- Yamaguchi-gumi
Infobox Criminal organization
name = Yamaguchi-gumi
caption = Daimon of theYamaguchi-gumi
founded on = 1915
founding location =Kobe ,Japan
founded by =Harukichi Yamaguchi
years active = 1915-present
territory = Primarily based inKobe but has territory all overJapan , including inTokyo
ethnic makeup = Japanese, Korean Japanese
membership est = 39,000
criminal activities =Gambling ,extortion ,drug trafficking ,loansharking ,sōkaiya ,prostitution ,gunrunning , legitimate businesses
allies = Affiliated gangs such as theYamaken-gumi ,Kodo-kai ,Takumi-gumi ,Goto-gumi ,Kokusui-kai and more
rivals = Has had conflicts with otherYakuza groups such asSumiyoshi-kai and theIchiwa-kai nihongo|The Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi|六代目山口組|Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi is
Japan 's largest and most infamousyakuza organization, and is named after founderHarukichi Yamaguchi .It is one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. Estimates put the number of active members at just over 39,000, with thousands more having strong associations. It is, by far, the largest of the
boryokudan groups, and its membership encompasses roughly 45% of the 86,300 yakuza in the Japanese underworld.Formal members of the Yamaguchi-gumi are 102 total people; 1 "kumicho", 15 "shatei" (younger brother) and 86 "wakachu" (child) as of November 2005.The Yamaguchi-gumi are among the world's wealthiest gangsters, bringing in billions of dollars a year from
extortion ,gambling , the sex industry, guns, drugs, and real estate and construction kickback schemes. They are also involved in stock market manipulation andInternet pornography .The Yamaguchi-gumi has its headquarters in
Kobe , Japan, but it operates all across Japan and has overseas operations inAsia and theUnited States .Fact|date=February 2007 Despite more than a decade of police crackdowns, their numbers have been growing. Its current "kumicho" (Don), Shinobu Tsukasa, has declared an expansionist policy -- even making inroads intoTokyo , traditionally not Yamaguchi turf. [cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6341253.stm
title=Tokyo death sparks gang war
publisher=BBC ] [http://www.worldnewsaustralia.com.au/region.php?id=136356®ion=2]Leadership
*1st "kumicho" (1915-1925):
Harukichi Yamaguchi
*2nd "kumicho" (1925-1942):Noboru Yamaguchi — son of Harukichi Yamaguchi
*3rd "kumicho" (1946-1981):Kazuo Taoka When Taoka inherited the title of kumicho, it was merely a local family with only dozens of members. It was Taoka who made Yamaguchi-gumi the world's largest criminal organization. He urged his underlings to have legitimate businesses and allowed them to have their own family, which became a kind of subsidiary family of Yamaguchi-gumi. He also created a structural system in the family. "
Wakagashira " were elected as underbosses to the kumicho and some of powerful members were elected as "wakagashira-hosa " (deputy underbosses).Fact|date=June 2007*4th "kumicho" (1984-1985):
Masahisa Takenaka After the death of Taoka, the heir apparent "wakagashira" Kenichi Yamamoto (kumicho of the
Yamaken-gumi ) was serving a prison sentence. He died of liver failure shortly afterward. Fumiko Taoka, Kazuo Taoka's wife, stepped forward to fill the leadership void until a new kumicho could be selected by a council of eight top-level bosses.In 1984, the elders chose
Masahisa Takenaka (kumicho of theTakenaka-gumi ) to be the fourth kumicho of Yamaguchi-gumi. One of the other contenders, Hiroshi Yamamoto ("kumicho" of theYamahiro-gumi ), broke away from Yamaguchi-gumi with many of its powerful members and more than 3,000 of its soldiers to form theIchiwa-kai . A bitter rivalry existed between the two groups, which led to an all-out war (theYama-Ichi War ) after the Ichiwa-kai's 1985 assassination of Takenaka and "wakahashira"Katsumasa Nakayama . During the war, acting-"kumicho"Kazuo Nakanishi ("kumicho" of theNakanishi-gumi ) and "wakagashira"Yoshinori Watanabe ("kumicho" of the Yamaken-gumi) briefly took the leadership role until 1989.*5th "kumicho" (1989-2005):
Yoshinori Watanabe The Yama-Ichi War ended with retirement of Hiroshi Yamamoto which was arbitrated by one of the most respected bossesSeijo Inagawa . After that, the clan elected "wakagashira" Yoshinori Watanabe as 5th "kumicho" of the organization.Masaru Takumi ("kumicho" of Takumi-gumi) was elected as "wakagashira". He was so powerful and respected within the organization that his influence overshadowed that of "kumicho" to some extent.*6th "kumicho" (2005-present): Shinobu Tsukasa (real name: Kenichi Shinoda)
In 1997, then powerful "wakagashira" Masaru Takumi was assassinated by underlings of then "wakagashira-hosa" (deputy underboss)
Taro Nakano . After this assassination, they were unable to choose a new "wakagashira" for more than eight years. As a result, leadership of organization became weaker. Finally, in 2005, "wakagashira-hosa" Shinobu Tsukasa (then "kumicho" ofHirota-gumi ) was chosen as new "wakagashira" and shortly afterward, in August 2005, Tsukasa inherited the position of the 6th "kumicho" of the Yamaguchi-gumi.Watanabe has retired to private life — rather uncommon in their world, as bosses usually do not retire until their death. [ [http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/face/archive/news/2005/20050805p2g00m0dm010000c.html Mainichi Daily News ends its partnership with MSN, takes on new Web address ] ] Under Tsukasa's leadership, the 6th Yamaguchi-gumi has resumed expansion.
Seiji Takayama , "kumicho" ofKodo-kai , was elected as "wakagashira". They absorbed the Tokyo-based gangKokusui-kai , thus acquiring lucrative turf in the capital. Tsukasa was imprisoned in December 2005, and is serving a six-year sentence. [ [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/member/member.html?nn20050819f3.htm Police wary as Yamaguchi-gumi prepares to fete sixth don | The Japan Times Online ] ]Members
"Saiko kanbu" (executive members)
*"kumicho" (Boss/Leader of the kumi/gang) -
Shinobu Tsukasa
*"wakagashira" (Underboss/Young-boss) -Kiyoshi Takayama ("kaicho" of the SecondKodo-kai ) - Nagoya
*"wakagashira" (Underboss/Young-boss) -Kira Yatashitemoto ("kaicho" of the FirstKoukai Nashi-gumi ) - Australia
*"saiko komon" (supreme advisor) -Tetsuo Nogami ("kumicho" of the SecondYoshikawa-gumi ) - Osaka
*"komon" (advisor) -Shoroku Ishida ("kaicho" of theShoyu-kai ) - Osaka
*"komon" -Takao Oishi ("kumicho" of theOishi-gumi ) - Okayama
*"komon" -Kazumi Nishiwaki ("kumicho" of theNishiwaki-gumi ) - Kobe
*"komon" -Akiharu Ozaki ("kaicho" of theShinpuku-kai ) - Tokushima
*"so-honbucho" (chief of headquarters) -Tadashi Irie ("kumicho" of the SecondTakumi-gumi ) - Osaka
*"wakagashira-hosa" (assistant of wakagashira) -Takashi Takizawa ("socho" of theHoryokai ) - Hamamatsu
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Hirofumi Hashimoto ("kaicho" of theKyokushin-rengokai ) - Osaka
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Osamu Teraoka ("kaicho" of theKyoyu-kai ) - Sumoto
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Chihiro Aoyama ("kumicho" of the SecondIzu-gumi ) - Fukuoka
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Kazuhiko Suzuki ("kaicho" of theKyokudo-kai ) - Asahikawa
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Kunio Inoue ("kumicho" of the FourthYamaken-gumi ) - Kobe
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Toshio Masaki ("kumicho" of theMasaki-gumi ) - Tsuruga
*"wakagashira-hosa" -Takashi Ikeda ("kumicho" of theIkeda-gumi ) - Okayama"Hittoman" (Hitman / Assassins)
*"hittoman" (hitman) -
Yashikaru Izuwa ("hittoman" of Yamaguchi-Gumi) - Tokyo / Kobe
*"hittoman" (hitman) -Honjo Yokoma ("hittoman" of an Unknown Organization with ties to the Yamaguchi-Gumi) - Tokyo / Kobe"Shatei" (younger brothers)
*
Goro Hanabusa ("kumicho" of theHanabusa-gumi ) - Osaka
*Tadamasa Goto ("kumicho" of theGoto-gumi ) - Fujinomiya
*Kenji Tamaji ("kumicho" of theTamaji-gumi ) - Sakai
*Yasunobu Kawai ? ("kumicho" of theKawai-gumi ) - Ogaki"Kanbu" (semi-executive members)
*
Hironobu Ohara ("kumicho" of theOhara-gumi ) - Osaka
*"kumicho-zuki" (bodyguard) -Tsuyoshi Kishigami ("sosai" of the TenthHirai-ikka ) - Toyohashi
*"so-honbucho-hosa" (chief of headquarters assistant) -Yoshinaga Mori ("kumicho" of theMori-gumi ) - Suita
*"kumicho-zuki" -Katsuaki Mitsuyasu ("kaicho" of theKosei-kai ) - Fukuoka
*"keicho-iincho" -Hisao Okamoto ("kumicho" of the SecondMatsushita-gumi ) - Kobe
*"so-honbucho-hosa" -Masakazu Ken ("kaicho" of theKokusei-kai ) - Osaka"Hyogo wakanaka" (sons in Hyogo)
*
Toyohiko Nakamura ("kumicho" of the SecondOhira-gumi ) - Amagasaki
*Mikio Hosokawa ("kumicho" of theHosokawa-gumi ) - Amagasaki
*Kengo Shibata ("kaicho" of theShibata-kai ) - Kakogawa
*Fumio Ioku ("kaicho" of theIoku-kai ) - Kobe
*Yasuo-Onishi ("kumicho" of theOnishi-gumi ) - Himeji
*Takao Hosomi ("kumicho" of the SecondSato-gumi ) - Kobe
*Keiichi Furukawa ("kumicho" of the SecondFurukawa-gumi ) - Amagasaki
*Kazumi Kan ? ("kumicho" of the ThirdManabe-gumi ) - Amagasaki
*Takeshi Shimizu ("kumicho" of the SecondKishimoto-gumi ) - Kobe"Osaka wakanaka" (sons in Osaka)
*Osamu Kobayashi ("kumicho" of the Second
Nanbayasu-gumi ) - Sakai
*Masaki Nakano ? ("kumicho" of theNakano-gumi ) - Sakai
*Kenji Seiriki ("kaicho" of theSeiriki-kai ) - Osaka
*Kiyoshi Okuura ("kumicho" of theOkuura-gumi ) - Higashiosaka
*Keiji Asakawa ("kaicho" of theAsakawa-kai ) - Suita
*Keiji Hirayama ("kaicho" of the ThirdMinami-ikka ) - Osaka
*Masahiro Asai ("kumicho" of theAsai-gumi ) - Suita
*Tadashige Kamei ? ("kumicho" of the SecondMatsuyama-gumi ) - Higashiosaka
*Masahiko Kawasaki ("kaicho" of the SecondIsshin-kai ) - Osaka
*Kazuyoshi Kawaguchi ? ("kaicho" of the ThirdOgurumamakoto-kai ) - Osaka
*Shizuo Kojo ? ("kaicho" of theSoshin-kai ) - Osaka
*Takashi Nomura ? ("kaicho" of the ThirdHajime-kai ) - Osaka
*Hiromi Takagi ("kaicho" of the FifthHayano-kai ) - Osaka
*Koji Fukawa ? ("kumicho" of the SecondNakanishi-gumi ) - Osaka
*Hidetada Sadachi ? ("socho" of the ThirdOno-ikka ) - Osaka
*Morimasa Ota ("kaicho" of theOta-kai ) - Osaka
*Kenji Eguchi ("kaicho" of the SecondKenshin-kai ) - Osaka
*Teruhito Sato ? ("kumicho" of the SecondNakajima-gumi ) - Osaka
*Eiji Takano ("kumicho" of the ThirdOda-gumi ) - Osaka
*Osamu Okumura ("kumicho" of the SecondKatsuno-gumi ) - Osaka
*Ryuji Takemori ? ("kaicho" of the FourthSumida-kai ) - Osaka
*Shogo Sunouchi ("kaicho" of the SecondTosei-kai ) - Osaka"Ta-todofuken wakanaka" (sons in other prefectures)
*
Tetsuya Aono ("socho" of the SeventhIchiriki-ikka ) - Hamamatsu
*Katsuhiko Ozaki ("kumicho" of theOzaki-gumi ) - Tokushima
*Masashi Hamao ("kumicho" of theHamao-gumi ) - Yokohama
*Tadatoshi Yamada ("kumicho" of the SecondYajima-gumi ) - Imabari
*Tatsuo Nemoto ("kumicho" of the SecondKawauchi-gumi ) - Awara
*Toru Eguchi ("socho" of the ThirdIshii-ikka ) - Beppu
*Moritoshi Ono ? ("socho" of the SixthOshuaizukakusada-ikka ) - Aizuwakamatsu
*Haruo Nishibata ? ("kumicho" of the SixthSasaki-gumi ) - Wakayama
*Tora Kitajima ? ("kumicho" of the SecondSugi-gumi ) - Nagoya
*Tetsuo Kinko ("kaicho" of theKinko-kai ) - Fukuoka
*Yukinori Nasu ? ("kaicho" of the ThirdDaimon-kai ?) - Yatsushiro
*Satoru Shoda ("kaicho" of the SecondMatsuyama-kai ) - Matsuyama
*Toshimasa Shimada ("kumicho" of the SecondMasuda-gumi ) - Yokohama
*Mutsuo Asakawa ("socho" of the SecondAsakawa-ikka ) - Fukuoka
*Koichi Tsuda ("kumicho" of the SecondKuramoto-gumi ) - Nara
*Ken Kaimoto ("kaicho" of theKaimoto-kai ) - Nagoya
*Kazuharu Funaki ("kaicho" of the ThirdSeiyu-kai ) - Sapporo
*Shigenori Shinohara ("kumicho" of the SecondWakabayashi-gumi ) - Takamatsu
*Yasuo Takagi ("socho" of the SixthShimizu-ikka ) - Shizuoka
*Tatsuyuki Hishida ("kaicho" of the SecondAio-kai ) - Yokkaichi
*Katsuhiro Yamamoto ("kaicho" of the FifthGoyu-kai ) - Kochi
*Shinichi Tayasu ? ("kaicho" of the SecondShosei-kai ) - Kanazawa
*Kazuhiko Kakeno ("kumicho" of the SecondKondo-gumi ) - Gifu
*Masao Chaya ("socho" of theChayamasa-ikka ) - Sapporo
*Yuji Ochiai ("socho" of the SecondKonishi-ikka ) - Shizuoka
*Sakaki Kimura ("kaicho" of theKimura-kai ) - Matsuyama
*Utaro Morio ("kaicho" of theDaido-kai ) - Yonago
*Hideharu Fujii ? ("kaicho" of the FifthKokusui-kai ) - Tokyo
*Hisao Takahashi ("kumicho" of the SecondJizo-gumi ) - Kyoto
*Sanji Tanaka ? ("socho" of theInaba-ikka ) - Kumamoto
*Koji Miyamoto ("kaicho" of the FourthKitaoka-kai ) - Kamoto District
*Hatsuji Nakajima ? ("kumicho" of the FourthKoyama-gumi ) - Wakayama
*Kenji Fujiwara ("kumicho" of the ThirdKumamoto-gumi ) - Tamano
*Kenji Kiyota ("sosai" of the TenthSeto-ikka ) - Seto
*Hiroshi Tahori ? ("kaicho" of the SecondMeishin-kai ) - NagoyaRelief support after the Kobe Earthquake
Immediately after the Kobe Earthquake 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. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DF1E31F931A15752C0A963958260 QUAKE IN JAPAN: GANGSTERS; Gang in Kobe Organizes Aid for People In Quake] ] [YASUYUKI SAWADA, SATOSHI SHIMIZUTANI. (2008) How Do People Cope with Natural Disasters? Evidence from the Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake in 1995. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 40:2-3, 463-488]
Assassination of Iccho Itoh
On April 17, 2007,
Tetsuya Shiroo , a senior ranking member of the Yamaguchi-gumi, assassinatedIccho Itoh , the mayor of Nagasaki, over an apparent dispute over damage done to Shiroo's car at a public works construction site. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7202252.stm BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | I killed mayor - Japan 'gangster' ] ] On May 26, 2008 Tetsuya Shiroo was sentenced to death. [ [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23762086-2703,00.html Nagasaki mayor's yakuza killer to hang | The Australian ] ]References
External links
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3MeB0Lq3j0 NHK Documentary of 4th Kumicho]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cem3hUG2J7w&feature=related Youtube: Japanese Mafia Documentary: The Yamaguchi Yakuza Family 1]
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