Chapter 2: Yakuza and Chokusan

Yesterday, Takeuchi Toshio, while heavily intoxicated at a nightclub, went to the restroom and was injected with a large dose of insulin.
The symptoms of sudden death from alcohol-induced hypoglycemia and from an overdose of insulin are very similar.
Moreover, it was 1985, and Japan had just begun promoting second-generation insulin, so the public’s understanding of insulin was not as profound as it would be in later years.
Combined with the Japanese police’s lax autopsy system, Seiko was 99% certain that the Japanese police would not trace it back to her.

The portrayal of Japanese police in Unnatural (a Japanese drama) is not a smear.
A classic practice of Japanese police is to summarily list the cause of death for poisoned bodies as “food poisoning.”
This is because “poisoning” cases could be urgent murder investigations that, if unsolved, would negatively impact performance, while “food poisoning” could be attributed to the deceased eating something wrong themselves.
See, another crime nipped in the bud by the police.
This explains why Japan has so many Yakuza yet such a low crime rate—it’s all thanks to the diligent efforts of the Japanese police!
With such dedicated police officers, Seiko naturally dared to assure her grandfather that the police would absolutely not find out she was behind the case.

After listening to Seiko’s account and assurances, Yamagami Nobuo’s emotions were complex.
He merely instructed Seiko to “receive the guests well” and then waved his hand, dismissing her.

“Miss Seiko, the old Kumicho isn’t in good health, and he’s also suffering from the loss of his son. When you’re with him, try to say some comforting words to console him…”
Murakami Eishi had remained outside the study and didn’t know what Seiko and Yamagami Nobuo had discussed, but out of concern, he offered some advice.
Seiko glanced at Murakami Eishi, then sighed after a moment, shaking her head.
Murakami Eishi was utterly bewildered by Seiko’s gaze, inexplicably feeling a sense of disdain from her.

The truth wasn’t far off; Seiko was indeed looking down on Murakami Eishi.
Murakami Eishi’s background was similar to Takeuchi Toshio’s.
He was also the orphaned child of one of Yamagami Nobuo’s old brothers, raised by Yamagami Nobuo.
The only difference was that Takeuchi Toshio and Yamagami Akira had a bad relationship, while Murakami Eishi and Yamagami Akira got along quite well.
If Murakami Eishi had half of Takeuchi Toshio’s influence and power, Yamagami Akira would certainly have gained a great assistant.
Takeuchi Toshio likely wouldn’t have been able to challenge Yamagami Akira, and perhaps Yamagami Akira wouldn’t have died an untimely death.
Unfortunately, Murakami Eishi lacked that.
Seiko had always held her own father, Yamagami Akira, in contempt, but there was one remark he made about Murakami Eishi that Seiko strongly agreed with: “At Dentsu, Eishi would make a good manager.”

Murakami Eishi was skilled in business management and quite adept at financial work.
In a large Tokyo company, he might have been an excellent white-collar elite.
Alas, the Yamagami-gumi was not Dentsu, and Murakami Eishi was not a white-collar worker.
Murakami Eishi lacked the ruthlessness and impulsiveness expected of a Yakuza.
He was overly cautious in everything he did, constantly considering all possible scenarios.
This personality destined Murakami Eishi to be unsuitable for the yakuza world.
Murakami Eishi had spent nearly half his life in the Yamagami-gumi, yet he remained merely an errand boy.
He first ran errands for Yamagami Nobuo, then for Yamagami Akira, and now again for Yamagami Nobuo…

“You’re far behind your daughter,” Seiko said.

“That’s true,” Murakami Eishi puffed out his chest slightly, “Saori (note: This is likely a mistranslation of Seiko, referring to her own daughter) gets first place in her class every exam; I couldn’t do that when I was in school.”

Seiko pursed her lips: “You actually thought I was praising you…”

Japanese funeral procedures are similar to those in China.
The family holds a wake at home for a few days for people to pay their respects, then the body is sent for cremation.
After cremation, the ashes are brought home for chanting, incense burning, and further veneration, and then buried.
The entire process usually lasts three to seven days.
As the head of the largest active social organization in the area, the Yamagami family’s funeral naturally had to be conducted with the greatest pomp, and the entire process would undoubtedly last seven days.

The main mourners at the Yamagami household were, of course, Yakuza members.
Grandfather Yamagami Nobuo’s health was not good, so the task of receiving guests fell to Seiko and her younger sister, Aiko.

Over the seven days, Seiko got a general sense of who these Yakuza were.

The most common organizational system in the Japanese underworld is called “Chokusan.”
“Chokusan” originally referred to the direct subordinates of the Tokugawa family during the Edo period.
In the Japanese underworld, it refers to core members who have been granted a “sakazuki” (盃, sake cup).
The “sakazuki” is proof of the “father-son” or “brother” relationship established between Yakuza, equivalent to the “chicken head” and “yellow paper” of “cutting the chicken head and burning yellow paper” in the Hong Kong triad.
Under the “Chokusan” system, Japanese gangs are divided into “Oyabun,” “Shatei,” and “Kobun.”
In common terms, these are father, younger brother, and son.
The highest-ranking leader in a gang is the Oyabun, the next in line is the Shatei (younger brother), meaning the Oyabun’s younger brother.
The next level is the Wakashu (young one), which, of course, means the Oyabun’s son.
Since directly saying “son” might sound too humble, many large organizations give Wakashu a more appealing title, “Kambu” (executive).
Smaller organizations don’t mind; a son is a son.
Among the Shatei, the most important position is called Shatei-gashira (head of younger brothers), and the leader among the Wakashu is called Wakagashira (head of young ones).
The Wakagashira is somewhat special; it means “eldest son.”
Japan has a tradition of the eldest son inheriting the family business, so the Wakagashira in a gang is usually also the candidate for the next Kumicho.
Yamagami Akira was the Yamagami-gumi’s Wakagashira before he became Kumicho.
Therefore, the Wakagashira’s status is usually no less than that of a Shatei or Shatei-gashira.
Sometimes a Yakuza member can hold different Chokusan statuses.

For example, Takeuchi Toshio, whom Seiko eliminated, was a “Shatei” in the Yamagami-gumi, but he also had his own faction, called the Takeuchi-gumi, where he was the “Oyabun” (Kumicho).
Since Takeuchi Toshio did not leave the Yamagami-gumi before his death, the Takeuchi-gumi was nominally a direct second-tier organization under the Yamagami-gumi.

Seiko roughly estimated that over these seven days, about 1,300 to 1,500 Yakuza came to pay their respects.
Eighty to ninety percent of these were likely members of the Yamagami-gumi.
The Yamagami-gumi’s “Chokusan” would stay behind every day to dine at the Yamagami house; these were about twenty-some people.

Over a thousand Yakuza, twenty-some Chokusan—in neighboring China, this would be enough to warrant bombardment by armed police with recoilless rifles, but in Japan, it wouldn’t even count as a first-tier “active social group.”

On the seventh day, Yamagami Akira’s ashes were buried.
Seiko, who had been a mascot for a week, could finally rest.
After her evening bath, Seiko lay comfortably on her bed, letting out a long sigh of relief.
Thump thump thump…
Seiko suddenly heard someone knocking on her door.

“Who is it?” Seiko lifted her head, only to see a small head peeking in from behind the door.

“Sister, can I sleep with you?” Aiko whispered.

“How old are you? You still can’t sleep alone…” Seiko said, then suddenly noticed Aiko’s red eyes, and her words caught in her throat.

“Fine, you’re impossible,” Seiko rolled over, making room on half the bed, “Just for tonight, okay?”

“Mm.” Aiko hugged her pillow and scurried onto her sister’s bed.

“Lie down properly; I’m turning off the light.”
Seiko said, and then turned off the light.
The room plunged into darkness.
After an unknown amount of time…

“Sister, Papa died…” It was Aiko’s soft, choked voice. “Mama died too.”
Seiko suddenly realized that Yamagami Akira’s significance to herself and to Aiko was completely different.
Yamagami Akira was not a good husband, nor a good father.
The early death of Seiko and Aiko’s mother was not unrelated to his domestic violence.
He kept a string of mistresses and often spent nights in brothels in the red-light district.
Furthermore, as the Kumicho of the Yamagami-gumi, his mind wasn’t very sharp.
Not sharp, and he didn’t listen to advice—at least he didn’t listen to Seiko’s advice to decisively eliminate Takeuchi Toshio.

Therefore, Seiko had a terrible impression of Yamagami Akira.
She was already being quite filial by not clapping and saying “good riddance” at his tombstone.
However, in Aiko’s eyes, Yamagami Akira was still her father.
She lost her mother when she first started kindergarten, and now that she’s just started elementary school, she’s lost her father again.
For a five or six-year-old child, the harm was truly immense.

“That kind of scoundrel, if he died, he died,” Seiko grumbled, turning over and hugging her sister, “Why are you still thinking about him? You’re such a pain…”
Aiko curled up, pressing tightly into her sister’s embrace.