"Y" is for yakuza -- you got a problem with that?

[Rob Pongi]

"Y" is for yakuza -- you got a problem with that?

By Masuo Kamiyama, People's Pick contributor

May 13, 2006

"The New Yakuza Unabridged Dictionary" reads the headline in Shukan Taishu (May 22). This title, somehow, does not sound like the sort of desktop reference book that Noah Webster -- or Oxford University for that matter -- would have compiled. And it's not. Rather, it's a six-page long article, which is about as much space as Shukan Taishu is likely to allocate for any given topic.

What sort of etymological data related to Japan's organized criminal syndicates, then, does one obtain for an outlay of 350 yen? Not a lot, but certainly some interesting insights into current events. Three examples follow.

For entries under the letter "S," we might find "Shutsujo demukae," which refers to the custom of greeting a gang member outside the prison upon his release at the end of his sentence. Times, it seems, have changed. In the old days, Shukan Taishu notes, after a high-ranking member served his time, it was not unusual for a contingent of a thousand or more -- even as high as 5,000 for a top-ranked gang leader -- to congregate outside the prison gates and "greet" their colleague upon his release. The authorities, however, have served notice that such public displays are no longer welcome; the maximum allowable number of greeters has been reduced to three.

Actually, the custom will probably not be missed.

"Most prison releases used to be conducted early in the morning or just before dark," a gang leader in Kanto (Tokyo and environs) tells the magazine. "So multitudes of gang members carrying chochin (paper lanterns) would gather. When I got released, the sea of faces welcoming me back was incredibly moving. But those days are over now I suppose."

Continued...