Yakuza Research Paper

THE BEGINNING You might have seen them in your favorite Japanese crime movies covered in tattoos and armed with samurai swords, the Yakuza. The Yakuza is a collection of criminal gangs in Japan whose crimes range from extortion, prostitution, gambling, and murder. “The yakuza originated during the Tokugawa Shogunate (1603 - 1868) with two separate groups of outcasts. The first of those groups were the tekiya, wandering peddlers who traveled from village to village, selling low-quality goods at festivals and markets [source: thoughtco].” The tekiya started to group together in the early 1700s under a basic hierarchy of bosses and underbosses and began taking orders to take part in criminal tasks such as warring with other gangs and extorting

In 1700s Japan, gambling was super illegal and the bakuto were all over Japans highways conducting illegal dice and card games. The bakuto originated the style of covering there bodies in elaborate tattoos which is still carried on by the Yakuza gangs of today. The bakuto began expanding their crimes from their usual gambling into loan sharking and other illegal activities. The tekiya and bakuto made such an impact on the Yakuza of today that some present day members still classify themselves as either one of the two outcasts and carry on the ancient rituals left by their ancestors in their initiation

Apart from their illegal businesses, the Yakuza also operate legal ones. The Yakuza are well involved in construction, real estate, and entertainment industries all throughout Japan. They are said to have their hands in Japanese professional wrestling leagues and establishments. “Higher-level Yakuza often play the Japanese stock market, sometimes legally. They may also find or invent incriminating information about a company and use this information to blackmail its board of directors. After buying shares of the company's stock, a clan sends some of its members to board meetings, where they threaten company officials with the release of the evidence. Yakuza can exert a great deal of control over businesses this way or simply demand payoffs [source: howstuffworks].” The Yakuza still carry an odd tradition of politeness when carrying out their blackmail and extortion schemes. For example, the Yakuza will ask companies and corporations to participate in Yakuza fundraisers and fake charities. “The corporations' leaders know that there is an implied threat with such requests, so they often go along even though the Yakuza never make a direct threat or demand [source: Crime Library].” These charity acts serve as a positive role model cover for the Yakuza in the eye of the