The , sometimes referred to as the , is the second-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 ...

group in Japan with an estimated 4,000 members.

Outline

Their territories mainly consist of upscale districts such as

Kabukichō Kabukichō ( ja, 歌舞伎町, , ) is an entertainment district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabuki-chō is the location of many host and hostess clubs, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town" (, , ...

and Ginza. Shops operating in these territories are often part of

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

s in which they must pay a fee called a . The Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller gangs. Structurally, the Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its main rival, 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 ...

. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as a federation, has a looser

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

and while there is a chairman, some power is delegated to affiliate clan leaders. The group has a complex history, with numerous name changes along the way. It was founded in 1958 as the Minato-kai (港会) by Shigesaku Abe who was the 3rd of the Sumiyoshi-ikka. Yoshimitsu Sekigami, who was the 4th ''sōchō'' of Sumiyoshi-ikka, renamed it to Sumiyoshi-kai. It was dissolved in 1965. In 1969, the group was rebuilt as a union, the Sumiyoshi-rengo, by

Masao Hori Masao (written: 正雄, 正夫, 正生, 正男, 正郎, 雅雄, 雅央, 雅夫, 雅勇, 雅男, 昌雄, 昌夫, 昌男, 昌朗, 昌郎, 昌大, 政雄, 政夫, 政男, 政於, 征夫, 優夫, 聖雄, 利生, 将雄, 将夫 or 眞男) is a masculine ...

, who was the 5th ''sōchō'' of Sumiyoshi-ikka. He remade it as the Sumiyoshi-rengokai (住吉連合会) in 1982, and Hori became ''kaicho'' (president). Chief Director Ryoji Kawaguchi assumed the role of ''kaicho'', and Hori was promoted to '' sosai'', or chairman, in 1988. Kawaguchi died of illness in May 1990, and Hori died of illness in October of the same year.

Shigeo Nishiguchi Shigeo (written: 茂雄, 茂生, 茂男, 茂夫, 成雄, 成男, 重雄, 重男, 重夫, 繁雄, 繁男, 晟郎, 殖生 or 滋雄) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese swimm ...

, born in 1929, became the 6th ''sōchō'' of Sumiyoshi-ikka and ''kaicho'' of this group in February, 1991. At that time, it was again renamed the Sumiyoshi-kai. Chief Director Hareaki Fukuda, born in 1943, became ''kaicho'', and Nishiguchi was promoted to ''sosai'' in June 1998. Fukuda became the 7th ''sōchō'' of the Sumiyoshi-ikka on April 17, 2005. On 19 April 2003, Takao Nishida, head of the affiliated Nishida-gumi, was gunned down in Ōizumi, Gunma. Police stated that they were probing for possible links between the murder and a series of shootings between the Sumiyoshi-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi in neighboring

Tochigi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Tochigi Prefecture has a population of 1,943,886 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,408 km2 (2,474 sq mi). Tochigi Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the ...

. On the morning of Monday, 5 January 2007, boss Ryoichi Sugiura was shot in his car in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Within hours the offices of the Yamaguchi-gumi were fired upon in retribution. The following month, 70-year-old Kazuyoshi Kudo, head of the Kokusui-kai, was discovered in his home in Tokyo, police said. A gun was found by his side, suspected to be a suicide, raising tensions between the Sumiyoshi-kai and the

. In September of 2017, Sumiyoshi-kai ''sosai'', or chairman,

died of natural causes at the age of 88. In April 2020, a report from the National Police Agency shows that the total number of members of organized crime gangs fell to historical lows, having just 2,800 members and 1,700 associated members.

References

{{Designated Boryokudan Organizations established in 1958 1958 establishments in Japan Yakuza groups