Organized Crime: Yakuza

The second major group was the Bakuto. This group had held fast to the tradition of gambling and was often employed by the government to set up gaming activities to win back wages paid to the working class. The also created a close alliance between the government and the Bakuto members. The cutting off the top part of the little finger carried out the custom of blood letting for members who violated the Bakuto code. Further breaking of rules could call for the cutting off of the upper part of another finger or cutting off the lower section of the original finger. This mutilation made it difficult for the punished member to hold their sword in the proper manner and marked this member as one who would always be suspect. Tattoos were also utilized to mark membership and was used to prove a man's strength by going through hours of pain to receive the tattoos. The gambling background provided the first use of the term Yakuza. In a card game much like Black Jack, one of the most useless hands was called Ya-Ku-Sa. This term was applied to members of the Bakuto, who were viewed as useless to Japanese society. Yet while the Bakuto may have been viewed as useless they were able to form a bond with the Tekiya. This bond increased the power of both groups in the countryside and in the cities through the corruption the groups were able to spread among members of local and national government.

The alliance between the political factions and the Yakuza would soon make the people of Japan aware of the power that could be wielded by a group that for so long had been viewed as useless.

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