Japan, the birthplace of Hello Kitty, Super Mario, Sushi… and fetishes of a physical
nature that seem wholly Japanese.
It’s a country renowned for walking to the beat of its own drum, a cultural oddity in
some respects, but with a society that goes to great pains in being polite, civilized,
clean, and deferent to customs.
Walking around almost any city, you won’t find trash on the ground, and you won’t
need to fear being harassed or beaten up for the way you look, or for the few dollars in
your pocket.
Japan is on the whole smart, convenient, and safe.
But then it also has some of the most feared and formidable gangsters on the planet.
Who are they?
What do they do?
That’s what we’ll find out, in this episode of the Infographics Show, Most Dangerous Japanese
Gangs.
When we talk about gangs in Japan, we are mostly talking about what we call Yakuza,
but this is a generic name or umbrella term given to various groups of gangs in Japan,
like the west’s Mafia.
Sometimes these people that become part of this lifestyle call themselves “Goduku”,
which translates as wicked or extreme path.
In a recent Forbes story, we were told that the Yakuza, which goes back to the 17th century,
call themselves “ninkyō dantai” (meaning a chivalrous organization).
The media and police don’t see it that way, though, and they call these gangs “bōryokudan”
(violent group).
But who are these people?
In a paper called “History of the Yakuza” written in 2014, it’s written that in Japan
there are somewhere between two and three thousand gangs that we might call Yakuza.
Forbes writes that in all, there are 80,000 separate Yakuza members, although different
sources give wildly different estimates.
These gangs belong to a number of conglomerates.
You might think of these larger gangs as crime families, or even what the Mexicans call cartels.
According to historians some of the Yakuza like to romanticize their beginnings, comparing
themselves to ancient master Samurai known as Ronin, although others say the roots of
Yakuza come from gangs that defended villages from marauding Ronin.
It’s more commonly thought that most of these past gangsters were merely men that
peddled sketchy goods and ran gambling outfits, as the word Yakuza is actually related to
gambling.
They do have codes of conduct, though.
The past, and rituals associated with the past, is important to Yakuza.
In fact, some scholars tell us that Yakuza have an “unwavering moral code”, that
they are “makoto” (heroes), driven by money but also a will to do good.
In that sense, we might call them Moral Gangsters, or sometimes Ethical Hitmen.
That’s one side of the tale though, and many of the Japanese public don’t see it
that way.
Carrying on with our history lesson, one professor that has studied Yakuza tells us, “Like
the Mafia in Italy, gang traditions that are still influential today in Japan had their
origins within the feudal structure of the preindustrial society.”
Outlaws and bandits emerged, but so did stories of Robin Hood-type Yakuza.
This seems to be a common theme in most cultures – the honorable criminal fighting oppression.
We are told in Japan this was, and still is, a common thread – that the gangsters are
neo-Samurai that have basically put down their robe and donned a business suit.
The sword is now a gun, but the principle is the same.
But if you think dealing in prostitution, extortion, drug trafficking, smuggling, gambling,
blackmail and other shady businesses is honorable, well, that’s up for debate.
Are these modern-day Samurai really robbing from the rich and giving back to the poor
though?
We’ll soon find out.
First let’s look at the big four organizations in the Yakuza.
They are the “Yamaguchi-gumi” (easily the largest and now split into two), the “Sumiyoshi-kai”,
the “Inagawa-kai” and “Aizu Kotetsu-kai” – the oldest group.
These groups are well known to the Japanese people.
They have large headquarters, known by the cops and everyone else.
They work almost like a normal corporation, except much of their work is of a criminal
nature.
Let’s have a look at the biggest of those groups, the Yamaguchi-gumi.
First of all, like all Yakuza, there is a strict hierarchy.
At the top you have the boss (oyabun or kumichō) and you have his family, gang members (kobun).
They are all part of a hierarchy, having elders and youngers.
Below the kumicho is a senior advisor and below him is the chief.
Below them are the smaller gangs associated with the family, and these smaller gangs have
their own bosses (shatei gashira).
By comparison it’s rather like the Italian mafia.
It’s thought in Yamaguchi-gumi there are around 500 separate yakuza groups.
It’s so large, the Yamaguchi-gumi is said to be the richest criminal family in the world
by a long way, with an estimated yearly net revenue of $80 billion.
The group, which accounts for just less than half of all Yakuza, has its fingers in many,
many pies.
Yes, they might traffic drugs as most worldwide gangs do, but they also traffic arms, invest
in and manipulate the stock market, have a large hand in Japan’s huge pornography industry,
build buildings, run gambling operations and extort money.
The group started as a labor union for dockworkers in Kobe in early 1900s, by none other than
Mr. Harukichi Yamaguchi, but today the boss is a man by the name of Kenichi Shinoda.
He’s been jailed for murder, been involved in Yakuza wars, and is seen as a great businessman
having expanded the Yakuza during his reign.
He believes, in spite of murder, the Yakuza is honorable.
He’s gone on record before, stating how many times Yakuza have helped the public,
mainly after the second world war and also after natural disasters.
He’s right, too, which is why perhaps the Japanese people put up with these shady businessmen
who once were outcast scoundrels and gamblers.
After the 1995 Kobe earthquake around one million Japanese folks were left without a
home.
Who stepped up?
First the Yamaguchi-gumi and then all four of the Yakuza’s main syndicates.
After the massive tsunami in 2011 the Yakuza again came to the rescue of many people by
offering housing and many tons of food.
One journalist writes, “I’ll remain endlessly fascinated by the charity of the yakuza when
natural disasters strike.
It’s such an idiosyncratic, paradoxical thing for a group of criminal syndicates to
engage in.”
The Yakuza have a lot of rules, and if you break them there are two main penalties you
can receive.
One is death, the other is expulsion with no way back into the world of Yakuza anywhere.
For the lucky ones, they have a finger cut off, usually just above the joint.
This practice is known as “yubitsume”.
If you mess up again, off comes another finger, until some people have few left.
The offender cuts the finger himself with a really sharp knife called a “tanto”.
He then wraps it up and hands it to the boss.
In the past this would weaken sword grip, but in the present it’s more of a symbolic
statement.
This has happened to a lot of people, some of whom have left the Yakuza and gone in search
of a prosthetic finger.
One clinic told the press in 2013, “I started to see a gradual increase in people who were
asking for prosthetic pinkies.
They weren’t the standard small, medium or large, but custom-made pinkies.”
So yes, this is a strict group.
It has inviolable laws – unlike most criminal organizations that are more chaotic – and
most people abide by them.
Are we talking about angels that fly over natural disasters or shrewd men that order
hits and run brothels?
A bit of both, but it seems they are trying to clean up.
No more drugs, either used or sold, was made law in 2011 by the Yamaguchi-gumi.
You can read that on their official website and see their official logo and offices.
They are trying hard not to kill each other or any of the public, though it does still
happen.
Today you have to seriously mess up to get whacked.
You could almost compare it to the triads in Hong Kong, in that a blind eye is turned
to illegal activity if blood stays off the streets.
Even when the Yamaguchi-gumi split and the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi was formed in 2015, there
were few murders.
Perhaps the most high-profile murder was in 2007 when a mayor was whacked for not playing
ball with a Yakuza boss.
The groups are well aware that if business looks too messy the government and police
put you out of business, just as has happened with criminal syndicates all over the world.
Perhaps the Yakuza are not just the richest gangs, but also the smartest.
So, what are these guys like?
Well, Vice magazine had a journalist spend a bit of time with some of the gangsters.
Apparently, they like fine food, fine women, and exquisite tattoos.
According to that interview these smartly dressed men seem to think they’ve been maligned
by the media, relating to their image.
They see themselves as upstanding gents.
The public sees otherwise, says Vice- “Many believe them to be a stain on the proud legacy
of Japanese morals and decency,”.
“People don't want to talk about the Yakuza or acknowledge their existence.”
As for violence, these guys said the Yakuza prevent it, not start it.
“The Yakuza keep everyone in line…they can stop chaos,” said one gang member.
He said they help the young, tough love if you like, and if they step out of line they
get in trouble.
But that, he believes, is better than ending up in jail.
The interviewee said the police and politicians are also corrupt and just envious the Yakuza
has so much power.
Lastly, what about those tattoos?
What do they mean?
We looked at a Japanese website for the answer and found out that you don’t have to get
tattoos if you are in the Yakuza.
You might just get the name of your boss, or you might go for one of those beautiful
body tattoos.
Sometimes you just have outlines and no color, that means your journey is just starting.
What about those koi fish?
They symbolize strength and courage in times of adversity, following a myth that a koi
fish swam up rapids in the Yellow River in China and turned into a dragon.
A samurai picture is also common, and we don’t need to explain why.
You may also see these flowers: a chrysanthemum, a lotus or a peony.
Respectively this might mean longevity, growth and wealth.
Animals each have their symbols as do monsters (the Foo dog mean protection).
Water can symbolize change, while clouds or plants also have symbolic meanings.
Colors mean a lot, too.
A blue dragon is gentle and forgiving but a black dragon is wise.
A severed head…well, that just means don’t mess with me or you’ll end up like this
guy.
They should always be hidden, too.
This year a former boss of the Yakuza was arrested in Thailand as an old man, only because
someone photographed his amazing tattoos and stuck the ex-gangster’s photos online.
Oh, and he was missing a pinkie finger.
It turned out the 72-year was wanted in Japan in connection with a murder.
We might say that while the Yakuza can be dangerous, they might just be the most ethical
and upstanding group of gangsters on the planet.
As they are also the richest, perhaps American, Mexican, Russian, Italian, British gangsters,
etc, might take a page of out their very colorful playbook.
What do you think?
Is there such a thing as an ethical criminal?
Let us know in the comments.
Also be sure to check out our other video, Most Horrific Crimes - The Italian Mafia.
Thanks for watching and as always, please don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.