Yakuza

The heart of organized crime, Yakuza are far more organized than gangs. They have a set of codified rules to prevent needless clashing with the police and often own various businesses across multiple cities and provinces. Their numbers are often in the thousands and they see themselves as providing both valuable services to the community as well as a measure of security as their rules ensure that crime does not go unchecked. In fact, in some areas that lack proper official security, the Yakuza are essentially the law of the land. While some of these clans do have influence internationally, they are all based somewhere in the Desu Island Chain.

Despite their criminal nature, most Yakuza clans do have legitimate businesses in addition to their criminal ventures and are known to contribute to the communities they operate in, either through charity work or by helping out with various local events. Partially due to their sense of honor, and partially for practical reasons, the Yakuza are sure never to harm anyone who is not a direct enemy of the Yakuza. They are thus able to maintain a sense of respectability among the people in their communities.

## Tattoos

Tattoos in the Desu Island Chain are considered to be taboo as they are associated with the Yakuza. Yakuza members often cover much of their bodies in elaborate tattoos for a variety of reasons. First of all, their painful nature meant they were a visual way of showing that one had courage. Beyond that, tattoos were once illegal to obtain so having one meant branding yourself as an outlaw forever.

Most non-criminal citizens of the Desu Island Chain would never dare to get a tattoo, even though the laws prohibiting them have long gone away. Besides their association with organized crime, many businesses ban patrons who possess them in an effort to indirectly keep criminals out of their establishments. In practice, this is usually only enforced in places where the patrons are likely to show more skin than usual such as public baths, hot springs, gyms, and water parks. This sometimes means that tattooed foreigners, unaware of the taboo, get unexpectedly banned from such businesses.

## Police Relationship

While the Yakuza are criminals, they actually enjoy a relatively civil relationship with law enforcement. The police generally acknowledge that it is not practical to take down an entire Yakuza clan as an attempt to would result in a bloody street war. Thus the police allow them to operate under the understanding that the Yakuza avoid causing trouble for the community.

Police and Yakuza leadership are often in close communication with it not being unusual for a police official to visit a Yakuza headquarters for a chat and cup of tea. Occasionally if a particular Yakuza member has gotten too far out of line, these chats open up negotiations for the member's arrest.

## Honor and Punishment

Honor is very important to the Yakuza as they believe that without it they are merely a group of criminal thugs. Their sense of honor allows them to romanticize their lives and justify their existence in a sense. It also allows them to operate without worrying about the police too much.

Honor is meaningless if there are no consequences for acting dishonorably and for the most part the Yakuza police their own. For minor infractions, the offender removes a single joint of one of their fingers, starting from the pinky. A displeased boss will simply offer a knife and a bandage to the offending subordinate, who must then offer the amputated joint to their boss in apology. This practice is known as "yubizume" and symbolically represents a weakening of the member's ability to hold a sword. Thus he is required to be more dependent on the clan for protection and support. Due to this practice, it is somewhat common for old retired Yakuza members to be missing a finger or two.

## Clans

There are several different Yakuza clans, most of which consider each other rivals. The major known Yakuza clans are:

Aizukotetsu

Inagawa

Kaizoku

Kozakura-ikka

Sumiyoshi

Yamaguchi