Yakuza

Yakuza (任侠, やくざ), also known in Japan as hachi-kyu-san (893s) or ya-san, are the Japanese form of organized crime. Modern yakuza have extended their activities to banking and political corruption.

History

Yakuza themselves claim origin from 1612 and the rebellious bands of machi-yakko (city servants) who fought bandits and oppressive daimyos. Machi-yakko were mainly composed of townsfolk, commoners and craftsmen who banded together and imitated organizations of samurai clans. Tokugawa shogunate executed the last known machi-yakko in 1686 but they became sort of Japanese version of Robin Hood.

However, other sources claim that yakuza origin lies in the kabuki-mono (傾奇者, かぶきもの, crazy ones) bandit gangs that were composed of ronin, the masterless samurai, who had banded together for mutual support. They were little more than glorified brigands and in occasion attacked and looted villages.

First actual Yakuza organizations appeared in the 18th century. The first known types were bakuto (gamblers) and tekiya (street peddlers).

Tekiya dealt in shoddy merchandize and protection rackets in marketplaces. In order to have control of the marketplace, shogunate recognized tekiya groups and gave their leaders official status - which allowed them to carry swords and use a surname. However, they also dealt in prostitution and loan sharking.

Bakuto, in turn, gambled with construction workers and other workmen and gave a cut to the shogunate. They are also most probably the source of the name yakuza which is related to a hanafuda card game; ya-ku-sa refers to the score 8+9+3=20 which is a losing combination - reference to the fact that gamblers were hardly productive members of the society. Bakuto also created the act of yubitsume, finger-cutting as a penance.

Tattooing begun as a sign of a criminal - black ring around the arm for each offense. Bakuto, however, turned it to an expression of strength and endurance. Some would spend 100 hours under that tattooer's needle to have full-body tattoos.

After the Meiji restoration, yakuza moved to the cities and begun to dabble in shady construction deals, extortion, blackmail and taking their cut of the rickshaw business. Due to police action against gambling, bakuto part of yakuza was diminished in the expense of tekiya.

Tekiya did very little that was obviously illegal and begun to deal with various political parties. They become involved with the right-wing militants and their enforcers aided them when they rose to rule Japan. Prior to World War Two, yakuza spread their shady activities to conquered Manchuria. After the eruption of the war against the United States, various yakuza entered into army or government service - otherwise they were imprisoned.

After the war, yakuza adapted again. During the post-war rationing they controlled the black market and the gurentai were formed - gurentai dabble in politics and big business. American occupation forces fought against them in vain and conceded defeat in 1950. Yakuza also adapted to more western-style activities, including clothes reminiscent of US gangsters and begun to use firearms. They also began to feud among themselves.

In the 1960's, an ex-nationalist Yoshio Kodama begun to negotiate treaties with various groups - first with Yamaguchi-kumi of Kazuo Taoka and Tosei-kai of Hisayuki Machii and eventually with Inagawa-kai. However, despite of the fact of more cooperation, fights between individual gangs have not stopped.

Organization

Prospective member of yakuza can come anywhere. The most romantic tales tell how yakuza accept sons who have been abandoned or exiled by their parents. Some groups may also accept foreigners and burakumin.

Yakuza group is lead by oyabun (father) who gives orders to his subordinates, kobun (children). In this respect, the organization is a variation of usual Japanese Senpai-Kohai (senior-junior) relationship. Members of yakuza gangs renege their family ties and transfer their loyalty to the gang boss. They refer to each other as family members - fathers and elder and younger brothers.

Yubitsume or finger cutting is a form of penance or apology. Transgressor has to cut out a digit of his left little finger with knife and hand out the severed part to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do this penance to the oyabun if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation.

Larger yakuza groups are composed of smaller groups that owe loyalty to kumicho, the leader of the whole yakuza clan. Kumicho has various underbosses and saiko-komon (senior advisors) that control their own turfs in different areas and cities under his control. They have various other underlings, including other underbosses, advisors, accountants and enforcers.

Yakuza try to hide their activities behind legitimate front companies and businesses like pachinko parlors or even religious organizations. However, their headquarters are usually open offices.

The most powerful yakuza group is yamaguchi-gumi. It controls 2500 businesses and 500 gangs and it deals in loansharking, illegal pornography, drugs smuggling, moneylending, rigged games and shady real estate deals.

Usual activities

Yakuza continue the usual activities connected to organized crime - extortion, drug smuggling, prostitution, white slavery, illegal gambling, protection rackets and so on. Yakuza have also at least tried to influence elections in Japan, mainly by aiding a prospective candidate with money or even services of their enforcers for the express purpose of controlling him later by blackmail.

Yakuza also practice uniquely Japanese form of extortion by sending their men to disturb proceedings like stockholder meetings. They threaten to cause an embarrassing disturbance that would cause embarrassment and shame to the company, unless the company pays them off.

Yakuza also have ties to large corporations and other business. Kiegeya specialize in threatening small business owners to leave and sell their home so that they could sell the land to real estate companies. Yamaguchi-gumi also has a foothold in banking. And if a bank lends money to yakuza, they tend to kill whoever comes to ask them to pay it back.

Yakuza claim to follow a honorable code of conduct reminiscent of bushido and that they protect the weaker members of the society. However, they usually deal forcefully with any kind of criticism of their activities. Also the claim that yakuza do not practice drug smuggling have been proven false.

In various times, people in Japanese cities have launched anti-yakuza campaigns with mixed and varied success. In March 1 1995 Japanese government passed the Act for Prevention of Unlawful Activities by Criminal Gang Members. However, various observers claim that yakuza is still deeply connected to Japanese politics and the Liberal Democratic Party.

Yakuza have also spread outside Japan to USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Philippines. They may have working relationship with criminal tongs and Triads.