Masaru Takumi (宅見勝 ''Takumi Masaru''; June 22, 1936 – August 28, 1997) was a powerful Japanese organized crime figure assassinated in 1997. Until his death, he was the second-in-command (''wakagashira'') and financial overseer of Japan's largest

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

gang, the

Yamaguchi-gumi is Japan's largest '' yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe before World War II. It is one of the largest criminal organizations i ...

. Known as "the man who never sleeps", he also headed his own sub-organization, the 1000-member Takumi-gumi.

Death

He was considered a likely successor to the Yamaguchi-gumi's fifth godfather,

Yoshinori Watanabe was a yakuza, the fifth ''kumicho'' (chairman or Godfather) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. He became kumicho in 1989. He was known for a more low-key approach than his predecessors, partly due to an anti-gang law pas ...

, but in August 1997, Takumi was shot and killed in a coffee shop on the fourth floor of the Oriental Hotel in Kobe by members of a breakaway Yamaguchi affiliate, the Nakano-kai. An innocent bystander was killed by a stray bullet in the attack, which led to the downfall of the Nakano-kai.

Last Job

His last position at the Yamaguchi-gumi was as ''wakagashira'' (the number-two), and after his death, the ''wakagashira'' post became vacant and had been vacant until 2005 when it was succeeded by

Kiyoshi Takayama is a yakuza best known as the second-in-command (''wakagashira'') of the 6th-generation Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan, and the president of its ruling affiliate, Kodo-kai, based in Nagoya. Takayama has been consider ...

. The Takumi-gumi's head position was succeeded by

Tadashi Irie ''The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi Complete Databook 2008 Edition'' : "Tadashi Irie (Takumi-gumi)", December 2008, Mediax, is a yakuza, the head (''kumicho'') of the Osaka-based 2nd Takumi-gumi

Spouse

His mistress was the sister of Hideki Saijobr>
, a Japanese singer and an actor most famous for singing the Japanese version of the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...

's hit song " Y.M.C.A.", called "Young Man".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takumi, Masaru 1936 births 1997 deaths Japanese crime bosses Yakuza members People from Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi Murdered gangsters Deaths by firearm in Japan People murdered by the Yakuza Japanese murder victims