Chapter 6: Future Directions and Adult Films

In 1981, Taoka Kazuo, the Yamaguchi-gumi’s most infamous and effective Kumicho, the Third-generation, passed away.

Yamamoto Kenichi, who was the Yamaguchi-gumi’s Wakagashira and next in line, was serving a prison sentence at the time and was unable to succeed him promptly.
The position of Yamaguchi-gumi Kumicho was temporarily left vacant, with the intention of waiting for Yamamoto Kenichi’s release before his succession.

During this period, eight Chokusan temporarily managed affairs; these eight were known as the “Eight Vajra.”
However, in 1982, Yamamoto Kenichi also passed away in prison.
At this point, only seven months had passed since Taoka Kazuo’s death.
Suddenly, who would become the next Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi became a mystery.
At the time, two individuals were strong contenders for this position.

Both were among the “Eight Vajra”: one was the acting Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Yamamoto Hiroshi, and the other was the Yamaguchi-gumi Wakagashira, Takenaka Masahisa.
These two were also the Kumichos of the Yamahiro-gumi and Takenaka-gumi, respectively.

Both the Yamahiro-gumi and Takenaka-gumi were direct subordinate organizations of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
Their relationship with the Yamaguchi-gumi was similar to that of the Takeuchi-gumi with the Yamagami-gumi, except that the Yamaguchi-gumi had 85 such direct subordinate organizations at the time.
In terms of seniority and reputation, Yamamoto Hiroshi surpassed Takenaka Masahisa.

Yamamoto Hiroshi had even once overshadowed Yamamoto Kenichi in the previous Wakagashira election, almost becoming the Fourth-generation Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

In Yamamoto Hiroshi’s view, he couldn’t compete with Yamamoto Kenichi back then, but now that Yamamoto Kenichi was dead, it should be his turn to take the top position, right?

Unfortunately, Yamamoto Hiroshi miscalculated again.

In 1984, Taoka Kazuo’s widow, Taoka Fumiko, publicly supported Takenaka Masahisa to become the Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

Leveraging Taoka Kazuo’s lingering prestige, Takenaka Masahisa ultimately assumed the position of Yamaguchi-gumi Kumicho, officially becoming the Fourth-generation Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi.
Yamamoto Hiroshi felt that he had been treated unfairly, and it was twice in a row.

Thus, in a fit of rage, Yamamoto Hiroshi gathered a group of his supporters and Takenaka Masahisa’s opponents, removed the Yamaguchi-gumi’s Yamabishi crest, and formed the Ichiwa-kai.
From this, the Yamaguchi-gumi’s bloodiest internal conflict, the “Yama-Ichi Kōsō,” began.
Out of 85 direct Yamaguchi-gumi Kumichos and over 13,000 members, Yamamoto Hiroshi took away 34 Kumichos and over 6,000 members.

The entire Yamaguchi-gumi was almost split in two, fighting each other.
Earlier this year, the Fourth-generation Kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi, Takenaka Masahisa, was assassinated by an Ichiwa-kai hitman outside his mistress’s home.

Accompanying him were the Yamaguchi-gumi’s Wakagashira, Nakayama Katsumasa, and another direct Kumicho.
All three died despite resuscitation efforts.

The Yamaguchi-gumi once again lost its top two leaders.
At the same time, this also signaled that the “Yama-Ichi Kōsō” had entered its bloodiest and most brutal phase.
Therefore, Yamagami Nobuo asked: Why join the Yamaguchi-gumi at this critical juncture?

“Danger also means opportunity,” Seiko said, “The Yamaguchi-gumi is currently at its most anxious and frightened. They will try to hold onto every bit of power that pledges allegiance to them. If our Yamagami-gumi pledges allegiance now, we have a chance to be fully utilized, and Grandfather, you might even be directly promoted to a Chokusan of the Yamaguchi-gumi. In normal times, such a good opportunity would never arise.”
Seiko wasn’t making wild guesses.

In later years, there was a direct organization within the Yamaguchi-gumi called the Kyokudō-kai, which pledged allegiance to the Yamaguchi-gumi during the Yama-Ichi Kōsō.
The Kyokudō-kai’s predecessor, “Kyorii Sekiho Rengō,” was, like the Yamagami-gumi, just a small group of a thousand or so people in the Hokkaido region.

But after pledging allegiance to the Yamaguchi-gumi, its then-Kumicho, Akaishi Hideo, directly became a Chokusan of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

And for decades thereafter, the Kyokudō-kai consistently remained the top leadership organization of the Yamaguchi-gumi in Hokkaido.
It was, arguably, a classic example of a small investment yielding a large return.

“So you think the Yamaguchi-gumi will emerge as the final victor?” Yamagami Nobuo asked again, surprised, “But the Kumicho and Wakagashira of the Yamaguchi-gumi are already dead.”
Seiko nodded, saying, “Although the Yamaguchi-gumi has lost its top two leaders, their overall strength still holds an advantage.

While the Ichiwa-kai successfully assassinated the Yamaguchi-gumi’s Kumicho and Wakagashira, this is precisely what they should not have done.
Yamamoto Hiroshi has always prided himself on righteousness and accused Takenaka Masahisa of being despicable and shameless.

His initiating an assassination only makes people question how much sincerity his righteousness held.
Furthermore, I believe a smart person like Yamamoto Hiroshi knew that sending assassins to kill Takenaka Masahisa was not a good idea, yet he still did it.

This can only mean that Yamamoto Hiroshi and the Ichiwa-kai’s situation was already quite passive, and Yamamoto Hiroshi had no better options, only to take a desperate gamble.”
Of course, Seiko wouldn’t say, ‘I just know the outcome; the Yamaguchi-gumi won.’

But inferring backward from the result, it can indeed be concluded that Yamamoto Hiroshi and the Ichiwa-kai’s assassination of Takenaka Masahisa was a desperate, last-resort gamble.

Yamagami Nobuo listened to Seiko’s analysis, pondered for a long time, then slowly nodded, “That makes sense…”
Having discussed the two most important issues, Yamagami Nobuo drank his tea and remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly, he asked again, “Giving up drugs and joining the Yamaguchi-gumi are both about solving immediate problems. So… Seiko, what do you think is the future direction for our Yamagami-gumi?”
It was clear that the recent unfortunate events of losing both his adopted and biological sons had hit the old man hard, leaving him somewhat disoriented.

Seiko had thought about this question many times before.
Without much hesitation, she extended three fingers: “Entertainment, finance, and real estate.”
These were the “three axes” with which the Yamaguchi-gumi rapidly rose during the bubble economy.
With these “three axes,” the Yamaguchi-gumi’s annual revenue surpassed 800 billion yen during the bubble era, second only to Toyota Motor Corporation at the time, becoming Japan’s second-largest “enterprise.”
Seiko had carefully considered many paths, and after repeated comparisons, she still felt that these three were indeed the best options during the bubble period.

Not necessarily perfect, but suitable for the Yakuza.

“I can understand finance and real estate,” Yamagami Nobuo frowned, “What do you mean by entertainment? Does pachinko count?”

“Pachinko, of course, counts as entertainment. But the entertainment industry I’m referring to is mainly the cultural and entertainment industry,” Seiko thought for a moment and gave an example, “The Yamaguchi-gumi has a Kobe Geinō-sha, do you know about it?”

“You mean Misora Hibari’s talent agency?” Yamagami Nobuo said.
Misora Hibari clearly had an indelible influence in the hearts of post-war Japanese generations.
Besides having artists of Misora Hibari’s caliber, Kobe Geinō-sha also produced a radio program called “Private Top Twenty Singers Performance,” which was the predecessor of the later Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

“The industries we need to engage in are precisely these. Of course, we shouldn’t just do artist management, but also film, television programs, and even music production and distribution.”
The more economic downturn there is, the more prosperous the arts and culture industry becomes; this is an economic law observed almost worldwide.

Seiko believed this industry would have enormous potential during the bubble era.
After a slight pause, she proactively asked, “Does our Yamagami-gumi have a company that produces film and television works? There should be, right?”

“This…” Yamagami Nobuo was startled by the question.
After struggling for a long time, he stammered, “There is, but…”

“Is it for making AVs?” Seiko blurted out.

“How can a girl like you say that so casually?”

“Then how should I say it?”

“Ad-adult films?”

“What’s the difference?”
Seiko was not surprised.
Adult films were one of many Yakuza’s sources of funding.
For a Yakuza organization the size of the Yamagami-gumi, not being involved in adult films would be the unlikely scenario.

“Are they legitimate?”

“If they’re selling discs to chain stores, then of course they’re legitimate independent production companies.”

“That’s good, then we can start our entry into the cultural and artistic industry with adult films.”

“How can adult films be artistic?”

“Adult films can certainly be artistic.”