For
this weeks show and tell paper I have chosen the Yakuza. The Yakuza are an
organized crime syndicate in Japan. They have been in existence within Japan
since the mid- Edo period around 1603. They first were involved with stolen
goods and gambling. They originally were considered peddlers and thieves with
lower social status. They started to gain social class as they were recognized
by the government and took up posistions as merchants. This is the origin of
the Yakuza, but they have grown and evolved into a much different organization.
The Yakuza are organized in a very traditional Japanese hierarchal oyabun-kuban
system. This system is broken down into two parts. Kuban means foster child and
Oyuban means foster parent. Yakuza are notorious for taking in children whose
parents have gotten rid of them. Going into the Yakuza usually starts in high
school and are kids who are thought to be common street thugs. The Yakuza
system is very strict and is broken down into 8 specific units that make up a
Yakuza syndicate. The first posistion is the Oyabun which is the most
important. The Oyabun is the family boss or the syndicate leader. The next two
positions are the Wakagashira and Shateigashira which are the first and second
lieutenant respectively. The next is the Saiko-Komon or the administrations
within this title are the Shiingin and Kaikei. The Shiingin are the Law
advisors and the Kaikei are the accountants. Finally you have the muscle and
workers the Kyodai and Shatei. The Kyodai are the big brothers and the Shatei
are the little brothers. This structure is very strict and within the Yakuza
order has to be maintained. This structured has served them perfectly for
hundreds of years and has not been altered since the start. Today there are
approximately 103,000 active Yakuza within Japan. There are three main groups,
which are broken down into multiple clans. The first is the Yamaguchi-gumi, which is the
largest in Japan. Having approximately 50% of all Yakuza in Japan. The second
syndicate is Sumiyoshi-Kai, which is the second largest having 20,000 members and
finally the Inagawa-Kai the smallest having approximately 15,000 members. These
syndicates are involved in crimes from stolen goods to murder. They are also
focused heavily on drug trafficking, which has been a staple in the Yakuza life
style, trafficking herion and opium. There is recent international activity in
trafficking especially into China. The Yakuza are also going into legitamate
business ventures. The most recent being a 225 million dollar buy, in stock of
the Tokyo Kyuko Electric Railway. This is a way to help better there standing
within the culture and society. As well as a very profitable move financially.
Did you have a previous knowledge or view of the Yakuza?
How can we see the Yakuza structure and the Traditional Japanese Family structure intersect?
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza#Divisions_of_origin
This is very interesting! This reminds me of maffia or mob type situations but the organizational hierarchy is interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of the Yakuza before this blog. This is a very interesting piece because of how well organized of a mob it seems to be. They bring in normal street thugs but it seems like it is a well thought out system as to how the mob works as a whole.
ReplyDeleteMy previous knowledge of the yakuza was mostly that they were a group of organized crime in a way that were known for theyre large body tattoos. Tattoos are still greatly looked down upon because of their connections with the yakuza, I actually believe tattoos use to be illegal because of these connections.
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