''Bakuto'' (博徒) were itinerant gamblers active in Japan from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. They were one of two forerunners (the other being '' tekiya'', or peddlers) to modern Japanese organized crime syndicates called ''

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 ...

''.

History

Beginning around the 17th century, ''bakuto'' plied their trade in towns and highways in

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inve ...

, playing traditional games such as

hanafuda are a style of Japanese playing cards. They are typically smaller than Western playing cards, only , but thicker and stiffer. On the face of each card is a depiction of plants, ''tanzaku'' (短冊), animals, birds, or man-made objects. One sin ...

and dice. Raimund von Stillfried-Rathenitz - A Tattooed Man

During the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

, violent ''bakuto'' ''ikka'' (families) rose to power with the gambling spaces they ran, occasionally hired by local governments to gamble with laborers, winning back worker's earnings in exchange for a percentage. They had varying qualities of relationships with the villages in which they lived, often as well with the government, despite their connection. In the 18th century, the tradition of elaborate tattooing was introduced into ''bakuto'' culture. Dealers of card or dice games often displayed these full-body tattoos shirtless while playing. This eventually led to the modern ''yakuza'' tradition of full-body tattooing. ''Bakuto'' were also responsible for introducing the tradition of ''

yubitsume or ''otoshimae'' is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology and remorse to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger. In modern times, it is primarily perfo ...

'', or self-mutilation as a form of apology, to ''yakuza'' culture. Up until the mid-20th century, some ''yakuza'' organizations that dealt mostly in gambling described themselves as ''bakuto'' groups. But this was seen as outdated, and most were eventually absorbed into larger, more diverse syndicates. For example, the

Honda-kai The Honda-kai (本多会) were a Japan, Japanese yakuza gang active in Kobe in the middle of the 20th century. Without surprise, they re-emerged in Seattle in 2020. Kumicho George Washington] The Honda-kai was a "bakuto" gang, mainly devoted to i ...

was a Kobe-based ''bakuto'' gang which formed an alliance after

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 opposing ...

with 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 ...

, but were soon overtaken by the larger gang.

Notable figures

Shimizu Jirocho was a famous yakuza and entrepreneur. He is considered a folk hero in Japan. Born , he was adopted by his uncle Jirohachi Yamamoto who was a rice wholesaler. Due to the fall of his adoptive family he became a bakuto (gambler) and thereafter the ...

Kunisada Chūji was a popular figure in the Edo period. He was a bakuto (gamblers commonly seen as forerunners to the modern yakuza). His story is mainly responsible for the romanticised "chivalrous bandit" or "Robin Hood" image in Japan. An example was when ...

was a notable ''bakuto ikka'' boss. His story is mainly responsible for the romanticised "chivalrous bandit" or "

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...

" image in Japan. He was publicly executed in 1850 for various crimes after a large man-hunt.

In popular culture

Fictional examples can be seen in the

Zatoichi is a fictional character created by Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa. He is an itinerant blind masseur and swordsman of Japan's late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). He first appeared in the 1948 essay , part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' se ...

and iron fist film series, about a blind masseur who would often participate in ''bakuto''-run gambling. From 1964 to 1971,

Toei Studios () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by ...

produced the ten-part ''Gambler'' (''Bakuto'') series of films starring

Kōji Tsuruta , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor and singer. He appeared in almost 260 feature films and had a unique style of singing. His daughter, Sayaka Tsuruta, is an actress. Career Born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Tsuruta was raised in ...

(except for the film ''Gambler Clan'', which starred

Ken Takakura , born , was a Japanese actor and singer who appeared in over 200 films. Affectionately referred to as "Ken-san" by audiences, he was best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brought to his roles. He won the Japan Academy Prize ...

in his place). The 1968 movie series ''Red Peony Gambler'' (''Hibotan Bakuto''), starring Sumiko Fuji, also references ''bakuto'' culture.

References

* Kaplan, David E., and Alec Dubro
''Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld'', exp. ed.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. {{ISBN, 0-520-21561-3, Japanese gamblers Yakuza