![]({"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zKIX9LM6L._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[333,499],"https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zKIX9LM6L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg":[231,346]})
The Yakuza are one of the most fascinating criminal organizations in the world. Authors David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro work to sort the fact from the fiction. Separating the lies that they're the descendants of exiled samurai from their true origins as gambler groups working with street peddlers that became incredibly powerful post-Mejii Restoration.
The Yakuza have a shocking history that includes the fact they've militarized numerous time and become Far Right paramilitary organizations while simultaneously being bastions for Japan's lowest castes or ethnic minorities (about 15% of the Yakuza are Korean or Burakumin). Rather offhandedly, the authors mention how the Yakuza sent a bunch of ninja-trained soldiers to kill the Queen of Korea. I had to double-check this one to make sure it was correct. They were also responsible for countless assassinations of public officials that helped the rise of Imperial Japan.
The biggest flaw of Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld is the fact the text is surprisingly on the dry side. The pair of authors mostly document the systematic web of corruption the Yakuza have managed to weave around Japan's corporations, government, and public. Japan has one of the lowest crime-rates in the world and this turns out to be because the police mostly ignore the 100K+ gangsters among them.
The Yakuza keep crime in Japan organized and out of sight in a way that, ironically, that makes it very public. Yakuza openly wear badges of their status (though many executives forgo the extensive tattooing that mark their allegiance), advertise their organization's buildings with signs, and can be found in the phone book. The book details many of the shockingly corrupt business practices that leave them with a big chunk of the country's entertainment industry, construction, and loan firms.
Ultimately, the book suffers a bit for the fact that it would have been more interesting to get into nitty-gritty of Yakuza interior culture separate from the mostly-chronological story of their biggest scandals as well as activities from the beginning of their modern incarnation to the present day. As such, this book isn't quite as flashy as it could have been.
On the other hand, you can tell a book is worthwhile by the fact the Yakuza both simultaneously participated in the creation of it as well as pressured companies not to release its contents due to the naming of names as well as revelation of the fact the Yakuza had so many minority members (which is a open secret of all things).
8/10
- Paperback: 426 pages
- Publisher: University of California Press; 25th Anniversary edition (October 22, 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9780520274907
- ISBN-13: 978-0520274907
- ASIN: 0520274903
- Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Average Customer Review: 30 customer reviews
-
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#346,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #605 in Japanese History (Books)
- #416 in Asian History (Books)
- #659 in Organized Crime True Accounts
Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
