Editing Yakuza (section)

== Origins ==
[[File:Tattooed-Helper-Yakuza-Ukiyo-e-by-Suzuki-Kinsen-1900.png|thumb|A yakuza with a dragon tattoo is running to help his comrade, who is fighting against the police.]]
[[File:Portrait-Chogoro-Yamamoto-(Shimizu-Jirocho).png|thumb|upright|Yakuza boss [[Shimizu Jirocho]] (Chogoro Yamamoto)]]
Despite uncertainty about the single origin of yakuza organizations, most modern yakuza derive from two social classifications which emerged in the mid-[[Edo period]] (1603–1868): ''[[tekiya]]'', those who primarily peddled [[Illicit trade|illicit]], stolen or shoddy goods; and ''[[bakuto]]'', those who were involved in or participated in [[Gambling in Japan|gambling]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dubro|first1=A.|last2=Kaplan|first2=David E.|title=Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan's Criminal Underworld|date=1986|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-201-11151-4|pages=18–21}}</ref>

''Tekiya'' (peddlers) ranked as one of the [[Four occupations|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.<ref>Joy, Alicia. "A Brief History of the Yakuza Organization". Culture Trip. Last modified 31 October 2016. https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-yakuza-organization/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001070204/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/japan/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-yakuza-organization/ |date=1 October 2018 }}.</ref> During [[Shinto]] [[Japanese festivals|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 racket|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.<ref name="kyotojournal.org">Raz, Jacob. "Insider Outsider: The Way of the Yakuza." Kyoto Journal. Last modified 17 April 2011. https://kyotojournal.org/society/insider-outsider/.</ref> This hierarchy resembles a structure similar to the family – in traditional [[Culture of Japan|Japanese culture]], the ''oyabun'' was often regarded as a surrogate father, and the ''kobun'' as surrogate children.<ref name="kyotojournal.org"/> During the Edo period, the government formally recognized the ''tekiya''. At this time, within the ''tekiya'', the ''oyabun'' were appointed as supervisors and granted near-[[samurai]] status, meaning they were allowed the dignity of a surname and two swords.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dubro |first1=A. |last2=Kaplan |first2=David E. |title=Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan's Criminal Underworld |date=1986 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-201-11151-4 |page=22 }}</ref>

''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 edges of towns and villages all over Japan.  Most of these gambling houses ran [[Loan shark|loan-sharking]] businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel. Society at large regarded the gambling houses themselves, as well as the ''bakuto'', with disdain. 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-Edo period and the predominance of the merchant class, developing yakuza groups were composed of misfits and delinquents who had joined or formed the groups to extort customers in local markets by selling fake or shoddy goods.{{Clarify|What "mid-period"? How gone from privileged merchants with swords to misfits? How did tekiya and bakuto come together?|date= March 2016}}

[[Shimizu Jirocho]] (1820–1893) is Japan's most famous yakuza and folk hero.<ref>{{cite book |title=Yakuza: Japan's Criminal Underworld |last1=Kaplan |first1=David E.|last2=Dubro |first2=Alec |year= 2012|publisher=the University of California Press |isbn= 978-0520215627|edition=25th Anniversary }}</ref> He was born Chogoro Yamamoto, but changed his name when he was adopted, a common Japanese practice.<ref name="jirocho">{{cite web |title=Portraits of Modern Japanese Historical Figures |publisher= National Diet Library, Japan |date=22 May 2007 |url=https://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/278.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190722171934/https://www.ndl.go.jp/portrait/e/datas/278.html |archive-date=22 July 2019}}</ref> His life and exploits were featured in sixteen films between 1911 and 1940.

The roots of the yakuza survive today in [[initiation ceremony|initiation ceremonies]], which incorporate tekiya or bakuto [[rituals]]. Although the modern Yakuza has diversified, some gangs still identify with one group or the other; for example, a gang whose primary source of income is illegal gambling may refer to themselves as ''bakuto''.

===Kyushu===
[[File:Japan Kyushu Region large.png|thumb|right|[[Kyushu]], a well-known source of many yakuza members]]
The island of [[Kyushu]] (and particularly its northern prefecture [[Fukuoka Prefecture|Fukuoka]]) has a reputation for being a large source of yakuza members,<ref name="JapaneseJusticeJohnson2002">{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=David T. |title=The Japanese way of justice: prosecuting crime in Japan |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford [England] ; New York |isbn=9780195119862 }}</ref> including many renowned bosses in the [[Yamaguchi-gumi]].<ref name="Baradel 2021 pp. 74–91">{{cite journal | last=Baradel | first=Martina | title=Yakuza Grey: The Shrinking of the Il/legal Nexus and its Repercussions on Japanese Organised Crime | journal=Global Crime | volume=22 | issue=1 | date=2021-01-02 | issn=1744-0572 | doi=10.1080/17440572.2020.1813114 | pages=74–91}}</ref> Isokichi Yoshida (1867–1936) from the [[Kitakyushu]] area was considered by some scholars and political watchers as one of the first renowned modern yakuza.<ref name="Siniawer 2012 pp. 623–641">{{cite journal | last=Siniawer | first=E. M. | title=Befitting Bedfellows: Yakuza and the State in Modern Japan | journal=Journal of Social History | volume=45 | issue=3 | date=2012-03-01 | issn=0022-4529 | doi=10.1093/jsh/shr120 | pages=623–641}}</ref> Recently [[Shinobu Tsukasa]] and Kunio Inoue, the bosses of the two most powerful clans in the Yamaguchi-gumi, originate from Kyushu. [[Fukuoka Prefecture|Fukuoka]], the northernmost part of the island, has the largest number of [[#Designated bōryokudan|designated syndicates]] among all of the prefectures.<ref>{{cite news |last1=High concentration of |first1=Yakuza within Fukuoka |title=Fukuoka to offer financial help for gangsters trying to leave crime syndicates |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/02/20/national/crime-legal/fukuoka-offer-financial-help-gangsters-trying-leave-crime-syndicates/ |access-date=30 August 2022 |agency=www.japantimes.co.jp |date=20 February 2018}}</ref>