Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

's largest '' yakuza'' organization. It is named after its founder

Harukichi Yamaguchi was the founder of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which grew to become Japan's largest and most powerful yakuza organization. Yamaguchi established the group in Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a pop ...

. Its origins can be traced back to a loose

labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

for

dockworkers A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It is one of the largest

criminal organizations Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

in the world. According to the National Police Agency, it had 8,500 active members at the end of 2021. The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, the sex industry, arms trafficking,

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

and construction kickback schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation and

Internet pornography Internet pornography is any pornography that is accessible over the internet, primarily via websites, FTP servers peer-to-peer file sharing, or Usenet newsgroups. The availability of widespread public access to the World Wide Web in late 1990s ...

. The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in Kobe, but it operates all across Japan and has overseas operations. Its current ''kumichō'' (Boss),

Shinobu Tsukasa , also known as , is a Japanese Yakuza, the sixth and current ''kumicho'' (supreme kingpin, or chairman) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. Career Shinoda was born in Ōita, Kyushu.Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, traditionally not Yamaguchi turf. They also have multiple groups working overseas.

History

Relief support after disasters

Immediately after the

Kobe earthquake The , or Kobe earthquake, occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST (January 16 at 20:46:53 UTC) in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region known as Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had ...

of 1995, the Yamaguchi-gumi started a large-scale relief effort for the earthquake victims, helping with the distribution of food and supplies. This help was essential to the Kobe population, because official support was inconsistent and chaotic for several days. The Yamaguchi-gumi also provided relief in the wake of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

by opening its offices to the public and by sending supplies to affected areas.

In an effort to boost morale, the Yamaguchi-gumi launched an eight-page newsletter in July, 2013. However, it was only distributed to full members. The publication bridges communication gaps and includes articles on the group's opinion and traditions, as well as columns on angling, with an editorial section written by

Kenichi Shinoda , also known as , is a Japanese Yakuza, the sixth and current ''kumicho'' (supreme kingpin, or chairman) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. Career Shinoda was born in Ōita, Kyushu.

Assassination of Iccho Itoh

On April 17, 2007,

Tetsuya Shiroo was the former leader of the Suishin-kai, a Nagasaki-based ''yakuza'' group affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest ''yakuza'' organization in Japan. Murder of Iccho Itoh On April 17, 2007, Shiroo shot Iccho Itoh, the mayor of Nagasaki, ...

, a senior ranking member of the

Suishin-kai The Suishin-kai was a Japanese yakuza gang based in Nagasaki. The gang, affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza syndicate, came to prominence in April 2007 when its former underboss (then demoted to Captain), Tetsuya Shiroo, s ...

(an affiliated Yakuza family to the Yamaguchi-gumi), assassinated Iccho Itoh, the mayor of

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

, over an apparent dispute over damage done to Shiroo's car at a public works construction site. On May 26, 2008, Tetsuya Shiroo was sentenced to death. However, the Fukuoka High Court revoked the death sentence and sentenced him to life imprisonment on September 29, 2009.

Decline in membership

''Yakuza'' membership has been steadily declining since the 1990s. According to the National Police Agency, the total number of registered gangsters fell 14% between 1991 and 2012, to 78,600. Of those, 34,900 were Yamaguchi-gumi members, a decline of 4% from 2010. Its membership had further declined by 2013, with an estimated 28,000 members, and dropped again to 23,400 members in 2014.

Split in 2015

On August 27, 2015, Japanese police confirmed that powerful factions, including the Kobe-based

Yamaken-gumi is a yakuza gang based in Kobe, Japan. It was the largest affiliate, followed by the Nagoya-based Kodo-kai, of the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan, the Yamaguchi-gumi until 2015. From 2015 to 2020, it was under the umbrella of the Kobe ...

, the Osaka-based

Takumi-gumi The Second Takumi-gumi is a Japanese yakuza gang affiliated with the powerful Yamaguchi-gumi syndicate. The Kansai-based gang was founded in 1967 by Masaru Takumi, the longtime second-in-command (''wakagashira'') and financial oversteer of the Y ...

, and the Kyoyu-kai, broke away from the Yamaguchi-gumi and formed a new group called the

Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi The is a yakuza organization based in Hyogo, Japan. Overview The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza organization includes Kobe-based Yamaken-gumi, Osaka-based Takumi-gumi, and Kyoyu-kai. They broke away from The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi in 2015 and for ...

. Prior to the split, the organization consisted of seventy-two factions. This was the first major split since the forming of Ichiwa-Kai more than thirty years ago.

Activities

On January 14, 2021, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested Hiroki Sakata, a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, in connection with a scam in 2018 where the damage was worth 60 million yen ($475,059 US dollars in 2022).

Leadership

*1st ''kumichō'' (1915–1925):

*2nd ''kumichō'' (1925–1942): Noboru Yamaguchi—son of Harukichi Yamaguchi *3rd ''kumichō'' (1946–1981):

Kazuo Taoka was one of the most prominent yakuza godfathers.History and Cultur ...

When Taoka inherited the title of ''kumichō'', it was merely a local family with only a few dozen members. It was Taoka who made Yamaguchi-gumi Japan’s largest

criminal organization Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. He urged his underlings to have legitimate businesses and allowed them to have their own families, which became quasi– subsidiary families of Yamaguchi-gumi. He also created a structural system in the family. ''Wakagashira'' were elected as

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underbo ...

es to the ''kumichō'' and some of powerful members were elected as ''wakagashira-hosa'' (deputy underbosses). *4th ''kumichō'' (1984–1985):

Masahisa Takenaka was the 4th ''kumicho'' of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza gang. He took the role of kumicho (supreme Godfather) in 1984, but was assassinated at a girlfriend's home in Osaka early the next year by a rival faction, the Ichiwa-kai T ...

After the death of Taoka, the heir apparent, ''wakagashira'' Kenichi Yamamoto (''kumichō'' of the

), was serving a prison sentence. He died of liver failure shortly afterward. Taoka's wife, Fumiko Taoka, stepped forward to fill the leadership void until a new ''kumichō'' could be selected by a council of eight top-level bosses. In 1984, the elders chose

(''kumichō'' of the Takenaka-gumi) to be the fourth ''kumichō'' of Yamaguchi-gumi. One of the other contenders, Hiroshi Yamamoto (''kumichō'' of the Yamahiro-gumi), broke away from Yamaguchi-gumi with many of its powerful members and more than 3,000 of its soldiers to form the

Ichiwa-kai The Ichiwa-kai (一和会) was a yakuza gang based in Osaka, Japan. It was formed on June 13, 1984 when Hiroshi Yamamoto, a top lieutenant in the Yamaguchi-gumi, broke from that gang to form his own organization with over 10,000 members. The s ...

. A bitter rivalry existed between the two groups, which led to an all-out war (the Yama-Ichi War) after the Ichiwa-kai's 1985 assassination of Takenaka and ''wakahashira'' Katsumasa Nakayama. During the war, acting-''kumichō''

Kazuo Nakanishi was briefly the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate in the chaotic years of the Yama-Ichi War. He was also the founder and 1st ''kumicho'' of the Nakanishi-gumi. Nakanishi accepted the temporary leadership position after the assassina ...

(''kumichō'' of the Nakanishi-gumi) and ''wakagashira''

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 pass ...

(''kumichō'' of the Yamaken-gumi) briefly took the leadership role until 1989. *5th ''kumichō'' (1989–2005):

The Yama-Ichi War ended with the retirement of Hiroshi Yamamoto, which was arbitrated by one of the most respected bosses,

Seijo Inagawa Kakuji Inagawa (稲川角二 ''Inagawa Kakuji''), also known as Seijō Inagawa (稲川聖城 ''Inagawa Seijō''; November 1914 – December 22, 2007) was a Japanese yakuza boss best known for founding the Inagawa-kai, Japan's third-largest yakuz ...

. After that, the clan elected ''wakagashira'' Yoshinori Watanabe as 5th ''kumichō'' of the organization.

Masaru Takumi 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 ...

(''kumichō'' of Takumi-gumi) was elected as ''wakagashira''. He was so powerful and respected within the organization that his influence overshadowed that of ''kumichō'' to some extent. *6th ''kumichō'' (2005–present):

Shinobu Tsukasa , also known as , is a Japanese Yakuza, the sixth and current ''kumicho'' (supreme kingpin, or chairman) of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza organization. Career Shinoda was born in Ōita, Kyushu. In 1997, then-powerful ''wakagashira'' Masaru Takumi was assassinated by underlings of then-''wakagashira-hosa'' (deputy underboss)

Taro Nakano Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African ...

. After this assassination, they were unable to choose a new ''wakagashira'' for more than eight years. As a result, leadership of the organization became weaker. Finally, in 2005, ''wakagashira-hosa'' Shinobu Tsukasa (then ''kumichō'' of the Hirota-gumi) was chosen as new ''wakagashira'' and shortly afterward, in August 2005, Tsukasa inherited the position of the 6th ''kumichō'' of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Watanabe retired to private life—rather uncommon in ''yakuza'' circles, as bosses usually do not retire until their deaths. Under Tsukasa's leadership, the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi has resumed expansion.

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 ...

, ''kumichō'' of the

Kodo-kai The Kodo-kai ( ''Kōdō-kai'', ''Koh-doh-kai'') is a yakuza criminal organization based in Nagoya, Japan. It is a secondary organization of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan. With an estimated membership of 4,00 ...

, was elected as ''wakagashira''. They absorbed the Tokyo-based gang

Kokusui-kai The Kokusui-kai ("Patriotic Society") (國粹会), founded in 1958, is a Tokyo-based yakuza organization with an estimated 1000 members. Despite its relatively low membership, it is widely viewed as a wealthy and successful gang, controlling Toky ...

, acquiring lucrative turf in the capital. Tsukasa was imprisoned in December 2005 for illegal gun possession, and was released in April 2011 after serving nearly six years in jail.

Sanctions

In February 2012 the U.S. Treasury Department announced a freeze on American-owned assets controlled by the organization and its top two leaders. The

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

imposed sanctions on the Yamaguchi-gumi as one of four key

transnational organized crime Transnational organized crime (TOC) is organized crime coordinated transnational crime, across national borders, involving groups or markets of individuals working in more than one country to plan and execute illegal business ventures. In ord ...

groups, along with the Brothers' Circle from

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, the

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and

Los Zetas Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscri ...

from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

In popular culture

* The main antagonist of the 1991 martial arts film ''

The Godfather's Daughter Mafia Blues ''The Godfather's Daughter Mafia Blues'' is a 1991 Hong Kong action film directed by Fung Hark-On, who also served as the film's action director and appears in a supporting role, and starring Alex Man, Yukari Oshima, Mark Cheng and Dick Wei. Pl ...

'', Kuyama (played by Ken Lo) is the current kumichō (or boss) of the Yamaguchi-gumi after the death of his father Tetsuya, who was the previous head of this Yakuza syndicate. Unlike his father (who was known as a pacifist), Kuyama is an arrogant, greedy and reckless Yakuza boss. * In Marvel's

Earth-616 In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 is the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place. History of the term The term was first used in "Rough Justice", a story credited to both Alan Moore and Alan Davis p ...

, the Yamaguchi-gumi are notoriously known for being enemies of the Shogun Warriors and the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...

. The Yamaguchi-gumi had two known oyabuns in

: Maikeru Mishu (who was responsible for trying to steal and control the Shogun Warriors) and Shinji Kizaki (who became Wolverine's enemy after he defeated one of Kizaki's mercenaries and even insulted him before leaving the

). * The Yamaguchi-gumi are one of the main antagonists of '' Hitman 2: Silent Assassin''. In the game, the Yamaguchi-gumi is led by Masahiro Hayamoto and his son Masahiro Hayamoto Jr., and both are priority targets for Agent 47 (the protagonist of the Hitman franchise). * In '' Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Take-Down – Missions in Korea'', the Yamaguchi-gumi is involved in a bloody gang war with the Ikeshita-gumi (another powerful Yakuza syndicate that owns territories in both Japan and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and which are the main antagonists of the game).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamaguchi-Gumi Organizations established in 1915 1915 establishments in Japan Yakuza groups Transnational organized crime Organized crime groups in the United States Gangs in Hawaii Gangs in South Korea