Japan used the services of samurai to protect themselves and to fight the enemy, and in medieval times they began to resort to the assistance of the yakuza, who, unlike the samurai, operated quietly and secretly.
The Yakuza sought to imitate the samurai and tried to follow bushido (the samurai code of conduct) - not only adopted their clothing style, but also learned to wield the katana (samurai sword) and martial arts.
Katana - samurai sword
By this time, the Yakuza were already small groups of bandits, which included former warriors who, for some reason, had lost their jobs, unemployed and homeless people. Huddled in groups, they engaged in robbery, fraud, extortion and other bad deeds.
Over time, the authority of the Yakuza grew, because many business owners and simply wealthy people began to hire the Yakuza as their bodyguards, to collect debts, and also to intimidate disobedient partners.
When the gambling business became widespread in Japan in the 18th century, the Yakuza clans began to “supervise” it too.
Historical fact. In those years, one of the yakuza bosses opened a den where everyone could gamble, and made a very good profit from it. After a while, the authorities invited him to start building roads, and the yakuza boss distinguished himself again - in his den there were many losers, whom he supplied to build roads, so that they would work off their debts with righteous labor.
At the beginning of the 20th century, new cinemas, clubs, bars, dens and gambling establishments appeared in Japan, which also began to be controlled by the yakuza. Gradually, they began to take more serious productions “under their wing,” often at the cost of great blood. But the bosses managed to get along with the police, and law enforcement officers presented the bloody massacre as a simple fight. This “cooperation” between the yakuza and the authorities soon spread throughout the country. And the power of the Japanese mafia became even more influential.
In fact, the Yakuza have always helped the police. Law enforcement officers turn to the bosses of the Japanese mafia to maintain order in their zones of influence - to stop theft and robbery. The police do not notice their illegal “activities.”
After World War II, when Japan was flooded with crowds of hired workers from neighboring countries who loved to riot, the police also resorted to the assistance of the yakuza.
In the middle of the last century, American army bases were deployed in Japan, where the Yakuza began to supply “girls” and illicit potions.
Over the years, the yakuza clans became stronger and richer, and little by little some of their bosses (chiefs) acquired the status of “gray cardinals” - powerful people who do not hold any positions, but are able to influence business, politics, deputies, journalism, sports, pop music, and so on. Further.
Now the Yakuza is a structure composed not of the worthless people we talked about above, but of very educated specialists who are knowledgeable in various fields of activity. They control and blackmail some businessmen, extorting money and shares from them, while helping others “launder illegal proceeds.”
Moreover, often such yakuza are officially registered as some kind of public organizations, and the income received for their activities described above is spent as donations or contributions, so the Japanese authorities cannot do anything about it (or maybe they don’t want to).
This criminal mafia has taken over almost all areas of activity in present-day Japan.
Yakuza
The modern yakuza also has close contacts with high government officials. Thus, in 2012, K. Tanaka, who had been in contact with the yakuza for a long time, was fired from the post of Minister of Justice. The following year, a reputable bank in Japan was caught supplying them with large sums of money. And in 2021, for the same reason, the head of the Japan Boxing Association was removed from his post.
Yakuza chiefs are incredibly rich and powerful. The authorities periodically try to catch them, if they allow it. One such case occurred in 1981, when the yakuza boss Kazuo Taoki died. More than five thousand yakuza gathered at his funeral, several hundred of whom the police managed to detain on the eve of the farewell ceremony.
A feature of the yakuza is the openness of data about its hierarchy, the number of clans and their zones of influence. Why do the Yakuza behave so openly? Most likely, thanks to its strength, because this Japanese mafia has firmly entered all spheres of life in Japan.
Why don't the Japanese authorities fight to reduce the number of these gangs? They fight, only this fight resembles Don Quixote’s fight with a windmill, and the Yakuza emerges victorious. And all because of the large number of people who have not found themselves in life, for whom the Yakuza opens its arms and becomes their home.
Yakuza members are far right
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The Yakuza is very close to the right-wing nationalist groups in Japan. The number of Japanese radical right-wing groups is about 100,000 people, and this number is suspiciously close to the number of the yakuza. However, there is no room for suspicion here - everything is already known: in Japan they are well aware that we are often talking about the same people. These people cannot be arrested for their radical views - they are guaranteed freedom of expression by the country's constitution.
The Rise of the Modern Yakuza
When World War II began, some Yakuza members were drafted into the army, while others were sent to prison. As is often the case, the war caused a shortage of goods, which in turn led to the emergence of the black market and the modern yakuza bandits or "gurentai".
Gurentai drew conclusions from the actions of their predecessors and gradually took control of the entire country, especially since the black market was already under their control. By and large, no one could resist them, because the Americans destroyed the Japanese elite or took them into custody. As a result, in 1950, one might say, the Americans admitted their defeat to the Yakuza and declared that they could no longer protect ordinary Japanese from the Gurentai.
Around this time, the modern image of the yakuza emerged. Japanese mafiosi wanted to look like gangsters from American films and began to wear dark glasses, black suits with white shirts and ties. Samurai swords are a thing of the past, and they have been replaced by knives and pistols.
Wars began to divide the sphere of influence between factions. In these wars, civilians also suffered. By 1963, the number of Yakuza reached 184 thousand out of 5,200 groups, which exceeded the number of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.
In the current situation, a person was needed who could restore order in the country. And such a person was found, he turned out to be Kodama Yoshio, who during the war was an adviser to the Prime Minister and a rear admiral. He was imprisoned by the Americans, where he began to cooperate with them. To begin with, he reconciled the Americans with the Yakuza. After which he became an intermediary between the largest clans, with the aim of uniting them. Thanks to Kodama's efforts, the yakuza clan system took on a modern look.
The most famous "godfather" of the Yakuza was a true legend
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From the 1940s to the 1980s. The Yakuza syndicate Yamaguchi-gumi was led by a man named Kazuo Taoka. He was one of the most legendary bosses in Yakuza history. His parents abandoned him, after which he was “adopted” and then hardened in various battles by the Yakuza. In 1936, he went to prison for 8 years for murder, but upon his release, he gained popularity and became a respected leader. It was Taoka who turned his syndicate into one of the most powerful Yakuza groups. A survivor of numerous shootings, he died of a heart attack in 1981.
Order of play
Rising phase
The first step is to distribute the players into two teams. Each player receives one card from the prepared and shuffled deck, secretly looks at the color of his card, and returns the card to the deck. Then everyone closes their eyes and lowers their heads. Someone starts counting out loud (usually the person who dealt the cards). After counting 5, he continues to count silently until 15, then counts out loud until 20. While he is silent, the players who received black cards must open their eyes, raise their heads and look at each other, then close their eyes and lower their heads again. At the count of 20, everyone should open their eyes. Now all players are divided into two teams. Mafia - players who have seen each other and therefore know about each other. Honest people are players who have not seen anything and do not know each other, just as they do not know who is a member of the Mafia. That's the only advantage of the Mafia: they know each other. Honest players must suspect everyone, but they have a quantitative advantage. The main struggle during the next phase will be between the informed minority and the ignorant majority.
Day phase
Discussion... At any time, any player can accuse another player of being involved in the Mafia. He must justify his assumptions. Everyone, including the accused, has the right to challenge this statement. When the prosecutor asks for a vote, each player votes by raising their hands. If the majority of players (not counting the accused) are for the accusation of involvement in the Mafia, then the suspected player is "sentenced to death" and leaves the game for the rest of the round. If the accuser cannot obtain a majority of votes, then the game continues with the same number of players. During the discussion, accusations may be made many times. Players who are eliminated from a game must not reveal their identity until the end of the game. They shouldn't try to help those who are still in the game. There is no way to find out a dead player's command before the next phase begins.
Night phase
This is the only phase where you can find out that all Mafia members have been eliminated. Someone announces "Mafia Night". If the majority of active players agree, then night falls. All players take pencils and paper and write a secret note. Honest people must write “I am honest”, and Mafia members write the name of the person they want to exclude from the game. After that, all the notes are placed in the center and someone reads them. The number of notes with names reflects the number of surviving Mafia members, from here players will know who was "killed" during the day: an honest person or a Mafia member. If the name on all the Mafia notes matches, then the named person is “killed” and leaves the game until the end of the round. Otherwise, the named players survive the Mafia attack and the game continues with the same number of players.
For example, if there are three Mafia members in the game, then among the notes there should be three notes with names. Only if all three notes contain the same name is that person "killed". If only one Mafia member is still in the game, his "shot" will be enough to eliminate anyone.
The game ends when not a single shot is fired during Mafia Night, or all honest people have left the game. The game starts over.
The Yakuza were once led by women
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After Kazuo Taoki, the boss's place was to be taken by another person chosen by him personally; the only problem was that he was in prison at the time of Taoki's death. While the syndicate was waiting for the new leader to be released, he died of liver problems. Taoki's widow, Fumiko, became the acting head of the syndicate; this happened for the first time in the history of the organization. It was she who found a new source of income for the gang - drugs.
Yakuza principles and beliefs
The Yakuza advocate the revival of samurai traditions, as well as traditional family values.
The Yakuza has a division into the Yakuza and the simpletons (“Katagi”), that is, those who do not belong to them. Killing katagi is not allowed, as the yakuza adhere to the samurai code of honor. This can only be done if the katagi threatens the clan’s activities. However, everything else (blackmail, rape, racketeering) is permitted.
Naturally, it is allowed to kill other yakuza. Sometimes, during wars between clans, they may use kamikaze killers (“teppodama”).
The Yakuza do not trust women and believe that they should take care of the home. This is why women are not accepted into the ranks of the Yakuza. The Yakuza respect only the wives of the clan head and call them “big sisters” (ane-san). In some cases, when kumicho are in hospital or prison, they may even be consulted. And the rest of the women are treated like litter.
Personal honor and the honor of the clan are the most important thing for any yakuza. Therefore, the Yakuza cannot stand being humiliated and insulted. They also almost never admit their mistakes or apologize.
It is customary for the Yakuza to support and help each other. If one of the group members ends up in prison, they try in every possible way to help him get out of there. And covering up for a “colleague” is revered as great valor.
Yakuza controls Japan's porn industry
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It is a widely known fact that one of the main sources of income for the yakuza in Japan is the porn industry, which they keep under their complete control. Porn films are illegal in Japan, so the yakuza fills this black market gap. The Yakuza also cooperates with porn businesses from other countries (for example, from the United States) and imports girls of foreign origin to Japan for filming. These girls are usually blackmailed into doing porn.
Game Basics
Welcome to Mafia, a role-playing game in which players become characters suspected of having ties to the Mafia. Two teams will compete with each other: Mafia and honest people. The task of honest people is to stop the Mafia before it eliminates them. The Mafia's task is to hide its identity and pose as honest players in order to manipulate other players, leading them to self-destruction. It is in each player's best interest to prove your innocence (or, if you are a member of the Mafia, to hide your guilt) by accusing and interrogating other suspects until all members of the opposing team have left the game.
Own magazine and website
The openness of the Japanese mafiosi is evidenced not only by the presence of legal businesses and clan offices. For example, in 2003, the Yamaguchi-gumi gang launched its own corporate magazine, Yamaguchi-gumi Shinpo. It is distributed among members of the group and is intended to bring the family together, talk about difficult times for Japanese crime and touch on common topics such as the game of Go, fishing, etc.
The bosses of Yamaguchi-gumi went further and not long ago opened a gang website. Moreover, the syndicate’s portal is no longer intended for members of the group, but for the general public. The purpose of its creation was to rebrand the gang, an attempt to change the negative attitude towards the yakuza in Japan.
