The Mafia is not the only international crime organization. In the East such organizations have existed for centuries. What is surprising is the similarity of organization and traditions between these older organizations and the Mafia. Southeast Asia has the Triads, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have the Tong, and Japan has the Yakuza.
The same type of myth and altered history for the organization of the Yakuza is patterned for the Mafia. In early times they were generally associated with a Robin Hood like myth. The Machi-Yokko were viewed as the servants of the town, who took up arms and used their to who defended the people from the Hatamoto-Yakko. The Hatamoto-Yakko were samurai that were unemployed during times of peace who struck out on their own to become bandits. The Hatamoto-Yakko gained their income during these periods by looting villages and taking from the weak common people. The Machi-Yokko were made up of a class composed of shopkeepers, laborers, and homeless warriors who benefited from the conflicts between the people and the Hatamoto-Yakko, by providing their services to defend villages that would take them in. Gambling was a tradition among this group and it was with pride that they felt they could earn their way through taking chances with wagering money and their lives in the violence that surrounded them.
The first real mention of the Yakuza came in the late 1700's. All members of the group came from the same type of background of being landless, poor, and holding different values than the people around them. The similar backgrounds and beliefs gravitated these groups of men together and created the forming of the bond needed to create pacts of cooperation. Two groups primarily made up the membership of the early Yakuza. The Bakuto were a group that centered their operations around gambling, while the Tekiya were gaining power in the marketplaces throughout the land.
The Tekiya traveled from village to village and so found it to their advantage to create an organization that could provide them with the protection they required. They also soon gained the reputation as being con men and cheats who would take advantage of people in their quest for profits. Often it was the agreements for mutual protection that kept these merchants from prosecution by authorities. The Teyiya also had quickly found that it was not difficult to corrupt local offices and have them turn a blind eye to illegal practices.
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