Ya-ku-za, the Japanese Mafia
Edited from http://w1.313.telia.com/~u31302275/yakuza.htmThe word yakuza means 8-9-3. Ya means 8, ku 9, za 3. it comes from Japans counterpart to Black Jack, Oicho-kabu. The generally difference between the both card games are that in Oicho-kabu the cards' objective is to be 19 instead of 21. As you see, the sum of 8, 9 and 3, is 20, which is without any worth in Oicho-kabu. It's from there the name, yakuza, comes from, they are without worth for society. This doesn't mean that they have no use in society, it means that the members are people who somehow do not fit into society - society's misfits.
Origin
Kabuki-mono
Yakuzas origin can be followed far back as to the year 1612, when men known as kabuki-mono (the crazy ones), became known by the local authorities. Their odd clothing style, the distinctive haircuts and bad behavior, simultaneously carrying long sword did that they fast got everybody's attention.Kabuki-mono had a bad habit to harass and terrorize all in their surrounding. They could go as far that they stab down people for pleasure. Kabuki-mono were distinctive samurais that's gave their bands a scary name and spoke in vigorous slang. Something that was remarkable were their loyalty against each other. They protected each other regardless the menace, also if it meant going against their own families.
Kabuki-mono were from the beginning samurai (knights) that during a longer time in peace had been forced in to unemployment. They were known as masterless samurai, ronin, and several of them began to wander around in Japan as band of robbers, plundering villages and small cities.
Machi-yakko
Yakuza, however, do not wish to see kabuki-mono as their "ancestors" instead they see machi-yakko (town servant), as their origin. These men was they that took to weapons and defended the villages and the cities against the raging kabuki-mono. They had professions like storekeepers, tavern owners, homeless warriors and also ronin. Machi-yakko were skillful hazard gamblers ever so highly bound to each other and their leader, much like today's yakuza. Machi-yakko became soon the people's heroes, praised by the citizens for their help against kabuki-mono. Machi-yakko were often weaker and worse trained and equipped than kabuki-mono and therefore compared with England's Robin Hood that fought against Prince John and his underling sheriff of Nothingham. It was written many fairy-tales and plays about machi-yakko.The current yakuza came not until at middle of the 17th century. Its members was bakuto (gamblers) and tekiya (street vendors). These names for the members are still in use these days. Several categories of yakuza have been added that will be described along with bakuto and tekiya more, later on.
Almost all yakuza members have the same type of background: poor, criminals and misfits. Yakuza becomes a family for them. They get help with problems, get attention and can feel a certain safety.
The Industrializing of Japan
When Japan began to industrializes, the yakuza were not worse than to follow Japans deploying society. They began to recruit employees within the construction business and people that worked at the docksides. They began to check the rickshaw business. The gambling were put at side, because the police went rough when it came to the bakuto-gangs. Tekiya, on the contrary, flowered and expanded since their activaties were not illegal, at least not on the surface. Yakuza began to get an interest in politics and started to sympathize with certain politicians and officials. They began to cooperate with the authorities in order to get certain contributions and to avoid harassment from the police and the like.
In the year 1925 Japan had an emperor as regent. But the course of events in Europe made that a democratic rule was superior to aristocratic. Therefore, Japan initiated a public vote for all men in 1925. Within some years communist and socialist parties were founded. Around the prince, who became emperor in 1926, existed a staff of military officers and officials who did not agree with the spokesmen for democracy.The economic depression in the end of 1920's created a suspicion against the Western world's liberalism. The staff took advantage of this and different concealed organizations were created that trained its members within warfare, languages, assassination, blackmail, etc.
The ultra-nationalist terror lasted in on to the 1930's. They murdered two prime ministers and two finance ministers, and attacked several politicians and industrials. Yakuza supplied with muscles and men in order to help and educate this underworld organization. This type of yakuza are called unyoke (political right).The occupation years
After WWII when the American troops occupied Japan, they saw the yakuza as the biggest threat against their job there. They began examine yakuza's activities. In 1948 they finished their work when the examinations were over and they thought they knew what there was to know about the yakuza and the threat was eliminated.
The American troops rationed out food, which caused the black market to flower and it made the gangs rich and powerful. It was during the occupation that a new sort of yakuza began to grow, the gurentai (street hustler). They conducted robberies and traded within the black market on liquor and food. You can compare them with the USA mafia and their leaders can be compared with Al Capone.Yakuza became influenced by the American gangster movies and began to dress in black suits with white shirts, black sunglasses and cropped hair. Yakuza became tougher and more violent, the swords were now history; it became firearms that counted. No longer was it not just players and storekeepers that became exposed by violence, ordinary persons could be robbed and pressed for money.
Between the years 1958 and 1963, the number of yakuza members increased with over 150%, to 184,000 members, more than the entire Japanese army, then only half - 90,000. There were approximately 5,200 different gangs in Japan. They began marking out their territories and full, bloody wars started among the gangs.
The wars among the gangs were settled by a man named Yoshio Kodama. Kodama became after the gang wars, Japan's underworld counterpart to America's Al Capone.The yakuza organization
For the yakuza it doesn't matter were you comes from, which country or from which class of society you belong to, you can become a member anyway. Yakuza takes care of the misfits of the society. Yakuza members can be youth that been abandoned by their parents, youths that cannot managed the high pressure from the schools, refugees from Korea, China etc.Their nearest boss becomes like their father and their comrades as brothers. Yakuza offers not just companionship but also money, status, authority. You can be part of a group were you feel useful and needed - similar to gangs in the US.
There are no thresholds or requirements in order to become a member. But when you are inside there is obedience to the superiors.The yakuza seems himself, as machi-yakko, the people's rescuer and helper. Far before any working courts existed in Japan yakuza existed. If your clan's chief couldn't or wouldn't help at a dispute that you had with someone you could turn to the local yakuza for help. They solved the problem in return for an amount of money. You can also in these days apply to yakuza for help. The problem is solved, however, frequently in a more brutal manner than had you turned to the police.
The yakuza structure
It exists two types of yakuza, clan-yakuza and freelance yakuza.
Freelance yakuza
Freelancing yakuza is a yakuza that does not commit any of the larger crimes and belongs to a little group of hustlers.
They have, however, some difficulties to survive or avoiding jail, because the clan-yakuza does not allow anyone other to operate within their territories. Clan-yakuza can tip off the police about crimes that the freelance yakuza have committed.If the freelance-yakuza earns too much money, the clan-yakuza kills the freelancing-yakuza or makes him disappear without a trace.
Clan-yakuza can however have a certain use for a freelance yakuza. If the clan-yakuza wish do something that they not want the clan to be associated with, they can turn to a freelancing yakuza who, for a sum of money, does the job for them.
A freelance-yakuza can also be used as a scapegoat if someone needs to be guilty of a crime. If a freelancer is a truly genius he can manage to begin his own clan. Usually a freelance-yakuza becomes, if he does not gets killed, a member in a clan.
Clan-yakuza
Beneath him, the oyabun has an adviser who is called saiko-komon. The saiko-komon has a staff of advocates, accountants, secretaries and advisers. Saiko-mono holds with his own gangs.
Clan-yakuza belongs to a clan. The clan can be compared with the Sicilian mafia's "family". The clans are structured as a common family in traditional Japan. The clan have a hierarchy structure. The clan's head chief is called oyabun, that means father. Beneath him he have his children (wakashu) and brothers (kyodai). These are not his real children and brothers aand lack designations on which rank and position they have within the clan. All the members in the clan obeys oyabun and in return he protect them against all dangers. Oyabun is almighty within the clan and his word is the law. All obeys him without hesitation also if it means danger to his own life.The children's (wakashu), boss is called waka-gashira. He is number two in the clan after the oyabun, not in rank but in authority. He act as an middleman to see that the oyabun's orders t are being accomplished. The children can also be leader over their own gang and the children in the gangs can be a boss over one in his turn and so on. In that way the clan becomes a ramification with several sub-families.
The oyabun "brothers", kyodai, boss is called shatei-gashira. Shatei-gashira is of higher rank than waka-gashira but havenīt got more authority. "The brothers" have its own "children" or "younger brothers"(shatei). Shatei have their own gangs, etc.
Everyone obeys his gang leader, but it's always the oyabun's word that counts.
Tattoos
It's usual within yakuza circuits to tattoo themselves, usually is it their clan's badge that they tattoo all over their body.
The origin to why the yakuza tattooed himself comes from bakuto. They usually tattooed in a black ring around the arm for each crime they committed.Finally it became an evidence of strength, when it could take over 100 hours to do a back tattoo. The tattoo was to illustrate you were unwilling to accommodate yourself to societies rules and norms. Now is it to illustrates which clan you belong.
Yubitsume
Yubitsume is when you cut of one of your fingers and send it to the kumicho. This is done as an apology for disobedience. It can be done to expiate a wrongdoing but can also be done to spare one of your "children".When you have done something that your kumicho dislikes you take a sharp item, cut of a finger tip, wrap it in paper and send it to the kumicho and begs for his forgiveness. If it's the first time you cut of the little fingertip there after it becomes the next little finger and so on. Because of that you see yakuza members that are without several of his fingers.
This helps often at wrongdoings, but if you done something all to seriously, e.g betray the entire clan, there's nothing that can save you from being executed.The manner comes originally from bakuto. If a gambler couldn't pay back a debt or something alike, the persons tip of the little finger got cut off, which damaged the hand somewhat. This did in its turn that the person in question not could hold his sword equally well as before. In that way other people could see if a person haven't paid a debt, which could bring certain problems, since gambling has always been prohibited in Japan.
