Yakuza

The Yakuza is an organized crime network of Japanese origin which is now worldwide. The Yakuza is a gigantic organized crime syndicate that has operated in and around Japan for hundreds of years. It has been one of the most powerful organizations on since the late 18th century, and its members are both respected and feared by the populace.Originally from Japan in the 2020s the organization reached out and have been established worldwide.
The word "Yakuza" comes from Sammai Karuta, a Japanese gambling game. In which getting 19 points is the ideal. If you drew the number 20 which was Eight (Ya), Nine (Ku), and Three (Za), it was called "good for nothing".
The Yakuza has spread globally as successfully as the Japanese corporations. In the Yakuza there are only two paths, death or prison. They are among the most violent of all organized crime groups and possibly the most widespread. It has a larger membership than the Mafia. They are based in the Osaka region back in Japan. Due to extensive infiltration of the local police in Japan by the Yakuza, the National Police Agency (Japan's FBI) has been unable to crack the Yakuza which is made worse by the pressure placed on the overworked police by the Yakuza-influenced Osaka corporations.
It is involved in a wide variety of criminal activities, from smuggling to gambling, the drug trade to prostitution, and so on. Unlike the Triads who invest a large part of their profits back into the community, the Yakuza like the Sudams and some of the Mafia organizations shows no concern for its community and is concerned only about making money.
Despite uncertainty about the single origin of yakuza organizations, most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo period (1603–1868): tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen, or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.
Tekiya (peddlers) were considered one of the lowest social groups during the Edo period. As they began to form organizations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities. During Shinto festivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair.
The tekiya were a highly structured and hierarchical group with the oyabun (boss) at the top and kobun (gang members) at the bottom. This hierarchy resembles a structure similar to the family as the oyabun was often regarded as a surrogate father, and the kobun as surrogate children. During the Edo period, the tekiya were formally recognized by the government. At this time, the oyabun were appointed as supervisors and granted near-samurai status, meaning they were allowed the dignity of a surname and two swords.
Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was illegal. Many small gambling houses cropped up in abandoned temples or shrines at the edge of towns and villages all over Japan. Most of these gambling houses ran loan sharking businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel. The places themselves, as well as the bakuto, were regarded with disdain by society at large, and much of the undesirable image of the Yakuza originates from bakuto; this includes the name Yakuza itself.
Because of the economic situation during the mid-period and the predominance of the merchant class, developing Yakuza groups were composed of misfits and delinquents that had joined or formed Yakuza groups to extort customers in local markets by selling fake or shoddy goods.
The roots of the Yakuza can still be seen today in initiation ceremonies, which incorporate tekiya or bakuto rituals. Although the modern Yakuza has diversified, some gangs still identified with one group or the other.

Type

Illicit, Syndicate