Yakuza

Yakuza (from Japanese ??? or ???), also known as gokud?, are members of traditional organized crime groups in Japan.

Origin and history

The term "Yakuza" comes from a Japanese card game, hanafuda. The worst hand is a set, which includes an eight, a nine and a three. These numbers are called Ya, Ku and Sa, so a good translation is said to be "useless hand". Because of this, they are sometimes known as "hachi-kyu-san" ("8-9-3") in Japanese.

Related Topics:
Card game - Hanafuda - Hand

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is no single origin for all Japanese yakuza. Rather, yakuza organizations developed from different elements of traditional Japanese society. In the later part of the Japanese feudal era, especially in the Edo period (1603-1837), the legal power of the feudal lords shifted away from direct ownership of land to a broader feudal tax system on land "products", mainly rice. Also, retainers samurai began to be paid with rice, which they sold to markets for cash instead of being paid a direct salary. The samurai provided service as professional soldiers during wartime and as professional bureaucrats or administrators during peacetime. During the Edo period, most samurai lost their connection to the land and started to live around the feudal castles.

Related Topics:
Feudal - Edo period - Rice - Samurai

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Around the same time, the policing of the community became the responsibility of members of the community, rather than the daimyo (lord). This was especially prevalent outside of the capital cities, as the Edo government allowed only one major castle in each feudal province.

Related Topics:
Policing - Daimyo - Edo - Castle - Province

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although the yakuza often insist on their origins as Japanese "Robin Hoods" and protectors, some scholars trace their beginnings to the kabukimono (raving ones), also known as hatamoto yakko (servants of the shogun). These groups of ronin (masterless samurai) adopted strange hair styles, dressed in an outrageous manner, spoke in vulgar and specialized slang, carried unusually long swords and harassed ordinary people. Their exploits are still a popular subject of Japanese jidaigeki dramas based on the feudal era.

Related Topics:
Robin Hood - Kabukimono - Hatamoto yakko - Ronin - Jidaigeki

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Some yakuza do, however, trace their origins to the communal vigilante/police groups known as machi yakko ("Servants of the town") that arose to enforce order and protect the community from intruders. These groups varied in their level of organization and formality, often simply being comprised of labourers and other "tough men" of the community. Sometimes they also included one or more ronin, as only samurai were officially allowed to carry swords. They often fought against bandits and gangs to protect their community and were even regarded as heroes.

Related Topics:
Machi yakko - Ronin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In larger towns, several of these groups often existed simultaneously, and they often fought for territory, money and influence much like modern gangs, disregarding any civilians caught in the crossfire. Again, this is the origin of a popular theme of Japanese film and television, made famous in the West by an Akira Kurosawa film called Yojimbo where a ronin is hired to rescue a community from these bullies. Yakuza derived some practices from both machi-yakko and kabukimono. Their protection rackets can be seen as originating from machi-yakko, but their more colorful fashion and language are derived from the kabukimono tradition.

Related Topics:
West - Akira Kurosawa - Film - Yojimbo

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tekiya and Bakuto

The origin of other yakuza organizations can be traced to two special groups known as tekiya (peddlers) and bakuto (gamblers). Their origin can be seen in current yakuza initiation ceremonies, which incorporate either tekiya or bakuto rituals.

Related Topics:
Tekiya - Bakuto - Initiation ceremonies - Rituals

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tekiya (peddlers) were considered one of the lowest of Edo caste. As they began to form organisations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities. For example, during Shinto festivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair. The Edo government eventually formally recognised such tekiya organisations and granted the oyabuns of tekiya a surname as well as permission to carry a sword. This was a major step forward for the traders, as formerly only samurai and noblemen were allowed to carry swords.

Related Topics:
Tekiya - Edo - Caste - Shinto - Festivals - Oyabun

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was completely illegal. Many small gambling houses cropped up in abandoned temples or shrines at the edge of towns and villages all over Japan. Most of these gambling houses ran loan sharking businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel. The places themselves, as well as the bakuto, were regarded with disdain by the society at large, and much of the undesirable image of the yakuza originates from bakuto.

Related Topics:
Bakuto - Shrines - Japan - Loan sharking

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Many bakuto had tattoos on their body called irezumi, meant to be displayed when bakuto dealt cards or rolled dice half naked. In modern times, tattooing has become almost the exclusive practice of yakuza in Japan. Folklore states that the bakuto also originated the yakuza tradition of finger cutting (yubitsume) as a way of offering penance, because this would weaken the holding of the dice box which they used to deal in dice games. However, the more traditional Yakuza prefer to believe that the tradition of yubitsume comes from samurai, whose masters, upon disobedient or shameful actions, would remove joints from the pinky finger. This weakened the samurai's grip on his katana, as the smallest finger plays the largest role; therefore making him significantly less powerful and effective.

Related Topics:
Tattoos - Irezumi - Yubitsume - Penance - Katana

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When the Edo Shogunate ended with the Meiji restoration, the yakuza transformed into a form much closer to the modern organizations. The Meiji government instituted its own police forces, slowly eroding the legitimacy of the communal vigilante groups. Also, the new government took much stricter action against gambling houses in temples and shrines, driving bakuto further underground. During this time, there was also a large movement from the rural areas into the cities. As a result, yakuza moved to the cities and started to provide protection to certain urban districts or activities, such as commercial, entertainment or red-light districts. This protection sometimes evolved into a racket, which often targeted rickshaw or construction businesses.

Related Topics:
Edo - Shogunate - Meiji restoration - Temples and shrines - Rickshaw

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Post-War Yakuza: Gurentai

Also, as Japan began to industrialise and the urban movement really got underway, a third group of yakuza called gurentai began to emerge (though the name gurentai was not given until after WWII). Whether they fall into the traditional definition of yakuza is still open to debate, but they certainly gave birth to another kind of yakuza, the boryokudan (violence group). In short, a gurentai is a gang in a much more traditional sense, a group of young unruly thugs who peddle their violence for profit. They often engaged in the suppression of unions and other workers' organizations, and such activities brought them much closer to the conservative elements of the Japanese power structure. During the militarisation of Japan, some of them became the militant wing of Japanese politics known as uyoku (right wing), i.e. ultra-nationalists.

Related Topics:
Urban - Gurentai - WWII - Boryokudan - Unions - Militarisation - Uyoku - Right wing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike more traditional yakuza, uyoku did not maintain territories - they peddled their violence for political gain. The most famous group before WWII was the Kokuryu-kai, or Black Dragon Society. The Kokuryu-kai was a secret ultra-nationalist umbrella organization whose membership was comprised of government officials and military officers as well as many martial artists and members of the Japanese underworld who engaged in political terrorism and assassination. They also provided espionage services for the Japanese colonial government. Kokuryu-kai engaged in contraband operations including the Chinese opium trade, as well as prostitution and gambling overseas which provided them with funds as well as information.

Related Topics:
Kokuryu-kai - Umbrella organization - Terrorism - Colonial government - Chinese - Opium

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the post-War rationing, the yakuza controlled the black market much in line with traditional tekiya operations. At the same time, they also moved into controlling major sea ports as well as the entertainment industry. The biggest yakuza umbrella group, the Yamaguchi-gumi, emerged in the Kansai region, which had a large entertainment industry in the city of Osaka as well as a major sea port in Kobe. American occupation forces fought against them in vain and conceded defeat in 1950. Yakuza also adapted to a more western style, including wearing clothing reminiscent of US gangsters, and began to use firearms. At this point, tekiya and bakuto no longer confined themselves to their traditional activities and expanded into any venture they found profitable. At the same time gurentai began to adopt traditional roles of tekiya and bakuto. They also began to feud among themselves, jockeying for power and prestige.

Related Topics:
Yamaguchi-gumi - Kansai - Osaka - Kobe

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1960s, Yoshio Kodama, an ex-nationalist, began to negotiate treaties with various groups, first with the Yamaguchi-gumi of Kazuo Taoka and Tosei-kai of Hisayuki Machii and eventually with the Inagawa-kai. Fights between individual gangs, however, are ongoing.

Related Topics:
Yoshio Kodama - Nationalist - Yamaguchi-gumi - Kazuo Taoka - Tosei-kai - Hisayuki Machii - Inagawa-kai

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~