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Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Louise Heal (Translator), Miyazaki Manabu (Afterword) "I was born in the winter of 1968, a yakuza's daughter..." (more)
Key Phrases: tattoo master, pachinko parlor, love hotel, Shoko Tendo, New Year
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tendo, the daughter of a yakuza (mob) boss, grew up in 1970s and '80s Japan, living through the booms and busts of life on the wrong side of the law. Her first published work, Shoko uses unpracticed but appropriately blunt prose to memoir her exceedingly arduous life; readers will appreciate her restrained but powerful details, especially during some of the harsher scenes. From age 12 onwards, Shoko's life was enveloped in drug addiction, poverty, psychological and sexual abuse, miscarriage, attempted suicide and the deaths of many close family members, set against a backdrop of Japan's ultra-secretive yakuza society. Admiration and a detached style keep Tendo from exploring any resentment she might harbor toward her criminal father, which may prove off-putting for some, but feels entirely honest given the emotional trauma Tendo suffers, and is as revealing for what it includes as for what it doesn't. Emotionally complex and thoroughly heart-rending, this book is recommended for anyone searching for a more thorough and personal understanding of Japanese society, and its darker corners, than is offered by more popular Japanese imports (movies, comic books) featuring similar subject matter.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review

"Raised with strict ideas of honor, [Tendo] was both spoiled and scolded by the tattooed men who frequented her family home. In response she joined a gang, took drugs and became the lover of several gangsters before near-fatal beatings and drug overdoses convinced her to change her life."
-Reuters

"Tendo . . . hails from a section of Japanese society that most of her compatriots would rather did not exist. Her story . . . shines a light into a dark and little understood corner of modern Japan."
-The Guardian

"Emotionally complex and thoroughly heart-rending, this book is recommended for anyone searching for a more thorough and personal understanding of Japanese society."
-Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Kodansha International (July 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 4770030428
  • ISBN-13: 978-4770030429
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #377,638 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Shoko Tendo
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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I was born in the winter of 1968, a yakuza's daughter. Read the first page
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tattoo master, pachinko parlor, love hotel
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Shoko Tendo, New Year
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Customer Reviews

31 Reviews
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 (8)
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 (11)
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Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Bloody Moon, March 23, 2008
By Daitokuji31 (Black Glass) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)      
Whereas the samurai encapsulates the image of the pre-modern ideal of Japanese masculinity through his martial skill, stoic nature, self discipline, and code of honor, the yakuza, Japanese gangster, supposedly carries on a number of these traditions in the modern, or post-modern, world, especially the codes of honor and respect for not only his superiors but his inferiors. Wearing traditional Japanese garb, an expensive Western suit, or a loud aloha shirt, pockets full of money from sometimes questionable businesses, and carrying centuries of culture within his being, the yakuza has come to fascinate not only the Japanese populace, but the world at large through primarily his depiction in film and crime novels.

Shoko Tendo is the second daughter and third child of the yakuza oyabun, Japanese gang boss, Hiroyasu Tendo and she witnessed his great excesses and eventual downfall, but she was not involved in the gang herself and therefore is unable or not willing to expunge deeply upon the topic of her father's involvement with the yakuza, but instead writes on her life and how her father's being a yakuza would affect her life for years to come. It is for this very reason that I believe that a number of Western readers are disappointed with Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter. They are looking for a memoir that will feed into their cinematic/stereotypical ideals of what Tendo's life should be like, but instead they receive a thin tome written by a woman who suffered from continuous abuse at the hands of men who were yakuza and these men, instead of being paragons of virtue, Japanese tradition, and honor are alcoholic, cowardly dope fiends who beat on those weaker than them and cower from those who are stronger.

What Tendo gives the reader is a cathartic, honest account of a woman who is connected to the shady crime underworld and how it ostracizes her from mainstream Japanese society. Scoffed at by her teachers, neighbors, and classmates after her father is imprisoned, Tendo becomes a yanki, female delinquent and gang member, and finds herself growing addicted to a number of narcotics starting off with huffing paint thinner to injecting heroin daily all the while drifting from detention centers to abusive relationships. At times, it seems she finds peace, but eventually these fleeting moments are shattered by harsh reality.

Another criticism that I have read concerning the memoir is that it is poorly written, and that it seems like a sordid tale written by a grade-schooler. Tendo herself apologizes about the writing in the book's afterward stating that she has next to zero formal education (she nearly ceased doing school work after elementary school, having become a yanki at 12). Leaving the quality of writing behind, Tendo does have the tendency to foreshadow in a sophomoric way and her moralizing is a bit weak, but the bare bones honesty of a woman opening her heart to the reader makes the overall read overcome its limitations in craft. A fine memoir that attempts to shatter some of the stereotypes associated with the yakuza, Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter makes for a quick and enlightening read on the subject of the Japanese underworld.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice first try., October 22, 2007
By Caie (Chicago) - See all my reviews
This was supposed to be a weekend business trip filler. It ended up just a 4 hour plane ride and a few more hours in the hotel. I gave it 4 stars though becasue I couldn't put the book down. But I am a voyeur and this book really delivers on the exhibitionism. This is really just a Jerry Springer story with a happy ending. However, I am a Japanophile, so this book held my interest more than the same story about a girl from say, Hamilton, Ohio would have. I met several girls like the author while living in Japan and I can say the story does ring very true. This is a great, fast read if you are into Japanese culture, otherwise you may find it a bit maudlin.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Life of a Yakuza Daughter, September 9, 2007
By Abel Garcia (Isleton, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
A great read, was hard to put down once I got started. Not at all the type of life you would expect from a family that was once very powerful.

Her child hood bullying, drug use during her teen years, and horrible relationships with men in the past serve as a warning that just because a life style may appear to be glamorous does not mean that it is.

Told with shocking truth, Shoko Tendo's memoir is a great read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest Expression
I'm so far from truly understanding the author that it's comical --- but I related to her every word. Read more
Published 3 days ago by H. Fitzgerald

3.0 out of 5 stars Painful
I expected an inside look at the Yakuza from the viewpoint of someone raised in that culture and in the family of a Yakuza boss, unfortunately this was not the case. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Christopher Goodwin

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly intriguing and fascinating story that is sure to please any true crime reader
What's it like, growing up in a family of crime? "Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter" is the memoir of Shoko Tendo, born to a member of a street gang. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Midwest Book Review

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-destruction on speed.
This book was a lot of what I was looking for. After reading the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx I wanted another true life real and gritty and seedy story to sink my teeth into... Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Wood

4.0 out of 5 stars Intense and poignant
I read this book in one go; considering I have never done that before, it says a lot for the intensity and breathtaking reality of the memoir. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Betty Gelean

2.0 out of 5 stars Yakusa's history
Interesting book, but not exceptional. Many young people lives in this criminal underworld with violence, drugs, and sex. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Carsten V. Rasmussen

4.0 out of 5 stars It's a page turner
This book is well written in painting a picture for the reader's imagination, and giving the reader feeling how the Yakuza and their family carry out their lives in JapYakuza... Read more
Published 11 months ago by A. Aladsani

3.0 out of 5 stars Yakuza Moon - memoir
Gritty, tragic memoir as told by a recovered, Japanese speed freak revealing a world of teenage addicts, gangsters, loansharks and prostitutes and the downward spiral it all has... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Frank Bernarducci

5.0 out of 5 stars raw, tender, heart-breaking, empowering
this book is extremely simple in language and description. That makes it more personal and as she runs through her life, there is a certain closeness you feel to the author. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Joanne Goh

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Someone else wrote that this book had a title misleading title. I would agree that is somewhat true, simply because I thought this woman took up the gangster way of life simply... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Joe Chang

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