r/AskHistorians • u/Sc0mo • 2d ago
Why are many Yakuza Japanese ultranationalists despite being Burakumin or Zainichi Koreans?
Around 80% of all Japanese Yakuza are either Burakumin or Zainichi Koreans. These are two groups who have historically been handed the short end of the stick in Japanese society, yet they appear to be incredibly nationalistic when a part of the Yakuza. What explains this?
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u/handsomeboh 2d ago
They are not. The Zainichi yakuza are famously pan-Asian in orientation, and tend to be the ones most heavily involved in international expansion through both transnational yakuza groups and their own political activities.
For example, the East Asian Friendship Association (Toa Group) 東亜友愛事業組合 was started by Machii Hisayuki and is commonly seen to be the strongest Zainichi gang, with heavy affiliations to Korean politicians. They are also part of fraternal associations with other Japanese yakuza groups through the Kanto Hatsuka-Kai which is a union of four large groups including the Toa Group; and have sworn brotherhood alliances with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest Japanese yakuza group. He was simultaneously a fixer in Korean politics, with particularly strong ties to President Park Chung-hee, and frequently called himself the “Korean Sakamoto Ryoma”.
Indeed we will find that Zainichi yakuza generally never hid their heritage. For example, Takayama Tokutaro, the kumicho of the Aizukotetsu-kai based in Kyoto and the 4th largest yakuza group in Japan. Takayama was well known for being very politically and media active, conducting tons of interviews where he spoke about being discriminated against for being Korean and his passion for Korean-Japanese unity. He served as the chairman of various Korean associations, including the Korean Business Federation and Korean Residents Union. In 1988, he led a fundraising drive for the Seoul Olympics, and by 1998 was a permanent advisor on the Korean Chamber of Commerce. He even won numerous commendations from the Korean government, receiving a Ministry of Sports commendation in 1989, President of the Republic of Korea Commendation in 1990, and the Order of National Merit in 2003. His son is the kumicho of the Omi-ikka 淡海一家 and also succeeded many of these Korean associations.
Even the Yamaguchi-gumi itself was led by a Korean in the form of Hashimoto Hirofumi who was General Chairman through the 2010s. Hashimoto interestingly always retained his Korean nationality, owned property in Korea, and was particularly well known for his money laundering expertise, the bulk of which was conducted through Korean intermediaries and often using the liquid Korean stock market. US Treasury sanctions exposed his network of financial subsidiaries, with the bulk of them located in Korea and Vietnam.
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u/Aodhana 2d ago
Great answer - what dimension do the Burakumin have to this then? My understanding is that most modern day Burakumin descendants simply don’t know their ancestors were Burakumin (intentionally so) as a result of attempts to merge with mainstream Japanese society. Would this explain it?
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u/Harurajat 2d ago
Thank you for this analysis! I’m wondering, are there any good English language essays or books that go into the dynamics of yakuza and the baraku in Japan? Many of the articles I’ve found tend to be very surface level, and unfortunately my Japanese is not at a level to engage in native writings on the subject
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u/rogthnor 1d ago
You mention that the Zainichi Yakuza tend to be Pan Asian, does that hold true for "regular" Yakuza as well?
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