Huh. So are there different kinds of Yakuza, like mafia types and street gangs?

No it's nothing like that at all. I only said Eastcoast v.s Westcoast, because that's the only American regional conflict that comes to mind. If you're referring to the current Yakuza violence that ocurred a couple days ago, it's just a typical mob war between rival Yakuza clans. (Think of mobsters getting hit full of holes with tommy guns by rival mobsters, that's the magnitude of the current conflict at hand.) The only difference is that the mob war is happening out in the open for everybody to see. (Most Yakuza conflicts are usually settled through diplomacy before it escalates into a big ass gang war.) I don't really understand your question, well some Yakuza actualy do dress like Street gangs. Not really sure why that matters though. Some Yakuza even hire local street gangs to pull off some hits. (Though most of the time Yakuza try to keep the city clean from all street gang activity so they tend to eradicate all street gangs that gain too much influence.) Juvenile delinquents are usually classified as Yankii. The game Kenka Bancho provides a comedic outlook on the Yanki life style. http://www.kenkabancho.com/ Yakuza from Kansai aren't petty street gangs at all, they're just as organized as their Kanto counterparts. Kansai just happen to share all the "kinki" Osakan stereotypes that's commonly associated with them. They walk,look, & talk in a certain way that I can't really describe, because I'm not sure what the American equivalent would be. Only thing I can really say is that the woman in my sig is Osakan, & it shows, because she looks like she could pass for Okinawan. (Although she is japanese she doesn't really "look Japanese.") The j-pop chick, Minmi is another good example of an Osakan. (She also looks kinda foriegn.) I'm guessing this quote from the link is confusing you. After investigation by the Central Anti-Organized Crime Unit (警視庁組織犯罪対策課）and the local police, they determined that the murdered man was a member of the well-known Sumiyoshi-kai Yakuza Gang (these gangs are more commonly referred to as 暴力団 , “boryokudan”, which means literally “violence gang” in Japanese). That just refers to the man being part of the group of Yakuza that you usually see in the movies. Instead of the gambler or the extorsionist type, he comes from a group of badasses that's similar to Shimano's crew in Ryu Ga Gotoku. (Think of how overtly violent the Chinese Triads/Tongs usually are & imagine what they would be like if they were influenced by the more westernized Yakuza.)

Huh, I just always thought Yakuza were pretty secretive about their criminal acts, I didn't think they actually whacked guys on the street.

This is quickly becoming a facinating thread to me.

I heard there's a gay branch of the Yakuza that whacks off guys on the streets.

Yeah in films like Sonatine, Takeshi Kitano kidnap a guy and tie him to a crane and lower him in and out of the water because he said he wouldn't pay the Yakuza the protection money. Would these types of things ever happen? I mean maybe not this elaborate of course (:P) but this type of crazy violence over something small like that, just to keep face?

Man, Sonatine was a great film. Actually after playing Be Like a Dragon 2, I want to know more about the hostess bars. They seem like they are "clean," and the dirty business happens after you spend enough. Yeah, I couldn't shake the idea after playing the game, so I gotta know more. My Yakuza question is about how well do they emulate the old ways of the Samurai? Do the gang bosses have swords? Are they important to their family? Or is it all just an old way of doing business? Oh, and I have a general Japanese question. Do the Japanese use American women alot in advertising? My school buys video tape in bulk, and it looks like it comes straight from Japan. The best part is the hot Blonde/red haired woman who is on the tape wrappers and boxes.

but this type of crazy violence over something small like that, just to keep face? I wouldn't be suprised if they did. Remember my example of Las Vegas. (As Vegas is pretty similar to Japan itself.) Most people who visit say it's just a city for old people & slot machines, what they don't realize is how much underworld shit & crooked cops that actually operate behind the scenes. As can be verified by my bro who used to manage a casino in Vegas. Hell one time I was at a mall & I saw these Puerto Rican kids planning a heist, they actually didn't mind that I was listening in to their convo, coz I get a shit load of respect at Vegas, (I look like a high rolla.) Unlike here in Seattle where people treat moi like I don't exist. (I don't blame them though, I wouldn't be too sure of myself either since it's very uncommon to see someone like I up in Washinton state.) What's hilarrious is the next day on the local news a bank actually did get robbed. Actually after playing Be Like a Dragon 2, I want to know more about the hostess bars. They seem like they are "clean," and the dirty business happens after you spend enough. Yeah, I couldn't shake the idea after playing the game, so I gotta know more. Heh heh , you imported the game? Badass music huh. Especially the Korean gang, Gingohan. Women at Hostess bars are only meant to acompany you & engage in conversation, but sometimes relationships or a couple of flings result from the conversation, but it is not required for Hostess women to sleep with their patrons. As it's more of an extra bonus that just happens sometimes. My Yakuza question is about how well do they emulate the old ways of the Samurai? Do the gang bosses have swords? Are they important to their family? Or is it all just an old way of doing business? Well most Yakuza bosses do tend to have that fuedal samurai look going on since they're usually seen in kimono garb... I wouldn't know since many yakuza clans are different. I guess some retain their shogun like loyalty just like the old days, but most of the time Yakuza are more like dirty politicians/buissness men with guns & swords (Not katanas mind you, I'm refferring to the lilttle secondary sword that samurais sometimes used in combination with their katana.) They only care about the profit. I think Matsuken from Killer 7 is a good example of a Yakuza. (Although he's not a yakuza at all, he's a politician.) Oh, and I have a general Japanese question. Do the Japanese use American women alot in advertising? My school buys video tape in bulk, and it looks like it comes straight from Japan. The best part is the hot Blonde/red haired woman who is on the tape wrappers and boxes. Japan is one of the only countries in the world that actually whore out & prostitute caucasian women. Yes Japan & most of asia hire Foreign women or sometimes Eurasians for their advertising all the time. White Caucasian women are what you usually see if the product wasn't endorsed by a local popular celebrity.

Life is getting harder for Colourful Yakuza...
AN interesting post from Outpost nine. http://www.outpostnine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9942 That I will shamefully repost here... For a 39 yr. old, she's quite a looker. (She's a living example of why I don't trust random beautiful women who approach moi for no reason. They could be mobster affiliated like she is.) Official site http://shoko-tendo.com/index.html http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUST26750520070903 Gangster daughter sheds light on Japan underworld Mon Sep 3, 2007 4:53AM EDT By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) - With her dyed-brown long hair and tight designer jeans, Shoko Tendo looks like any other stylish young Japanese woman -- until she removes her shirt to reveal the vivid tattoos covering her back and most of her body. The elaborate dragons, phoenixes and a medieval courtesan with one breast bared and a knife between her teeth are a symbol of Tendo's childhood as the daughter of a "yakuza" gangster and her youth as a drug-using gang member. The author of "Yakuza Moon," a best-selling memoir just out in English, the 39-year-old Tendo says that police efforts to eradicate the gangsters have merely made them harder to track. "The more the police push, the more the yakuza are simply going underground, making their activities harder to follow than they ever were before," she told Reuters in a recent interview. Police say full-fledged membership in yakuza groups fell to 41,500 last year, down from 43,000 in 2005, a decline they attribute to tighter laws against organized crime. The number of yakuza hangers-on, including thugs and members of motorcycle gangs, who are willing to do their dirty work, though, rose marginally to 43,200. More shocking for many in Japan, where gun-related crime is rare, were a handful of fatal shootings by yakuza earlier this year, including the killing of the mayor of Nagasaki. Tendo said the shootings were a result of the legal crackdown on yakuza, which has made it harder for them to ply their traditional trades of prostitution, drugs and bid-rigging. "They're being forced into a corner, their humanity taken away," she said. "All the things they used to do for a living have been made illegal, so life has become very hard." SOCIAL DISPARITY Experts say this is especially true for gangsters in less affluent parts of Japan, a reflection of the same sort of income gaps that increasingly plague the nation as a whole. "Yakuza need a lot of money, but depending on where they are, business isn't going so well," said Nobuo Komiya, a criminology professor at Tokyo's Rissho University. "So they turn to guns." Descended from medieval gamblers and outlaws, yakuza were long portrayed as latter-day samurai, bound by traditions of honor and duty and living extravagant lives. Tendo's father, the leader of a gang linked to the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest yakuza group, led a "classic" yakuza life replete with Italian suits, imported cars and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Raised with strict ideas of honor, she was both spoiled and scolded by the tattooed men who frequented her family home. But she also faced prejudice and bullying because of her father. In response, she joined a gang, took drugs and become the lover of several gangsters before near-fatal beatings and drug overdoses convinced her to change her life. Now a writer and mother, Tendo has distanced herself from the yakuza world, which she feels is rapidly losing its traditions. Being a gang member is not illegal in Japan, and until recently the gangs were known for openness. Their offices even posted signs with their names and membership lists inside. Gangs cooperated with police, handing over suspects in return for police turning a blind eye to yakuza misdemeanors, but this broke down after organized crime laws were toughened in 1992. AGEING GANGSTERS The largest part of yakuza income now comes from pursuits involving stocks, property and finance. "What we're going to see from here on is the yakuza becoming more structured, like the U.S. Mafia, and dividing itself between business experts and violence experts," said Manabu Miyazaki, a writer whose father was also a yakuza. "As the world becomes more borderless, they'll need experts who can deal with this too, speaking Chinese and English." Like Japan as a whole, gangsters are also ageing, and fewer young people look to organized crime as a career option. Police figures showed fewer than 20 percent of yakuza were in their 20s in 2005, a trend both Tendo and Miyazaki attributed to young people's dislike for the tough life involved. "They think being a yakuza is like joining a company," Miyazaki said. "There's a joke about a young man going to a gang office and asking what the salary was, and would he get insurance." But while today's yakuza are eschewing tattoos and amputated fingers -- cut off to atone for mistakes -- in favor of more mainstream lifestyles, they are unlikely to disappear altogether. "Fewer people want to become yakuza," Miyazaki said. "But those who do will be very logical, very scary -- and much, much more dangerous." BTW In case y'all have forgotten I'm reposting pics of a yakuza that a friend sent to me. Here's a pic I have of a Yakuza who was chilling at a Yakuza owned club called Xross at Roppongi. (Pic & story is from my friend, so I only know what she told moi.) The Yakuza is the cat in the brown coat & eye glasses. (There's a black guy in the background.) She told moi that all the mcs (rappers) at the club kept kissing up to that yakuza guys ass. (Even though he was piss poor at both rapping & beat boxing.) She wanted to ask moi for verification on wheter or not he's a Yakuza.. (Since I too at one time was gang related.) Originally I assumed that he was just some hot shot record exec, but according to my own experiences I know for a fact that people will constantly brownnose around you if you're a known gangster. (This is done in order to ensure that you do not upset the gangster. Coz damn if he gets mad you're going home in a body bag & your girl is going to be starring in the next feat. length porn,hah hah.) So in the end I concluded that this guy truly is part of the game. You can't see it in the picture, but there's actually a balcony at the very top where all the Yakuza at XROSS hang out at.

Interesting study near the end. That's pretty funny, less young people wanting to join a gang in Japan because they're concerned more about their future. The complete opposite of over here, where gang life is glorified and people are more concerned with looking tough than thinking ahead. I suggest they start outsourcing jobs if they need more Yakuza recruits, we've got enough 'shit for brains' in this country who don't hesitate to shoot a man to death because of an argument. Take them, we'll even box them up for you. Of course this really might be because of a more intellectual factor, since people in Japan study hard and a staggering number of people over here are, to put it bluntly, the human equivalent of excrement. It seems to me that certain places in America could actually use their own Yakuza gang, because that would help bring some order to places that need it, and keep the brainless punks in line.

We need some Henry Oaks. Don't bother waiting to see if they've got something interesting to say, just waste the motherfuckers. Or better yet, we should start arming our hobos, and let them dispense justice. One shell at a time.