Whatz with the Yakuza?

[God Hates You]

Reading around, I noticed a lot about the Yakuza. Somebody explain what the Yakuza is all about. I mean it seems they are clearly identifiable. So what is with Japan and Yakuza? I know it is a criminal organization and all.

So yeah.. TALK.

[Shii]

I don't even know what Yakuza is...

[EIJI]

The Information of YAKUZA in english
http://web.telia.com/~u31302275/yakuza.htm

[Shadowknight]

Japanese Mafia.

[stsparky]

THE YAKUZA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza): Post-War Yakuza: Gurentai — Also, as Japan began to industrialise and the urban (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban) movement really got underway, a third group of yakuza called gurentai (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurentai&action=edit) began to emerge (though the name gurentai was not given until after WWII (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_War)). Whether they fall into the traditional definition of yakuza is still open to debate, but they certainly gave birth to another kind of yakuza, the boryokudan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boryokudan) (violence group). In short, a gurentai (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gurentai&action=edit) is a gang in a much more traditional sense, a group of young unruly thugs who peddle their violence for profit. They often engaged in the suppression of unions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_union) and other workers' organizations, and such activities brought them much closer to the conservative elements of the Japanese power structure. During the militarisation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militarism) of Japan, some of them became the militant wing of Japanese politics known as uyoku (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uyoku) (right wing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_wing_politics)), i.e. ultra-nationalists.

Unlike more traditional yakuza, uyoku did not maintain territories - they peddled their violence for political gain. The most famous group before WWII was the Kokuryu-kai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokuryu-kai), or Black Dragon Society. The Kokuryu-kai was a secret ultra-nationalist umbrella organization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella_organization) whose membership was comprised of government officials and military officers as well as many martial artists and members of the Japanese underworld who engaged in political terrorism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism) and assassination. They also provided espionage services for the Japanese colonial government (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_expansionism). Kokuryu-kai engaged in contraband operations including the Chinese (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China) opium (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium) trade, as well as prostitution and gambling overseas which provided them with funds as well as information.

During the post-War rationing, the yakuza controlled the black market much in line with traditional tekiya operations. At the same time, they also moved into controlling major sea ports as well as the entertainment industry. The biggest yakuza umbrella group, the Yamaguchi-gumi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi), emerged in the Kansai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansai) region, which had a large entertainment industry in the city of Osaka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka) as well as a major sea port in Kobe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe). American occupation forces fought against them in vain and conceded defeat in 1950. Yakuza also adapted to a more western style, including wearing clothing reminiscent of US gangsters, and began to use firearms. At this point, tekiya and bakuto no longer confined themselves to their traditional activities and expanded into any venture they found profitable. At the same time gurentai began to adopt traditional roles of tekiya and bakuto. They also began to feud among themselves, jockeying for power and prestige.

In the 1960s, Yoshio Kodama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshio_Kodama), an ex-nationalist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalist), began to negotiate treaties with various groups, first with the Yamaguchi-gumi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi) of Kazuo Taoka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazuo_Taoka) and Tosei-kai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toa_Yuai_Jigyo_Kumiai) of Hisayuki Machii (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hisayuki_Machii) and eventually with the Inagawa-kai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inagawa-kai). Fights between individual gangs, however, are ongoing. ... I'd investigate Current Activities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza#Current_Activities) as well - They're Pro-Emperor Nationalistic gangsters who are heavily involved in construction graft. And when they want to get attention - they'll drive around a town's main shopping area in big black Humvees and act like jerks

[Shii]

Wow. They sound really cool... Not when you get involved with them or anything! No, no, no!

[Henjin]

They make for good action movies... *shrug*

[more cheerios]

I am the female, canadian embodiment of the Yakuza.
No, I'm just kidding.

Action flicks tend to have the Yakuza in them a lot, yeah. :|

[Jay]

female, canadian embodiment

That's enough for me. :D Home address, please. :p

[more cheerios]

That's enough for me. :D Home address, please. :p
Shouldn't we have dinner or something first? ;D

[Xenotrauma]

Jay has evolved beyond all courting :x

[stillbornsinger]

Something tells me the Yakuza offers some services Jay would be interested in if he ever came to Japan.

[Arkan]

If we've learned anything about the Yakuza, it's that one blonde white chick with a samurai sword and a grudge can kick all their asses.

[Quartermaster]

Don't forget the jumpsuit.

Seriously though, I thought of the 88 as more of a street gang than actual Yakuza members.

[Henjin]

Same here.

And if there was no Yakuza/Triads/whatever they have in Korea, Asian action movies would suck... heck, they'd be nonexistant. So for all the crime/destruction they're responsible for, at least we have that.

[I ARE 1031]

Yakuza is just a bunch of nice guys trying to make an honest living. They are very good people, and honorable.

[Quartermaster]

I've heard the sameish thing about the Mafia, that they weren't involved in drugs as it was "immoral". Whoop-de-dam-doo, we know how that turned out.