In every country there are different criminal organizations
that influence important decisions, both in the economic and political spheres.
Thousands of unscrupulous people who are dedicated to lining their pockets
through shady business deals, hiding behind acts of excessive violence...
But who could these fearsome characters be in a country with a crime rate as low as Japan?
Today we will learn about the origin and some of the customs
of the Yakuza, one of the most dangerous and influential criminal organizations
on the face of the earth, Welcome to Copernicus’s Galaxy.
What do the Yakuza and the Samurai have in common?
It’s hard to believe that a criminal organization arises from the honorable
figure of the Ancient Samurai, respectable warriors who dedicated body and soul
to protect the feudal lords and people of different territories...
although perhaps these swordsmen are a bit romanticized by modern literature and cinema.
The progress of societies often leads to a better destiny of the people in a country, but this is
not always equitable, as some are left behind in favor of growth. That was the fate of those
warriors, who were dismissed with the arrival of modern times and the unification of the country.
Having lost their purpose, the Samurai were forced to abandon many of their principles,
becoming mercenaries, commonly called "Ronin", in order to survive.
Over time, these new mercenaries began to organize and group together, offering their
protection services in exchange for food and privileges until they became what they are today,
a large group of gangsters divided into different clans with control of different businesses
around the world and activities ranging from extortion to drug trafficking.
They consider themselves a chivalrous organization,
because they preserve some principles and rituals of their honorable ancestors,
performing humanitarian acts such as donations or aid to victims.
An example of this was in 2011, when the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan.
Different Yakuza clans joined together to carry out reconstruction work and help the population.
Its criminal activity has declined in recent years,
with crimes becoming less serious despite its 3,000 different clans and more than 100,000
members. It is considered one of the least crime-ridden criminal groups in the world.
Yabitsume: The Japanese amputation ritual.
The Yakuza's top priority is its strict code of honor, which among many things demands enormous
respect and loyalty towards the clan leader and its superiors.
If any of its members commit an offense, the appropriate punishments will be applied.
These punishments can be simple, such as the payment of a fine,
or end in death by self-disembowelment,
so many prefer to practice Yabitsume with the intention of avoiding these penalties.
This ritual, born of the itinerant gamblers known as "Bakuto", consists of mutilating
part of the little finger as payment for their debt or as a sign of repentance.
To carry it out, the mafioso who made the mistake must put his left hand on a silk cloth
and proceed to cut a part of the finger with a sharp knife without going beyond the join.
Once cut, it would be wrapped in the cloth and would be delivered to the person who has suffered
the fault hoping that it would be forgiven. This all went on without receiving help from anyone,
which makes the ritual even more difficult.
The ritual not only serves the purpose of demonstrating your deep regret for
the acts committed, but also ensures a disadvantage for the mobster when
defending himself in future duels with a sword or handling a weapon due to the loss of grip.
Research has shown that approximately 15% of
Yakuza members have performed this ritual on at least 2 occasions.
Nowadays, this practice has diminished considerably due to the members wanting to stand
out as little as possible from the crowd, with financial sanctions or expulsion from the clan
now being the most common forms of punishment.
The rigorous 12-page exam to enter the Yakuza.
To the surprise of many, the Yakuza is not forbidden by Japanese law,
being able to walk down the street without hiding... unless they are looking for you...
Thanks to this, until not so long ago, the clans advertised their presence and residence
in each district with large neon signs and visible decorations,
such as samurai swords. But the population is increasingly refusing to put up with the
presence of these "gangs" in their communities, leading legislators to
implement changes within the specific sanctions for this group of criminals.
In 2008, a law was introduced whereby the head of the clan can be held responsible for the acts
and damages caused by his subordinates, generating fines of millions of yen for the organization.
Since the various Yakuza clans are shady for-profit corporations,
but corporations nonetheless, it is not in their best interest to have to pay penalties
amounting to millions for any reason. Because of this, they’ve implemented an admission test
to purge problematic members who represent a latent danger to their business.
This pencil-and-paper test was distributed throughout Japan by the
"Yamaguchi-gumi," the largest Yakuza clan, and focuses on current organized crime regulations,
with open-ended and multiple-choice questions such as "What kinds of
activities are prohibited?" or "What are you obliged to do in all your activities?"
It's all about money, so if it's your intention to join this giant Japanese mafia,
you'd better prepare for the exam.
The fearsome tattoos of the Yakuza.
Marking your body with phrases or images has always been frowned upon
by people anywhere in the world. What is fashion and a way of expression today,
was once a way to punish and mark criminals, hence why older people often relate it to gangs.
Little by little these stereotypes have been diminishing thanks to the growing
culture of inclusion and different ideological currents, but this is not the case in Japan.
As an indication of each clan, the Yakuza began to adopt tattooing large areas of the body
as a practice that symbolized commitment to the organization, covering almost the entire body.
To make such huge, colorful tattoos, they use a manual technique called "Irezumi". This way
of pigmenting the skin uses a limited range of colors and a traditional needle made of bamboo.
It is usually very slow, taking several days to work a single area of the body.
Due to the craftsmanship of the technique and its relatively primitive nature, it has become almost
exclusive to these gangsters, showing status among the members of their clan, because of the high
cost involved in performing it, not to mention how painful it is, which they also use as a message.
The main elements of Japanese culture are depicted,
highlighting dragons, koi fish and flowers, each having a specific meaning.
In Japan, the tattoos are so frowned upon that members of this organization commonly try to
cover them up in public, and you can be expelled from an establishment just for having them.
The Japanese artist who is changing hundreds of Yakuza lives.
It’s difficult to escape your past, usually the dark background of your life haunts you tirelessly
reminding you and everyone who crosses your path of the mistakes you made. It may be easy for you
to easily camouflage them, but for former Yakuza members this becomes a real torment.
Due to the lack of finger tips, which is common in Japanese mobsters for the well-known
"Yubitsume" ritual, they are marked for life as past or present members of organized crime,
preventing these people who seek to change their lives from finding jobs,
partners or going to places where they are not accepted for their old life.
Yukako Fukushima, an artist who started out making silicone prostheses for patients
with other diseases or typical limbs, noticed a couple of decades ago
that requests for fingers, especially pinkies, began to increase.
Motivated to help them build a new beginning, Fukushima began placing
these orders on the sole condition that they prove they were no longer part of the Yakuza.
The fingers are made of silicone and are hand-painted to match the
appearance of the rest of the hand as closely as possible,
making it virtually impossible for most people to notice the deception.
There are countless organized groups, corporations,
sects and religions with their own vision, mission and values... some are a living representation
of a wolf in sheep's clothing... Perhaps the Yakuza are not as bad as they’re made
out to be and indeed still have some of the honorable virtues of the samurai,
or it may be that there are a few secrets to be unearthed here at Copernicus’s Galaxy.