The Yakuza - Mafia of Japan

The Yakuza are members of a Japanese crime syndicate that were founded back in the 17th Century, during the mid-Edo period.
They very much see themselves as a Ninkyo Dantai, a ‘Chivalrous Organization’, that prides itself on tradition, family and maintaining a strict code of conduct.

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Credit:
Created by Daniel Turner
Script: Conan White
Narrator:

Chris Kane

Music Credit

Sources:

Ruffians, Yakuza, Nationalists: The Violent Politics of Modern Japan, 1860–1960
By Eiko Maruko Siniawer
An Economic History of Organized Crime: A National and Transnational Approach
By Dennis M. P. McCarthy
Understanding Organized Crime
By Stephen L. Mallory
Organized Crime
By Howard Abadinsky
Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld
By David E. Kaplan, Alec Dubro

[niceguyish]

So you're telling me they don't breakdance during fist fights, sing sad karaoke, or race toy cars?

Everything I knew up to this point was a lie

[Prizrak]

What Simple History taught me:
1. If someone's face looks detailed, they're probably important
2. Actual History

[JustADioWhosAHeroForFun]

Take note that all of the Yakuza games by Sega were all approved by the actual Yakuza

[.adeyogaaditamaputra]

fun fact : when the first president of Indonesia visiting Japan, the Japanese government refused to give escort to the president. after that the president hired Yakuza to do their escort.

[walker]

Trivia:

The children's show "Bob the Builder" had to be revised in Japan. In the UK and US versions, Bob had 4 fingers. In Japan, the humans were made to have 5 fingers instead of 4, as a man having 4 fingers indicates their membership with the Yakuza. It's part of Japanese culture and society at the time.

[copanemaipacabana]

I'm Japanese and I want you to note:
The term "YAKUZA" is very humiliating to those people. They never use that word to refer to themselves. They prefer to call themselves "GOKUDO".

[thegodpowers]

Your not a true Yakuza member until you sing Baka Mitai at a Karaoke bar after beating up some drunk hooligans near an empty lot

[silvius]

*Me with a small heart tattoo on my hand*
"Can I enter the hot spring?"

*Japanese People* :

[johnb.]

Not a gamer but YAKUZA games are some of the best games I’ve ever played

[michaelwang]

10:45 that was a long pause when you were expecting more dialogue.

[quebec__]

In 2011, March 11, When an Earthquake and Tsunami hit Tokyo and Kobe Regions in Japan; The Yakuza managed to send out goods faster than the government.


Edit: Changed typhoon to tsunami and earthquake. Given more information.

[hitnailhalfway]

"In Japan. Heart surgeon. Number one. Steady hand. One day, Yukaza boss
need new heart. I do operation, but mistake! Yukaza boss die! Yukaza
very mad! I hide in fishing boat, come to America. No English, no food,
no money. Darryl give me job. Now I have house, American car and new
woman. Darryl save life. My big secret: I kill Yukaza boss on purpose. I
good surgeon, the best!"

[Xyt_EliteMajor]

Who wins:
A weeb with power of anime and hentai
or
A guy in blacksuit without a pinky and armed with an uzi

[justin]

Fun fact about Yakuza’s tattoos: This tradition originates from back before Meiji years when the criminals were tattooed about their crimes each time they were brought in to jails.

[YourJudgeLaw]

When you hear this narrators voice, *you know the video is going to be good.*

[justint.]

8:13 Why tf is Obama in the gun fight?

[thebrazilianhistorian]

A Friend sent this on our group chat, our Japanese friend answered: "Me and the boys"

[aveenvp]

When I was a teacher's aide a few years back, in a classroom of Japanese exchange students age 19-20, I had this one kid who was for sure Yakuza.

He had spiked, bleached hair, and I always saw him outside our classroom smoking. He had no friends. He would always wear long sleeves, and when his collar slipped I saw that he had a full body suit of tattoos. Finally, when I asked him what he wanted to do as a career, all he would say was "I will work for my father's business".

[rehm]

Imagine being a rapper visiting Japan and trying to go to a hot spring

[Grunge_Cycling]

You failed to mention that the Yakuza played a huge role in maintaining social stability during the post-WWII period when the feudal government was rendered useless, and the nation's pride and masculinity destroyed by the nuclear bombs. People looked to these "criminals" to settle neighbourly disputes and maintain basic security.