THE BIRTH OF THE YAKUZA

The Yakuza like to glamourise their samurai origins, but their real roots are in the gambling gangs of two centuries ago

- Paul French

The Yazuka are a contradiction. Unlike the most notorious organised crime syndicates globally - the Italian Mafia, the Russian Vory, the South American cartels - they are rarely seen being violent in public. Few drive-by assassinations, warning killings, or even street brawls. They are at once a shadowy institution while simultaneously their offices are easy to find in any Japanese city. Extortion, smuggling, drugs, loansharking, prostitution... the Yakuza are involved in them all and more, yet they maintain a front of legitimate businesses. They are one of Japan's largest charitable organisations, universally praised for their rapid response when disasters, earthquakes, tsunamis strike, including the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. Their smart suits, finger severing, and especially the elaborate tattooing have become culturally iconic. 

Japanese TV is flooded with, often sympathetic, Yakuza series and movies. Newsstands and convenience store magazine racks feature Yakuza fan magazines while bookstores prominently display Yakuza adventure novels. To many the Yakuza, while clearly criminal, symbolise the traditional virtues of family, discipline, trust, and honour. Like European knights or Wild West cowboys, they are problematic yet admired by many and cemented into the culture. So, to understand how this particular Japanese phenomenon has arisen, we will need to go back to the Yakuza's origins - a contested arena.