What do you think?
Rate this book
Yakuza: The Explosive Account Of Japan's Criminal Underworld
This expose describes the activity of the Yakuza, Japan's criminal empire from their beginnings in the sixteenth century and their resurrection by U.S. officials after World War II
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
176 people are currently reading
3723 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
February 28, 2017
When it comes to Japan, people are often eager to point to low violent crime rates to make a case for a harmonious, conflict-less society. Even portrayals of the Yakuza often invoke them as chivalrious gangsters merely following some old traditions, with the Yakuza themselves trying to point to Edo-period romanticism or other PR gags to keep that image alive.
Naturally though, any organised crime is going to be much more seedy and sinister than that, and the scale and institutionalization of the Yakuza is mindboggling. Rather than chivalrious, prominent godfathers such as Yoshio Kodama made their fortunes plundering Manchuria and dealing in opium during japanese occupation times, with a long history of anti-communist activity, drug smuggling, human trafficking, union busting, physical assaults on leftists such as during the Narita airport protests, assassinations and debt collection since. Especially horrendous was the Yakuza involvement in the Minamita scandal - hired by one of the companies implicated to violently squash victims groups. Like many parts of organised crime, there is a strong connection between mobsters and the far right, even open fascism.
But what comes as an even greater shock is the complete openness with which they could operate for decades - gangs openly listing their front offices with no attempts made to hide the mob connection, Eisenhower's motorcade in japan being protected by hired gangs and even japanese prime ministers being both made by and consorting with Yakuza godfathers. At its peak counting roughly 100k members, the Yakuza seemed to have an omnipresence in society, even playing a very large role in the bubble economy - both using extortionate squatting and land theft practices, delving into speculation, and even engaging in the particularily odd practice of threatening to disrupt shareholder meetings with embarassing revelations unless paid off. The size of the debt the Yakuza accrued during the burst of the bubble the book alludes to is mindboggling.
There are some other interesting sidenotes in the book though: The japanese police not only having long shown an attitude of indifference (as well as incompetence) and even cooperation with the Yakuza, but also displaying direct sympathies to them as the "weeding out process" of leftists within the police hiring process gives it a very rightist outlook (which probably accounts for the xenophobic attitude and famously anti-immigrant violence the japanese police often indulges in).
Additionaly, the japanese justice system ranks amongst the most backwards in the developed world, with most cases being solved by having confessions essentialy tortured out of suspects. The japanese media, too, has not often delved into investigate reporting (and when it did, it usually faced massive backlash, as can be seen here http://apjjf.org/2016/24/Fackler.html ).
But what also feeds into the mob power is the extreme xenophobia displayed in japanese society towards Koreans and 'Burakumin', who face strong discrimination that accounts for the disproportionate amount of them hired by the Yakuza, and opens up a market for human trafficking and sex slavery.
The book is fantastic and very recommended to everyone fascinated by organised crime or even with just an interest in the country, since it colors a picture of Japan extremely divergent from the standard.
I'll close this review by pointing out that the deceased mobster Ryoichi Sasakawa sponsored a statue of himself carrying his sick mother on his back. He also founded the "Sasakawa Peace Foundation" among others. What none of those acknowledge, though, is that he also liked to call himself "the world's wealthiest fascist."
Naturally though, any organised crime is going to be much more seedy and sinister than that, and the scale and institutionalization of the Yakuza is mindboggling. Rather than chivalrious, prominent godfathers such as Yoshio Kodama made their fortunes plundering Manchuria and dealing in opium during japanese occupation times, with a long history of anti-communist activity, drug smuggling, human trafficking, union busting, physical assaults on leftists such as during the Narita airport protests, assassinations and debt collection since. Especially horrendous was the Yakuza involvement in the Minamita scandal - hired by one of the companies implicated to violently squash victims groups. Like many parts of organised crime, there is a strong connection between mobsters and the far right, even open fascism.
But what comes as an even greater shock is the complete openness with which they could operate for decades - gangs openly listing their front offices with no attempts made to hide the mob connection, Eisenhower's motorcade in japan being protected by hired gangs and even japanese prime ministers being both made by and consorting with Yakuza godfathers. At its peak counting roughly 100k members, the Yakuza seemed to have an omnipresence in society, even playing a very large role in the bubble economy - both using extortionate squatting and land theft practices, delving into speculation, and even engaging in the particularily odd practice of threatening to disrupt shareholder meetings with embarassing revelations unless paid off. The size of the debt the Yakuza accrued during the burst of the bubble the book alludes to is mindboggling.
There are some other interesting sidenotes in the book though: The japanese police not only having long shown an attitude of indifference (as well as incompetence) and even cooperation with the Yakuza, but also displaying direct sympathies to them as the "weeding out process" of leftists within the police hiring process gives it a very rightist outlook (which probably accounts for the xenophobic attitude and famously anti-immigrant violence the japanese police often indulges in).
Additionaly, the japanese justice system ranks amongst the most backwards in the developed world, with most cases being solved by having confessions essentialy tortured out of suspects. The japanese media, too, has not often delved into investigate reporting (and when it did, it usually faced massive backlash, as can be seen here http://apjjf.org/2016/24/Fackler.html ).
But what also feeds into the mob power is the extreme xenophobia displayed in japanese society towards Koreans and 'Burakumin', who face strong discrimination that accounts for the disproportionate amount of them hired by the Yakuza, and opens up a market for human trafficking and sex slavery.
The book is fantastic and very recommended to everyone fascinated by organised crime or even with just an interest in the country, since it colors a picture of Japan extremely divergent from the standard.
I'll close this review by pointing out that the deceased mobster Ryoichi Sasakawa sponsored a statue of himself carrying his sick mother on his back. He also founded the "Sasakawa Peace Foundation" among others. What none of those acknowledge, though, is that he also liked to call himself "the world's wealthiest fascist."
November 14, 2023
I have to say that I found David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro's book on the yakuza, Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld, to be a fascinating alternative modern history of Japan. The book is framed in relation to what was seen as a growing yakuza threat in America, which I suspect has faded as the bubble has burst and Japan has stagnated. It's fascinating to see how they evolved from professional gamblers who were trying to recoup salaries from landowners through gambling in the early days to running insider trading and money laundering.
I find it disturbing that during the Occupation and for many years after yakuza right wing groups were supported by the US government to fight communist groups in Japan during the cold war era. Then again the US got in bed with many despicable characters during this period in the name of fighting communism.Then there was the Lockheed scandal in which the company used right wing mob connections to secure contracts from the Japanese government.
Furthermore, businesses used the yakuza as strike breakers and later to intimidate and break up shareholder meetings to avoid owning up to misdeeds like in the case of the Miamata poisoning, Chisso used thugs to prevent the victims from getting compensation and an official apology-just disgusting behavior from the corporations.
Japan is famous for it's safe, crime-free society. But, as this book proves, there must be a pervasive acceptance of crime and corruption for groups like the yakuza to become so entrenched in the society up to the highest levels of commerce and sometimes government. I guess the yakuza sometimes were seen as a policing force, but they’re dabbling in the meth trade, child pornography, extortion, sexual slavery, and other shameless criminal activities make them society’s scourge and parasites. It's easy to see why some directors like Kurosawa and Itami wanted to satirize them for their evil ways. I found this to be a fascinating book that is probably overly academic and extremely well-researched and perhaps slightly out-of-date. Jake Adelstein seems to be on his way to bringing the world up to date on the yakuza activities that have dropped off from in the late 90s and early 00s in this book with books like his Tokyo Vice.
I find it disturbing that during the Occupation and for many years after yakuza right wing groups were supported by the US government to fight communist groups in Japan during the cold war era. Then again the US got in bed with many despicable characters during this period in the name of fighting communism.Then there was the Lockheed scandal in which the company used right wing mob connections to secure contracts from the Japanese government.
Furthermore, businesses used the yakuza as strike breakers and later to intimidate and break up shareholder meetings to avoid owning up to misdeeds like in the case of the Miamata poisoning, Chisso used thugs to prevent the victims from getting compensation and an official apology-just disgusting behavior from the corporations.
Japan is famous for it's safe, crime-free society. But, as this book proves, there must be a pervasive acceptance of crime and corruption for groups like the yakuza to become so entrenched in the society up to the highest levels of commerce and sometimes government. I guess the yakuza sometimes were seen as a policing force, but they’re dabbling in the meth trade, child pornography, extortion, sexual slavery, and other shameless criminal activities make them society’s scourge and parasites. It's easy to see why some directors like Kurosawa and Itami wanted to satirize them for their evil ways. I found this to be a fascinating book that is probably overly academic and extremely well-researched and perhaps slightly out-of-date. Jake Adelstein seems to be on his way to bringing the world up to date on the yakuza activities that have dropped off from in the late 90s and early 00s in this book with books like his Tokyo Vice.
May 25, 2019
The Yakuza are one of the most fascinating criminal organizations in the world. Authors David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro work to sort the fact from the fiction. Separating the lies that they're the descendants of exiled samurai from their true origins as gambler groups working with street peddlers that became incredibly powerful post-Mejii Restoration.
The Yakuza have a shocking history that includes the fact they've militarized numerous time and become Far Right paramilitary organizations while simultaneously being bastions for Japan's lowest castes or ethnic minorities (about 15% of the Yakuza are Korean or Burakumin). Rather offhandedly, the authors mention how the Yakuza sent a bunch of ninja-trained soldiers to kill the Queen of Korea. I had to double-check this one to make sure it was correct. They were also responsible for countless assassinations of public officials that helped the rise of Imperial Japan.
The biggest flaw of Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld is the fact the text is surprisingly on the dry side. The pair of authors mostly document the systematic web of corruption the Yakuza have managed to weave around Japan's corporations, government, and public. Japan has one of the lowest crime-rates in the world and this turns out to be because the police mostly ignore the 100K+ gangsters among them.
The Yakuza keep crime in Japan organized and out of sight in a way that, ironically, that makes it very public. Yakuza openly wear badges of their status (though many executives forgo the extensive tattooing that mark their allegiance), advertise their organization's buildings with signs, and can be found in the phone book. The book details many of the shockingly corrupt business practices that leave them with a big chunk of the country's entertainment industry, construction, and loan firms.
Ultimately, the book suffers a bit for the fact that it would have been more interesting to get into nitty-gritty of Yakuza interior culture separate from the mostly-chronological story of their biggest scandals as well as activities from the beginning of their modern incarnation to the present day. As such, this book isn't quite as flashy as it could have been.
On the other hand, you can tell a book is worthwhile by the fact the Yakuza both simultaneously participated in the creation of it as well as pressured companies not to release its contents due to the naming of names as well as revelation of the fact the Yakuza had so many minority members (which is a open secret of all things).
8/10
The Yakuza have a shocking history that includes the fact they've militarized numerous time and become Far Right paramilitary organizations while simultaneously being bastions for Japan's lowest castes or ethnic minorities (about 15% of the Yakuza are Korean or Burakumin). Rather offhandedly, the authors mention how the Yakuza sent a bunch of ninja-trained soldiers to kill the Queen of Korea. I had to double-check this one to make sure it was correct. They were also responsible for countless assassinations of public officials that helped the rise of Imperial Japan.
The biggest flaw of Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld is the fact the text is surprisingly on the dry side. The pair of authors mostly document the systematic web of corruption the Yakuza have managed to weave around Japan's corporations, government, and public. Japan has one of the lowest crime-rates in the world and this turns out to be because the police mostly ignore the 100K+ gangsters among them.
The Yakuza keep crime in Japan organized and out of sight in a way that, ironically, that makes it very public. Yakuza openly wear badges of their status (though many executives forgo the extensive tattooing that mark their allegiance), advertise their organization's buildings with signs, and can be found in the phone book. The book details many of the shockingly corrupt business practices that leave them with a big chunk of the country's entertainment industry, construction, and loan firms.
Ultimately, the book suffers a bit for the fact that it would have been more interesting to get into nitty-gritty of Yakuza interior culture separate from the mostly-chronological story of their biggest scandals as well as activities from the beginning of their modern incarnation to the present day. As such, this book isn't quite as flashy as it could have been.
On the other hand, you can tell a book is worthwhile by the fact the Yakuza both simultaneously participated in the creation of it as well as pressured companies not to release its contents due to the naming of names as well as revelation of the fact the Yakuza had so many minority members (which is a open secret of all things).
8/10
February 28, 2016
The Yakuza are involved in a number of areas such as prostitution, pornography, drugs, gambling, loan-sharking, trucking, smuggling, extortion, and the construction and entertainment industries. They are also not just in Japan, but have become involved in Hawaii and California. The Yakuza is also inter-twined with the right-wing movement in Japan.
The book goes into the very early origins of the Yakuza movement, going all the way back to samurai who became bandits. There were also groups in towns that would band together to fight against these samurai and ended up establishing gangs of their own and Yakuza methodologies.
The author says the true ancestors of the Yakuza were the bakuto, or traditional gamblers, and the tekiya, or street peddlers. Over time the mafia-like organizational structure of the Yakuza was established.
The tekiya attracted various misfits, as did the bakuto, but they also attracted the burakumin, the Japanese outcast class of people.
The term 'yakuza' may come from the gambling groups. In one of the games, a score of 8-9-3 is the worst one possible. In Japanese, that translates into ya-ku-sa, which then became yakuza.
The author then goes into the various forms of punishments the groups used on members who misbehaved, and notes the origin of the cutting off of a part of the pinkie finger as one of these methods. Tattooing and its relationship to the Yakuza is also discussed.
As Japan modernized, so did the yakuza, spreading their influence to new fields. They also became involved with the growing Japanese militarist movement.
A great deal of the development came during the period of American occupation of Japan after the close of World War II. They became involved in stopping Koreans, Chinese and Taiwanese who had been brought to Japan basically as slave labor, and who were taking their anger out after the war by attacking Japanese. They could restore order when the regular police couldn't.
During the occupation, the Yakuza became involved in the black market enterprises, which were numerous. Eventually, though, they moved out of the black market into other areas that were considered luxuries. This included drugs and prostitution.
The occupation also caused the Yakuza to begin to appear different, more like the American mafia groups. This included a growth in the size of the gangs and their structure.
The author cites the Yakuza laws:
1. Never reveal the secrets of the organization.
2. Never violate the wife or children of another member.
3. No personal involvement with narcotics.
3. Do not withhold money from the gang
4 Do not fail in obedience to superiors.
5Do not appeal to the police or the law.
The author includes a listing of the major Yakuza groups as of 2001, along with their address, their leader, and their membership.
The relationship between Japanese police and the Yakuza is discussed, and how some police sort of support the Yakuza due to their linking with right-wing groups. In an odd way they actually help police, since they represent organized crime and they tend to stop much unorganized crime (which is harder to solve, basically) from happening. It's kind of like dealing with the devil you know rather than the devil you don't know from the viewpoint of the police.
The author also raises questions about the crime rates that are reported for Japan, and the successful prosecution rate.
Yakuza involved in 'sex tours' is also covered.
These are, by the way, just the highlights of this very complete, very well-done examination of the Yakuza.
The book goes into the very early origins of the Yakuza movement, going all the way back to samurai who became bandits. There were also groups in towns that would band together to fight against these samurai and ended up establishing gangs of their own and Yakuza methodologies.
The author says the true ancestors of the Yakuza were the bakuto, or traditional gamblers, and the tekiya, or street peddlers. Over time the mafia-like organizational structure of the Yakuza was established.
The tekiya attracted various misfits, as did the bakuto, but they also attracted the burakumin, the Japanese outcast class of people.
The term 'yakuza' may come from the gambling groups. In one of the games, a score of 8-9-3 is the worst one possible. In Japanese, that translates into ya-ku-sa, which then became yakuza.
The author then goes into the various forms of punishments the groups used on members who misbehaved, and notes the origin of the cutting off of a part of the pinkie finger as one of these methods. Tattooing and its relationship to the Yakuza is also discussed.
As Japan modernized, so did the yakuza, spreading their influence to new fields. They also became involved with the growing Japanese militarist movement.
A great deal of the development came during the period of American occupation of Japan after the close of World War II. They became involved in stopping Koreans, Chinese and Taiwanese who had been brought to Japan basically as slave labor, and who were taking their anger out after the war by attacking Japanese. They could restore order when the regular police couldn't.
During the occupation, the Yakuza became involved in the black market enterprises, which were numerous. Eventually, though, they moved out of the black market into other areas that were considered luxuries. This included drugs and prostitution.
The occupation also caused the Yakuza to begin to appear different, more like the American mafia groups. This included a growth in the size of the gangs and their structure.
The author cites the Yakuza laws:
1. Never reveal the secrets of the organization.
2. Never violate the wife or children of another member.
3. No personal involvement with narcotics.
3. Do not withhold money from the gang
4 Do not fail in obedience to superiors.
5Do not appeal to the police or the law.
The author includes a listing of the major Yakuza groups as of 2001, along with their address, their leader, and their membership.
The relationship between Japanese police and the Yakuza is discussed, and how some police sort of support the Yakuza due to their linking with right-wing groups. In an odd way they actually help police, since they represent organized crime and they tend to stop much unorganized crime (which is harder to solve, basically) from happening. It's kind of like dealing with the devil you know rather than the devil you don't know from the viewpoint of the police.
The author also raises questions about the crime rates that are reported for Japan, and the successful prosecution rate.
Yakuza involved in 'sex tours' is also covered.
These are, by the way, just the highlights of this very complete, very well-done examination of the Yakuza.
May 30, 2017
The book lays down the basics on the subject of Yakuza. The first chapters are the most interesting because it explains how these groups always took part in Japanese society. The importance of Giri and Ninjo: the social behaviour or mentality that binds Japanese culture together. Strong sense of duty and "saving face."
The author also delves into the apparent lack of crime in comparison to other countries. The importance of "saving face" or mantaining a reputation and apologies; resolving disputes outside the police creates fertile ground for more sophisticated crimes like blackmail or bribery. Yakuza groups are very versatile and deeply intergrated in plenty Japanese companies, businesses, loan companies and others.
"Dealing wih the Yakuza is like feeding a tiger, if you try to stop the tiger will eat you."
The author also delves into the apparent lack of crime in comparison to other countries. The importance of "saving face" or mantaining a reputation and apologies; resolving disputes outside the police creates fertile ground for more sophisticated crimes like blackmail or bribery. Yakuza groups are very versatile and deeply intergrated in plenty Japanese companies, businesses, loan companies and others.
"Dealing wih the Yakuza is like feeding a tiger, if you try to stop the tiger will eat you."
July 2, 2008
damn good book. a great primer on postwar japan, with the yakuza focus providing great narrative momentum for what really is a broader survey of contemporary japanese culture, economics, politics, and more. and it is telling of the book's accuracy+worth that, initially, the yakuza successfully had it blacklisted by japanese publishers, and that the ucal press eventually picked it up from a commercial house for the 2nd edition.
November 24, 2009
This book is amazing. The corruption in Japan is unfathomable! My view of Japan has changed after having read this book. Not finished yet, but the extent of the influence of the Yakuza is chillingly horrific! How can one of the world's leading economic powerhouses allow itself to be intimidated by criminals?
June 21, 2023
Me lo recomendó un compañero y está muy bien documentado, así que para comprender como ha funcionado el crimen organizado en japón en el S. XX está muy bien. Ahora bien, es bastante durillo y es muy denso. Me ha costado seguir algunas veces porque se repetía todo el rato y está lleno de datos y fechas que pueden abrumar. Café para los muy cafeteros.
January 25, 2015
Yakuza is basically written as a textbook. It surveys the last three hundred years of the Japanese underworld groups known as the Yakuza. It is amazing to see how, for a good portion of their history, the Yakuza have been an accepted part of doing business in Japanese culture. At times they have worked alongside of sitting political leaders to help accomplish the goals of government. Many of the participants in the 1940's were actually war criminals, yet the US government occupation forces made use of many of these men to spy on the Communists and for other tasks. At times even knowing these were Yakuza members (people of a criminal nature) the US military and intelligence agencies still worked with them and even hired them to undertake specific tasks.
The Yakuza were used to keep the docks working which helped to entrench them on the waterfront. They entered into shipping and transportation investments which enabled them to move many illicit goods. They were strikebreakers often hired by the sitting Japanese government. Their involvement follows the broad range of crimes including drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling, running guns, extortion, fraud of all kinds. May of the properties purchased abroad by Japanese investors and companies have had some form of underworld involvement when they were not outright purchases of the Yakuza.
I enjoyed this read as a learning experience but like I say it is a textbook written for college classrooms. My interest in the subject has been sparked by various television shows that have referenced these groups.
The Yakuza were used to keep the docks working which helped to entrench them on the waterfront. They entered into shipping and transportation investments which enabled them to move many illicit goods. They were strikebreakers often hired by the sitting Japanese government. Their involvement follows the broad range of crimes including drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling, running guns, extortion, fraud of all kinds. May of the properties purchased abroad by Japanese investors and companies have had some form of underworld involvement when they were not outright purchases of the Yakuza.
I enjoyed this read as a learning experience but like I say it is a textbook written for college classrooms. My interest in the subject has been sparked by various television shows that have referenced these groups.
March 6, 2015
That was one of the most comprehensive, thorough studies on the topic, and although it took me ~15 hours to finish, I do not regret a second of it. A real eye-opener when it comes to Japanese political and economic corruption. Read this, and yakuza will no longer be "funny men" with missing pinkies: these "funny" men are a dangerous force to face even in this century.
July 7, 2012
Exhaustive and a bit dry, though it was very interesting to read the historical roots of the yakuza and their ties to right wing political elements, and also how they shake down major corporations by disrupting stockholder meetings.
March 16, 2025
This was a pretty fascinating book for the most part. Extremely informative on the origins of the Yakuza. It unfortunately is a little outdated as I finish reading it in 2025 and also it seemed to be blown out of proportion towards the end with the dangers of the yakuza. Some chapters seem laughable compared to the violence and chaos of cartels.
It shared some common themes with other true crime books about organized crime which is that it has definitely morphed into something slightly more difficult to define and under the radar. A different form of oraganized crime and that also starts to change as globalization started and other major political changed. In this book the major turning point for Japan and the Yakuza was the end of the bubble period.
Right away you start to understand that this is a particularly difficult subject to write about. Especially as a Westerner. In many ways Japan is so isolated from the rest of the world, including in their manner of dealing with organized crime. On top of all the logistical difficulties of writing this book and getting it published at all, there is the further problem of being outdated as the criminal underworld seems to be evolving incredibly fast. This is a theme that crosses over from many other books about modern day organized crime. It's not what it used to be in the 90s.
One of the more interesting things about the Yakuza identity is that they are almost a caricature of the ancient samurai or their values and rituals. Thereby the author makes quite a fascinating point that the Yakuza are quite hard to distinguish from the Japanese political far right. The ultra nationalist conservatives. This is unusual as there are a ton of criminal examples of the exact opposite, especially in Latin America with the far left.
The next big concept which was very fascinating was the Oyabun kobun relationship that is quite central in Japanese culture. It's essentially the extreme relationship between Father and son or master and servant. This is a important component in the origins of the Yakuza.
Despite the sort of cliche or stereotype of the far rightist Japanese worshiping the values of the samurai, the origins of the Yakuza actually lie in other groups. It first talks about the Machiyakko, townspeople that protected the town it village from these increasingly hostile samurai (in the peaceful and pointless Edo period). The Machiyakko would then adopt a robin hood like reputation.
Tekiya and
The bakuto were gangs of gamblers, often recognized as the true original Yakuza. It is where the same Yakuza comes from, representing the numbers 8-9-3 from a card game in which the total of 20 would be the worst or most useless hand. An original derogatory term for the gamblers. They also had the practice of finger cutting, which surprisingly became more popular in modern times. It served possibly originally as a practical tool to be physically more in debt to the oyabun.
The book continued to the noble legend of the Yakuza. Following boshido and also the concepts of Giri and Ninjo. Vaguely translate to duty and emotion. It's the values that the Yakuza are at least traditionally meant to represent. This was all in the Tokugawa era. The end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji restoration, had a huge impact on the development of the Yakuza, especially with their association to the ultranationalist. This was by far my favorite chapter so far. It all started in Kyushu, one of the four bigger islands of Japan that remained poor despite the rapid modernization and expansion of Japan past Meiji era. Disgruntled ex samurai that were encouraged by right wing politicians formed a movement, lead by the main character of the chapter, the notorious Mitsuru Toyama. Toyama is allegedly from a obscure samurai family in Fukuoka that was always politically involved and would be the leading figure of ultranationalism in Japan. He formed the group Genyosha, or in English: the dark ocean society. The group wouldn't just have vague philosophical values of patriotism, it would specifically tap into the anger of ex samurai for the expansion of Japan internationally and authoritarian rule, by the emperor. It did those very effectively with their, black mail and assassination and would eventually become a paramilitary force in Japan. They would act ruthlessly not just with the poor but high officials and politicians would face the violence. I'm 1891, t the first Japanese elections were a big opportunity for Toyama to assert his dominance and destroy liberal parties. It was the bloodiest of Japan's elections. Soon after, apparently the dark ocean society had a hand in sending assassins (or literally ninjas) to kill the Queen of Korea and give pretext to invade. Allegedly at least. These rightist groups were here to stay though and many others appeared including a successor to the dark ocean, the black dragon society, lead by the right hand man of Toyama, ryohei uchida which was even more hell-bent on invading Russia and China. This would continue on for decades as Toyama became a powerful and legendary figure in Japan and by the 1930s, democracy has almost vanished from Japan. The Yakuza at this time mainly made their money from construction gangs, especially in the port cities,b like Kobe. Love would become the center of the biggest Yakuza gang, the Yamaguchi umi, lead by the godfather of Japanese Yakuza, Kazuo Taoka.
Toyama died in 1944 as an old man and unfortunately missed the unraveling of his life's work, as the rightist movement would come to a crashing halt with the invasion of America.
The underworld of Japan was originally labeled as a threat to the Americans buy the sensationalism eventually fizzled out. A destroyed Japan did not stop gangsters taking advantage of the situation either. In this power vacuum and a politically changing Japan, some gangsters would work for the Americans. A good example was Akira Ando. Ando worked for the occupation by building air bases and other buildings. A big point of this chapter actually was that construction companies and Yakuza, at least at the time were "almost indistinguishable". An interesting now was that both use the word "gumi" to describe themselves. These construction groups had political sway in several cities. So the Yakuza were actually quite successful in this time and the occupation couldn't it more importantly, didn't do shit about it either. They would rather appease and support some rightist than have a powerful Communist party in Japan, despite the rightist movement having caused the greatest war either country had ever faced. MacArthur had no incentive of protecting the Japanese people themselves of the powerful Yakuza groups. This goes even further with extensive chapters about the use of these gangs by the American intelligence service, G2, to attach labor unions and Communist groups. That's precisely what the 1940s Yakuza became, "strong arm" thugs against these groups. There were conspiracy theories on whether many crimes allegedly by members of Communist groups, weren't actually just set ups so that there would be justification to turn against them.
One of the most figures in the book so fast was Yoshio Kodama. An ultranationalist business man that worked as a power broker in China for the Japanese government during the 30s and early 40s. He made a fortune this way and exploited countless Chinese with their labor and minerals. After world war 2 and being put in jail by the Americans as a class a prisoner, he was released despite being a allegedly dangerous man and worked for them. He was co founder of the liberal party and then later the most powerful man in the ldp party.
In Mafia terms, he would be known as a cleaner or fixer.
The book talks quite a bit for an entire chapter on Nobusuke kishi. Although kiddo himself was not Yakuza, he is on the far right and was mixed in with some corruption. The impressive part though is that he eventually became the prime minister. It's now that I realize that this book is largely about the modern political history of Japan.
By the end of the occupation in 1952, a meat formality, things had improved for the Japanese, at least for their economy and the Yakuza as well. As many forms of became legalized, they turned away from the traditional Bakuto. they would primarily focus on monopolizing the sale of amphetamines and prostitution. The gangs became more violent too and now adopted their classic Yakuza lol of dark suits and crew cuts. Most importantly, their power structure had changed and they operated in large numbers of hundreds or thousands now.
The book turns once again to the biggest gang, the Yamaguchi gumi. Originally from the Kobe docks, a young orphaned Kazuo Taoka (later nicknamed "Kuma") had a reputation for his ruthlessness and organization and ambition that quickly grew his gang. I'm always amazed on how these gangs grow so rapidly with such a reputation, while NOT being heavily reliant on the illegal sake of narcotics. The Yamaguchi gumi were firstly a construction "gang". Then they expanded into racketeering and various other business forms of gambling and cargo shipments. A big change between them and the gangs before is that now Taoka was expanding his gang by straight out fighting other gangs for their territory and business. His focus guerilla like attacks were no match for unprepared gangs. The Yamaguchi gumi ended up controlling Kobe and Osaka almost singlehandedly. Something no other gang could do in any other city. (Of course Taoka had major political influence). The book mentions the great power of Kakuji Inagawa and his Tokyo based gang that changed names several times but they didn't ever really control the region against other competing gangs the same. That is until Kodama came along and tried to form a unified force of Yakuza in Japan. An army just like the olden days of the dark ocean society. The problem is that Taoka did not want to join so the Kanto Kai alliance in the Tokyo region was formed. A formidable force that only lasted a year and bit because of inevitable factionalism. But it was no loss for Kodama and remained the undisputed most important figure and bridge between the underworld and overworld.
Kanto Kai served as a protective alliance as well against the Yamaguchi gumi. Some fighting broke out in Yokohama
The book then continued to the lengthy and rather boring Lockheed controversy. Some shady business dealings over some passenger planes. That was the end of a lengthy era of Kodama's rule. In the middle of the controversy, some lunatic crashed his plane into Kodama's House, but didn't kill Kodama. Other politicians were implicated and deemed guilty were business magnate Kenji Osano and prime minister Tanaka. Both seemed to be virtually unaffected and lead successful careers for some years to come until the mid 80s where they had severe strokes. Tanaka resigned but remained the kingmaker of the LDP. Kodama also died in the mid 80s of strike after his physical and mental health were already severely in the way down.
The book contrasts the different the public perception between the underworld and politicians in the US is and that in Japan. How in Japan they seem to get away with it and how even fighting the Yakuza send to have no benefit either.
The next chunk of the book, about the modern Yakuza, starts with the last few years of Kazuo Taoka, who had been declining in his health because of heart issues. He even faced a really close administration attempt in a bar in Kyoto where he was shot in the throat and somehow survived. Some years later he passed away due to his heart issues and didn't leave a definitive successor. The number two man as well, Yamaken, was in jail for a few more months and also died suddenly after leaving too of liver failure. The book gives an insight into the complex structured hierarchical system of the Yamaguchi gumi that is very similar to that of a shogun himself. The point of that was to show how the Yamaguchi gumi, especially under Taoka has developed and examples into so many different businesses in the rapidly modernizing Japan. With him out of the picture there were bitter disagreements on who would succeed and half the gang broke off to form the Ichiwa-kai.
The chapter focuses on other syndicates that had a different structure. The important example was the sumiyoshi Kai in Tokyo which has a more spread out power structure probably more similar to corporations. A federation of gangs.
Then the book talks about the smaller and yet extremely powerful and influential Inagawa Kai, lead by the infamous Inagawa himself. A man of the Kodama and Taoka era. Impossibly, the authors of the book managed to get an interview with him. So fascinating to see how little he resembles a typical criminal or mob boss. He seemed like a gentleman and a man of a former generation that's critical of the younger generation and their work ethic. Although being a Yakuza boss, he did try to do some progressive reforms like tried getting rid of finger cutting and was successful at getting rid of traditional celebrations for Yakuza members returning from prison. They have the Yakuza a threatening image. Lastly, it talked again about his image portrayed in Yakuza movies. They are more similar to cowboy movies rather than samurai movies as the noble moral played a major part in the themes. Unfortunately for movie enthusiasts as myself, they are painfully repetitive in almost every sense, including the across playing the exact same roles in almost identical storylines.
The next chapter was about the turn for the worse in the yakuza's public image. It started when a police officer was tied to a string of tipoff from gambling operators and that eventually exposed further connections to the police as an important police chief in Osaka killed himself mysteriously. Implied that he did it, along with many others, to save face in the incoming exposure of the Japanese police. Finally it exposed a nationwide tipoff syndicate of retired policemen. The book then dices into the Japanese police(another topic I never thought I'd read about which is fascinating and informative about Japan as a whole). The police in Japan had a good reputation internationally for their strictness and how cringe has gone down in Japan, even during its rapid economic growth or urbanization. Something that's almost unheard of in the modern world. This perception actually overlooks things like their brutal treatment of illegal aliens, their disregard for foreign hostesses and prostitutes and lastly their ideological similarities with the yakuza themselves. This might seem like such an exaggeration but they don't tend to be from different backgrounds and share a lot of the same conservative values. Not just that but the yakuza serve the people of Japan as a sort of easier replacement to the law. This is of course not just cultural but also due to systemic issues with the lack of lawyers in Japan but also because of the way larger and way more subtle connections been the Japanese and crime.
Fascinating the beginning of the next chapter that repeats the common belief from an outsider that Japan had less crime and that the Japanese people seem to abide by the law more. Not true, as Japan had a massive problem of tax evasion. This is by far the most common crime. Another "crime" or technically a crime that is so heavily mixed with the culture and tradition of Japan that it becomes almost invisible is bribery. The culture of gift giving in Japan has excused this at all levels of societies.
Taking out small loans became incredible way to do in Japan from loan companies and that created a tidal wave of loan sharks. Also known in Japanese as Sarakin. They take full advantage of public intimidation and other forms of extortion to potentially drive an unprecedented part of Japan into suicide. I loved the last line : "extortion in Japan is like snow to an Eskimo, there are a hundred of variations." Then there were lengthy chapters of the "sokaiya", a type of racketeer in shareholder meetings. This part of the book summarized that the low crime rates in Japan are not what they seem actually with a ton of crime being unreported for various reasons of culture and shame and also with an unprecedented conviction rate that is incomparable in the modern world. This incentives crime to not be reported.
The next chapter was about the Bubble period or era or boom in the late 80s to early 90s. This has a massive economic effect on us Japan and obviously the underworld, to their benefit. They evolved largely into the more lucrative legitimate businesses like the stock market. This is where the concept of the Keizai Yakuza comes from (the economic gangster). Their thing was "ramping" which seemed to be just smart and cut throat use of the stock market. Another profitable field during this time was real estate and the Jigaeya, land sharks, were a new form of Yakuza that would harass people any way possible out of their homes. They would do this so the property would be sold for bigger more lucrative construction deals. The other surprising booming business almost completely intertwined with the yakuza are golf courses. Apparently a favorite hobby of the underworld in Japan. Great place for business, Money laundering and expensive memberships. This rich era of gangsters allowed them to also dip their toes or feet into the European art market. A ton of legendary artists were sold in Japan. The main gangster of this era that features prominently in the chapter was Susumu Ishii. A businessman , at one point the number 2 guy of the Inagawa Kai, was perhaps the richest gangster in the world for this period at least. With help from his soothsayer that said he had gold around his finger, he made a killing in the stock exchange and owned an absurd amount of stock within huge corporations. But along with the sudden end of the bubble, so went his wealth. And health as he died of a brain tumor not long after.
The end of the bubble era had a massive immediate impact on the Japanese economy with the massive bad loan problem but it also exposed to the public how closely tied the Yakuza were to big businesses. The Yakuza were not ready and willing to pay up to the banks either. The official number they owed remains unknown but it's between hundreds of billions of dollars or possibly trillions. This exposure of the Yakuza as a major source of the problem of the bad loans, made companies try and distance themselves from the gangs and also started to change the public appearance of them too, finally. The most interesting part about this chapter was how unprepared the cops or maybe the police system itself is to such
It shared some common themes with other true crime books about organized crime which is that it has definitely morphed into something slightly more difficult to define and under the radar. A different form of oraganized crime and that also starts to change as globalization started and other major political changed. In this book the major turning point for Japan and the Yakuza was the end of the bubble period.
Right away you start to understand that this is a particularly difficult subject to write about. Especially as a Westerner. In many ways Japan is so isolated from the rest of the world, including in their manner of dealing with organized crime. On top of all the logistical difficulties of writing this book and getting it published at all, there is the further problem of being outdated as the criminal underworld seems to be evolving incredibly fast. This is a theme that crosses over from many other books about modern day organized crime. It's not what it used to be in the 90s.
One of the more interesting things about the Yakuza identity is that they are almost a caricature of the ancient samurai or their values and rituals. Thereby the author makes quite a fascinating point that the Yakuza are quite hard to distinguish from the Japanese political far right. The ultra nationalist conservatives. This is unusual as there are a ton of criminal examples of the exact opposite, especially in Latin America with the far left.
The next big concept which was very fascinating was the Oyabun kobun relationship that is quite central in Japanese culture. It's essentially the extreme relationship between Father and son or master and servant. This is a important component in the origins of the Yakuza.
Despite the sort of cliche or stereotype of the far rightist Japanese worshiping the values of the samurai, the origins of the Yakuza actually lie in other groups. It first talks about the Machiyakko, townspeople that protected the town it village from these increasingly hostile samurai (in the peaceful and pointless Edo period). The Machiyakko would then adopt a robin hood like reputation.
Tekiya and
The bakuto were gangs of gamblers, often recognized as the true original Yakuza. It is where the same Yakuza comes from, representing the numbers 8-9-3 from a card game in which the total of 20 would be the worst or most useless hand. An original derogatory term for the gamblers. They also had the practice of finger cutting, which surprisingly became more popular in modern times. It served possibly originally as a practical tool to be physically more in debt to the oyabun.
The book continued to the noble legend of the Yakuza. Following boshido and also the concepts of Giri and Ninjo. Vaguely translate to duty and emotion. It's the values that the Yakuza are at least traditionally meant to represent. This was all in the Tokugawa era. The end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji restoration, had a huge impact on the development of the Yakuza, especially with their association to the ultranationalist. This was by far my favorite chapter so far. It all started in Kyushu, one of the four bigger islands of Japan that remained poor despite the rapid modernization and expansion of Japan past Meiji era. Disgruntled ex samurai that were encouraged by right wing politicians formed a movement, lead by the main character of the chapter, the notorious Mitsuru Toyama. Toyama is allegedly from a obscure samurai family in Fukuoka that was always politically involved and would be the leading figure of ultranationalism in Japan. He formed the group Genyosha, or in English: the dark ocean society. The group wouldn't just have vague philosophical values of patriotism, it would specifically tap into the anger of ex samurai for the expansion of Japan internationally and authoritarian rule, by the emperor. It did those very effectively with their, black mail and assassination and would eventually become a paramilitary force in Japan. They would act ruthlessly not just with the poor but high officials and politicians would face the violence. I'm 1891, t the first Japanese elections were a big opportunity for Toyama to assert his dominance and destroy liberal parties. It was the bloodiest of Japan's elections. Soon after, apparently the dark ocean society had a hand in sending assassins (or literally ninjas) to kill the Queen of Korea and give pretext to invade. Allegedly at least. These rightist groups were here to stay though and many others appeared including a successor to the dark ocean, the black dragon society, lead by the right hand man of Toyama, ryohei uchida which was even more hell-bent on invading Russia and China. This would continue on for decades as Toyama became a powerful and legendary figure in Japan and by the 1930s, democracy has almost vanished from Japan. The Yakuza at this time mainly made their money from construction gangs, especially in the port cities,b like Kobe. Love would become the center of the biggest Yakuza gang, the Yamaguchi umi, lead by the godfather of Japanese Yakuza, Kazuo Taoka.
Toyama died in 1944 as an old man and unfortunately missed the unraveling of his life's work, as the rightist movement would come to a crashing halt with the invasion of America.
The underworld of Japan was originally labeled as a threat to the Americans buy the sensationalism eventually fizzled out. A destroyed Japan did not stop gangsters taking advantage of the situation either. In this power vacuum and a politically changing Japan, some gangsters would work for the Americans. A good example was Akira Ando. Ando worked for the occupation by building air bases and other buildings. A big point of this chapter actually was that construction companies and Yakuza, at least at the time were "almost indistinguishable". An interesting now was that both use the word "gumi" to describe themselves. These construction groups had political sway in several cities. So the Yakuza were actually quite successful in this time and the occupation couldn't it more importantly, didn't do shit about it either. They would rather appease and support some rightist than have a powerful Communist party in Japan, despite the rightist movement having caused the greatest war either country had ever faced. MacArthur had no incentive of protecting the Japanese people themselves of the powerful Yakuza groups. This goes even further with extensive chapters about the use of these gangs by the American intelligence service, G2, to attach labor unions and Communist groups. That's precisely what the 1940s Yakuza became, "strong arm" thugs against these groups. There were conspiracy theories on whether many crimes allegedly by members of Communist groups, weren't actually just set ups so that there would be justification to turn against them.
One of the most figures in the book so fast was Yoshio Kodama. An ultranationalist business man that worked as a power broker in China for the Japanese government during the 30s and early 40s. He made a fortune this way and exploited countless Chinese with their labor and minerals. After world war 2 and being put in jail by the Americans as a class a prisoner, he was released despite being a allegedly dangerous man and worked for them. He was co founder of the liberal party and then later the most powerful man in the ldp party.
In Mafia terms, he would be known as a cleaner or fixer.
The book talks quite a bit for an entire chapter on Nobusuke kishi. Although kiddo himself was not Yakuza, he is on the far right and was mixed in with some corruption. The impressive part though is that he eventually became the prime minister. It's now that I realize that this book is largely about the modern political history of Japan.
By the end of the occupation in 1952, a meat formality, things had improved for the Japanese, at least for their economy and the Yakuza as well. As many forms of became legalized, they turned away from the traditional Bakuto. they would primarily focus on monopolizing the sale of amphetamines and prostitution. The gangs became more violent too and now adopted their classic Yakuza lol of dark suits and crew cuts. Most importantly, their power structure had changed and they operated in large numbers of hundreds or thousands now.
The book turns once again to the biggest gang, the Yamaguchi gumi. Originally from the Kobe docks, a young orphaned Kazuo Taoka (later nicknamed "Kuma") had a reputation for his ruthlessness and organization and ambition that quickly grew his gang. I'm always amazed on how these gangs grow so rapidly with such a reputation, while NOT being heavily reliant on the illegal sake of narcotics. The Yamaguchi gumi were firstly a construction "gang". Then they expanded into racketeering and various other business forms of gambling and cargo shipments. A big change between them and the gangs before is that now Taoka was expanding his gang by straight out fighting other gangs for their territory and business. His focus guerilla like attacks were no match for unprepared gangs. The Yamaguchi gumi ended up controlling Kobe and Osaka almost singlehandedly. Something no other gang could do in any other city. (Of course Taoka had major political influence). The book mentions the great power of Kakuji Inagawa and his Tokyo based gang that changed names several times but they didn't ever really control the region against other competing gangs the same. That is until Kodama came along and tried to form a unified force of Yakuza in Japan. An army just like the olden days of the dark ocean society. The problem is that Taoka did not want to join so the Kanto Kai alliance in the Tokyo region was formed. A formidable force that only lasted a year and bit because of inevitable factionalism. But it was no loss for Kodama and remained the undisputed most important figure and bridge between the underworld and overworld.
Kanto Kai served as a protective alliance as well against the Yamaguchi gumi. Some fighting broke out in Yokohama
The book then continued to the lengthy and rather boring Lockheed controversy. Some shady business dealings over some passenger planes. That was the end of a lengthy era of Kodama's rule. In the middle of the controversy, some lunatic crashed his plane into Kodama's House, but didn't kill Kodama. Other politicians were implicated and deemed guilty were business magnate Kenji Osano and prime minister Tanaka. Both seemed to be virtually unaffected and lead successful careers for some years to come until the mid 80s where they had severe strokes. Tanaka resigned but remained the kingmaker of the LDP. Kodama also died in the mid 80s of strike after his physical and mental health were already severely in the way down.
The book contrasts the different the public perception between the underworld and politicians in the US is and that in Japan. How in Japan they seem to get away with it and how even fighting the Yakuza send to have no benefit either.
The next chunk of the book, about the modern Yakuza, starts with the last few years of Kazuo Taoka, who had been declining in his health because of heart issues. He even faced a really close administration attempt in a bar in Kyoto where he was shot in the throat and somehow survived. Some years later he passed away due to his heart issues and didn't leave a definitive successor. The number two man as well, Yamaken, was in jail for a few more months and also died suddenly after leaving too of liver failure. The book gives an insight into the complex structured hierarchical system of the Yamaguchi gumi that is very similar to that of a shogun himself. The point of that was to show how the Yamaguchi gumi, especially under Taoka has developed and examples into so many different businesses in the rapidly modernizing Japan. With him out of the picture there were bitter disagreements on who would succeed and half the gang broke off to form the Ichiwa-kai.
The chapter focuses on other syndicates that had a different structure. The important example was the sumiyoshi Kai in Tokyo which has a more spread out power structure probably more similar to corporations. A federation of gangs.
Then the book talks about the smaller and yet extremely powerful and influential Inagawa Kai, lead by the infamous Inagawa himself. A man of the Kodama and Taoka era. Impossibly, the authors of the book managed to get an interview with him. So fascinating to see how little he resembles a typical criminal or mob boss. He seemed like a gentleman and a man of a former generation that's critical of the younger generation and their work ethic. Although being a Yakuza boss, he did try to do some progressive reforms like tried getting rid of finger cutting and was successful at getting rid of traditional celebrations for Yakuza members returning from prison. They have the Yakuza a threatening image. Lastly, it talked again about his image portrayed in Yakuza movies. They are more similar to cowboy movies rather than samurai movies as the noble moral played a major part in the themes. Unfortunately for movie enthusiasts as myself, they are painfully repetitive in almost every sense, including the across playing the exact same roles in almost identical storylines.
The next chapter was about the turn for the worse in the yakuza's public image. It started when a police officer was tied to a string of tipoff from gambling operators and that eventually exposed further connections to the police as an important police chief in Osaka killed himself mysteriously. Implied that he did it, along with many others, to save face in the incoming exposure of the Japanese police. Finally it exposed a nationwide tipoff syndicate of retired policemen. The book then dices into the Japanese police(another topic I never thought I'd read about which is fascinating and informative about Japan as a whole). The police in Japan had a good reputation internationally for their strictness and how cringe has gone down in Japan, even during its rapid economic growth or urbanization. Something that's almost unheard of in the modern world. This perception actually overlooks things like their brutal treatment of illegal aliens, their disregard for foreign hostesses and prostitutes and lastly their ideological similarities with the yakuza themselves. This might seem like such an exaggeration but they don't tend to be from different backgrounds and share a lot of the same conservative values. Not just that but the yakuza serve the people of Japan as a sort of easier replacement to the law. This is of course not just cultural but also due to systemic issues with the lack of lawyers in Japan but also because of the way larger and way more subtle connections been the Japanese and crime.
Fascinating the beginning of the next chapter that repeats the common belief from an outsider that Japan had less crime and that the Japanese people seem to abide by the law more. Not true, as Japan had a massive problem of tax evasion. This is by far the most common crime. Another "crime" or technically a crime that is so heavily mixed with the culture and tradition of Japan that it becomes almost invisible is bribery. The culture of gift giving in Japan has excused this at all levels of societies.
Taking out small loans became incredible way to do in Japan from loan companies and that created a tidal wave of loan sharks. Also known in Japanese as Sarakin. They take full advantage of public intimidation and other forms of extortion to potentially drive an unprecedented part of Japan into suicide. I loved the last line : "extortion in Japan is like snow to an Eskimo, there are a hundred of variations." Then there were lengthy chapters of the "sokaiya", a type of racketeer in shareholder meetings. This part of the book summarized that the low crime rates in Japan are not what they seem actually with a ton of crime being unreported for various reasons of culture and shame and also with an unprecedented conviction rate that is incomparable in the modern world. This incentives crime to not be reported.
The next chapter was about the Bubble period or era or boom in the late 80s to early 90s. This has a massive economic effect on us Japan and obviously the underworld, to their benefit. They evolved largely into the more lucrative legitimate businesses like the stock market. This is where the concept of the Keizai Yakuza comes from (the economic gangster). Their thing was "ramping" which seemed to be just smart and cut throat use of the stock market. Another profitable field during this time was real estate and the Jigaeya, land sharks, were a new form of Yakuza that would harass people any way possible out of their homes. They would do this so the property would be sold for bigger more lucrative construction deals. The other surprising booming business almost completely intertwined with the yakuza are golf courses. Apparently a favorite hobby of the underworld in Japan. Great place for business, Money laundering and expensive memberships. This rich era of gangsters allowed them to also dip their toes or feet into the European art market. A ton of legendary artists were sold in Japan. The main gangster of this era that features prominently in the chapter was Susumu Ishii. A businessman , at one point the number 2 guy of the Inagawa Kai, was perhaps the richest gangster in the world for this period at least. With help from his soothsayer that said he had gold around his finger, he made a killing in the stock exchange and owned an absurd amount of stock within huge corporations. But along with the sudden end of the bubble, so went his wealth. And health as he died of a brain tumor not long after.
The end of the bubble era had a massive immediate impact on the Japanese economy with the massive bad loan problem but it also exposed to the public how closely tied the Yakuza were to big businesses. The Yakuza were not ready and willing to pay up to the banks either. The official number they owed remains unknown but it's between hundreds of billions of dollars or possibly trillions. This exposure of the Yakuza as a major source of the problem of the bad loans, made companies try and distance themselves from the gangs and also started to change the public appearance of them too, finally. The most interesting part about this chapter was how unprepared the cops or maybe the police system itself is to such
September 18, 2007
A bit dry for a book about the Yakuza, which I think would make for fascinating reading. Alas, the fault is mine, I believe. What I would have found exciting would have been a book drawing heavily on the field of cultural anthropology, and a quick perusal of the authors' qualifications would have told me that they are investigative journalists - good ones even, with a lot of research - but that doesn't change the fact that we are interested in two different things. This book focused a lot (so it seemed to me) on why the Yakuza is bad. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't believe that they are a bunch of misunderstood Robin Hoods. Still, I wanted to know more of just what they are, why they are, who they are. I got tastes of these, but usually on in between long stories about very specific mobsters doing illegal activities that aren't always entertaining to read about. There are some truly worthy parts from any perspective, such as the history of cooperation between the yakuza, war criminals, and the American Occupation in post-war Japan that just blows your mind, as well as some useful descriptions of their ties to international crime (I did have a moment where I paused to wonder if my employers in Japan are in fact a school and not a front for the yakuza ready to take my passport and force me into prostitution). In the end though, I had to skim this book in order to finish it, and I am a girl who voluntarily reads footnotes.
December 24, 2012
Really interesting look at the yakuza's history and the cultural milieu above and below ground in which they thrive. The book shows shows the weaknesses of modern society in general and Japanese society in particular to organized crime. Over-legislation with murky enforcement and an abiding obsession with "saving face" make contemporary Japanese society ripe for blackmail and exploitation on a titanic scale which this book documents clearly. I think the US connection occupies a disproportionately large part of the book but it only slightly drags, for the most part it's a fun read.
Another important point discussed here is the connection between the fascist secret societies, organized crime and the zaibatsu before the war. You can really see how a relatively small group of people exploited Japanese society's weaknesses to instigate the most horrific war in history. It's pretty shocking to see what profound effects a policy of intimidation and assassination by a small group of people can have on the world.
Another important point discussed here is the connection between the fascist secret societies, organized crime and the zaibatsu before the war. You can really see how a relatively small group of people exploited Japanese society's weaknesses to instigate the most horrific war in history. It's pretty shocking to see what profound effects a policy of intimidation and assassination by a small group of people can have on the world.
August 25, 2007
I read most of it -- it's great and fascinating -- how, post-WWII, America rather shittily made it easier for right-wing anti-communists (and with them the Yakuza) to have their way with a battered occupied nation seeking re-birth. I also liked the tattoos and the decriptions of Western-style excess on the part of oyabuns and their subordinates -- huge cars, giant steaks, etc. But, it was a lot of information about a subject in which I have only a passing interest. SO, I put it aside momentarily with the intention of getting after some Brautigan, to change up the vibe, and, of course, the quiet understanding might never finish it. Unfortunately, I lost it. I can't find it. I saw it last Friday but we had a party that night and I've not seen it since.
May 3, 2018
An excellent historical overview of the yakuza by two journalists that gives insights into Japanese politics, economy, and culture. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in organized crime and Japan. Although Yakuza was updated when republished in 2003, the examples stop in 1993. I wish there had been a 21st century update since I was reading this book to research a contemporary novel set in Japan. The book was recommended by my husband who is a professor of Japanese Politics.
May 19, 2013
This book is so slow and painful to read. I'm mining for interesting bits and haven't really found anything outside of how pervasive the yakuza are within Japanese society. This book is long-winded and repetitive. I got to the point of no return and and finished it as a matter of self-discipline. I skimmed large sections of chapters and don't feel like I've missed a thing.
November 10, 2008
An in-depth look at the development of organized crime in Japan from feudal to modern times. When I lived in Japan we kids used to joke around about yakuza but I had no idea just how ingrained they were in politics and Japan Inc.
July 15, 2018
Honestly, I couldn’t finish this one. It’s a textbook on the yakuza, and as such, incredibly dry. If a reader is interested in specific scandals attributed to the yakuza, id suggest this one. But if someone is interested in the culture of the yakuza, I wouldn’t recommend this book.
August 27, 2018
Out of date but gives a good description of the history and the workings of the yakuza in Japan and aboard.
February 2, 2019
Not a bad book, but probably not the kind of book I was looking for. A lot of names and facts, which I unfortunatelly tend to forget really quickly.
October 22, 2025
This is THE book to read about the history of the Yakuza. The sheer amount of details that the book goes into, from the beginnings of the Yakuza in the Edo period right up to the late 1990s. That is probably the only downside to the book, which is that it was written years ago and thus is not up to date on the Yakuza today. But this is the book to go to if you want to know everything about this aspect of Japanese society.
I was surprised at how closely linked the Japanese political party LDP is to with the Yakuza. Prior to the book, I knew that there were relations but I did not anticipate them to be so close, to the point that several prime ministers could have been said to have come into power because of the Yakuza involvement.
The book is in effect an alternate history of Japan, particularly in the post-war era. It certainly brings to light a side of Japanese society and history that I imagine the Japanese would rather like to stay hidden. The book also challenges the image of Japan as a crime-free society. It’s more a case that when crimes happen, they are massive and occur at the highest echelons and in the corridors of political and economic power. The chapter on sex trafficking was for me the most difficult to read.
If you are a fan of the Sega series of games Yakuza (Like A Dragon), reading this book will also enrich your understanding of the world that Kiryu Kazuma inhabits. Many of the plot lines stemmed from or were inspired by actual events that happened, such as the invasion of Tokyo by Tua Yamaguchi-gumi. But it also will colour your view of the characters because truly, the Yakuza for all their imagining themselves as the carrier of the Samurai tradition, defender of Japanese pride and honour, are really nothing more than opportunists who take any chance they get to make money. Ultimately, that is what motivates them rather than any kind of higher ideals.
I was surprised at how closely linked the Japanese political party LDP is to with the Yakuza. Prior to the book, I knew that there were relations but I did not anticipate them to be so close, to the point that several prime ministers could have been said to have come into power because of the Yakuza involvement.
The book is in effect an alternate history of Japan, particularly in the post-war era. It certainly brings to light a side of Japanese society and history that I imagine the Japanese would rather like to stay hidden. The book also challenges the image of Japan as a crime-free society. It’s more a case that when crimes happen, they are massive and occur at the highest echelons and in the corridors of political and economic power. The chapter on sex trafficking was for me the most difficult to read.
If you are a fan of the Sega series of games Yakuza (Like A Dragon), reading this book will also enrich your understanding of the world that Kiryu Kazuma inhabits. Many of the plot lines stemmed from or were inspired by actual events that happened, such as the invasion of Tokyo by Tua Yamaguchi-gumi. But it also will colour your view of the characters because truly, the Yakuza for all their imagining themselves as the carrier of the Samurai tradition, defender of Japanese pride and honour, are really nothing more than opportunists who take any chance they get to make money. Ultimately, that is what motivates them rather than any kind of higher ideals.
January 26, 2020
This book provides an OK overview of the (known) Yakuza history, growth, and coming-to-modern days. I mark it as 3* ("It's OK") as it is quite dry in its presentation...although it may be due to the essence of how Yakuza grows and spreads in general.
Two things to notice: 1) the book is mostly a research work (thus the dry presentation) & 2) it covers the period till the mid-'90s. So it is an excellent base-read, but it will not show much about nowadays issues caused by the notorious Japanese criminal structure.
Knowing this - the author starts his work with a bang. He demystifies the romantic beginning of the Yakuza, draws the differences with other notorious structures as the US/Italy mafia, and prepares the readers for understanding the key differences with the triads in HK/China (later on). This is where you will learn to understand better the popular culture of tattooing the member' whole bodies, their fingers-cutting practice of yubitsume, and the differences between the separate roots of Japanese Yakuza. This happens in the first 30-40% of the book and I enjoyed it.
Then it becomes a bit harder to read at the description of the period around the Second World War and all events at that time (Lockheed etc.). This is where I had to take a break.
Finally, the rest of the book feels kind of repetitive. This is mostly because of the way in which Yakuza has been spreading globally. Namely - sex tourism, porn distribution, guns, narcotics and later on investments - from golf courts to whole cities 🙂
I like the book and recommend it to everyone that (like me) wants to learn more about this unique criminal structure in Japan (and abroad).
Two things to notice: 1) the book is mostly a research work (thus the dry presentation) & 2) it covers the period till the mid-'90s. So it is an excellent base-read, but it will not show much about nowadays issues caused by the notorious Japanese criminal structure.
Knowing this - the author starts his work with a bang. He demystifies the romantic beginning of the Yakuza, draws the differences with other notorious structures as the US/Italy mafia, and prepares the readers for understanding the key differences with the triads in HK/China (later on). This is where you will learn to understand better the popular culture of tattooing the member' whole bodies, their fingers-cutting practice of yubitsume, and the differences between the separate roots of Japanese Yakuza. This happens in the first 30-40% of the book and I enjoyed it.
Then it becomes a bit harder to read at the description of the period around the Second World War and all events at that time (Lockheed etc.). This is where I had to take a break.
Finally, the rest of the book feels kind of repetitive. This is mostly because of the way in which Yakuza has been spreading globally. Namely - sex tourism, porn distribution, guns, narcotics and later on investments - from golf courts to whole cities 🙂
I like the book and recommend it to everyone that (like me) wants to learn more about this unique criminal structure in Japan (and abroad).
March 5, 2023
(read in the 1990 french edition, without the later extension)
Presented everywhere as THE book about yakuzas despite its age, this nice 446 pages-length brick is dense, very dense. Origins of yakuzas, ties with far-right, role in the political and economical landscape, international expansion... absolutely everything is inside. As long as you're not looking for the actual situation, you'll find all you might want to know and even more.
... Including was wasn't really necessary and is only vaguely related to the subject. After a gripping first part about the yakuzas' ancestors, you'll have to go through ~100 pages about the american occupation and politics, especially the far-right's growth. Alright, it adds some societal context, but meanwhile, we really lost track of the yakuzas... and interest.
Luckily, what comes next goes back to what matters : how corruption works in Japan, the history and hierarchy of various clans, their activities, including overseas, and their evolution. As long as you manage to not fall asleep in the part mentioned above, everything else reads smoothly, transitions between subjects being made with subtility. The book is somehow very logical : past first, then internal, external, and future.
Alright, this book is old, but the given informations, always about a precise date or period of time, are still true. It's just more of an historical book now. So, you'll have to find another source for the yakuzas' evolution within the last thirty years. But, before ? The books about yakuzas aren't that many, and this one still is a must-read.
7/10, rounded up to four stars.
Presented everywhere as THE book about yakuzas despite its age, this nice 446 pages-length brick is dense, very dense. Origins of yakuzas, ties with far-right, role in the political and economical landscape, international expansion... absolutely everything is inside. As long as you're not looking for the actual situation, you'll find all you might want to know and even more.
... Including was wasn't really necessary and is only vaguely related to the subject. After a gripping first part about the yakuzas' ancestors, you'll have to go through ~100 pages about the american occupation and politics, especially the far-right's growth. Alright, it adds some societal context, but meanwhile, we really lost track of the yakuzas... and interest.
Luckily, what comes next goes back to what matters : how corruption works in Japan, the history and hierarchy of various clans, their activities, including overseas, and their evolution. As long as you manage to not fall asleep in the part mentioned above, everything else reads smoothly, transitions between subjects being made with subtility. The book is somehow very logical : past first, then internal, external, and future.
Alright, this book is old, but the given informations, always about a precise date or period of time, are still true. It's just more of an historical book now. So, you'll have to find another source for the yakuzas' evolution within the last thirty years. But, before ? The books about yakuzas aren't that many, and this one still is a must-read.
7/10, rounded up to four stars.
August 19, 2023
This book did not work consistently as a sociological text; at times, it seemed like it was being written and addressed primarily to a US law enforcement perspective. The first few chapters on the pre- and post-war history of the yakuza and precursors are brief but start strong. Kaplan and Dubro commendably dedicate particular attention to the SCAP occupation government in cementing the role of organized crime in Japanese life, much like in Italy, France, and Belgium.
However, after a capitulation of late-century events of note in the Japanese underworld, an overview of some modern rackets, and a discussion of yakuza involvement in the East Asian sex trade, the book completely flounders. There is little in the way of argument or consistent narrative, just a succession of events, some only even referred to in the vaguest sense. After a time, I remarked to myself that this book was basically a written version of Robin Leach’s “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” television show but for Japanese organized crime. With nowhere to go, the book makes a misguided attempt to forecast future successes of the yakuza in the US landscape. Perhaps as an earlier English language work on the subject, Dubro and Kaplan wanted to flesh it out in vaguer terms and let other researchers fill in the gaps later.
However, after a capitulation of late-century events of note in the Japanese underworld, an overview of some modern rackets, and a discussion of yakuza involvement in the East Asian sex trade, the book completely flounders. There is little in the way of argument or consistent narrative, just a succession of events, some only even referred to in the vaguest sense. After a time, I remarked to myself that this book was basically a written version of Robin Leach’s “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” television show but for Japanese organized crime. With nowhere to go, the book makes a misguided attempt to forecast future successes of the yakuza in the US landscape. Perhaps as an earlier English language work on the subject, Dubro and Kaplan wanted to flesh it out in vaguer terms and let other researchers fill in the gaps later.
February 22, 2024
This book has an enormous amount of information on the Yakuza. It appears to be very well researched and describes the far-reaching influence of the Yakuza on business and politics worldwide. It also describes the history and main figures involved in this Japanese crime syndicate. I enjoyed the information. However, it reads like an encyclopedia. It is almost like the author wrote each chapter as a separate project and then lumped them together. I read the book on my Kindle. I am not very good about flipping back and forth on the Kindle. The book has a very good glossary and index. Personally, I would have gotten more out of a hard copy where I could have flipped to the glossary, index etc. But, the Kindle version was obviously my choice. So, if you want to learn about the Yakuza and you don't mind textbook-like writing, I recommend this volume.
January 6, 2021
A very well written and researched work on the various gangs that make up the Yakuza. The Yakuza operated/operates very much like corporations that manage gangs underneath them. They were very much public in Japan and would even display their symbolism on their buildings. The people of Japan had a social contract with the gangs where there was a time where common folk wouldn't be touched. Later the new generations of gang members decided to not follow the old rules. Particularly interesting is the Yakuza actually did become corporatized moving from street operations and more so into stocks, real estate, and even legitimate business. If one desire to learn more about the Yakuza, I highly recommend adding this book to your reading list.
August 17, 2024
Yakuza by Kaplan is the go-to guide to read if you want to know more about the origins and workings of the Yakuza. It goes into detail, talking about how the Yakuza were initially gamblers and slowly transformed into one of the most feared criminal organisations in the world. The writers further delve into the widespread web of the Yakuza, explaining how they had their fingers in various businesses, from prostitution and pornography to smuggling all kinds of things and drugs. We also get a glimpse into how local and international politics affected the organisations' rise. The book is a pure investigative work that gives insight from Yakuza's point of view, making it a definitive read.
November 23, 2025
I first heard of this book back in University, where I used it as source material in writing a paper on Yubitsume (finger-shortening) for a course called The Economics of Crime. It has been years since then, but I have always found the subject-matter of organized crime interesting. When you add into the mix my Japanophilic instincts and interest in right-wing politics - it is no surprise that the Yakuza piqued my curiosity.
This book is a solid sociological study of Japanese organized crime. The history of the Yakuza is remarkably written and the analysis convincing.
This book is a solid sociological study of Japanese organized crime. The history of the Yakuza is remarkably written and the analysis convincing.
June 8, 2020
Absolutely fascinating to read such in depth research done on the Yakuza. I must admit at times I found my attention wandering and it took me abnormally long to get through this book - but I still find the experience to be enriching. Probably not for people who simply want a light overview of the organization.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews