Yakuza a 400-year history of the japanese underworld
The definitive history of Japanese organized crime, from its origins in samurai-era black markets and gambling rings to the shadowy syndicates of the present Japan's gangster groups, known collectively as the yakuza, are among the oldest underworld societies in the world. With military-style organiz...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, NY :
Basic Books,
2026.
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| Edition: | First Edition. |
| Subjects: | |
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| Summary: | The definitive history of Japanese organized crime, from its origins in samurai-era black markets and gambling rings to the shadowy syndicates of the present Japan's gangster groups, known collectively as the yakuza, are among the oldest underworld societies in the world. With military-style organization and a code of absolute obedience, they have run Japan's black markets for centuries. They have remained strikingly conspicuous in Japanese society, and as a cultural force beyond Japan, with movies and video games celebrating their exploits globally. Andrew Rankin offers the first comprehensive history of the yakuza, from their emergence out of seventeenth-century samurai gang culture to the present day. Though their activities have always encompassed illegal gambling and sex trafficking, the yakuza have also aggressively maintained business interests in private security, the construction industry, the entertainment industry, and debt collection. Yakuza bosses acquired a degree of legitimacy by styling themselves as peacekeepers maintaining order at society's bottom end. Yet that legitimacy has come into doubt in recent years as Japan's contracting economy has pushed the yakuza into increasingly predatory criminal activities. Featuring a lively cast of extortionists, smugglers, hit men, and corporate crime lords, Yakuza is a fascinating tour of Japan's sprawling mob syndicates and the cultural traditions with which they are so deeply intertwined. |
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| Physical Description: | 390 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 361-370) and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781541607675 1541607678 |
| Author Notes: |
