Popular culture is obsessed with gang culture and violence. Take Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction for instance. The violence is comic and its perpetrators, like Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield, are glorified mobsters. Takeshi Kitano’s “yakuza trilogy” is another example, in which the nonchalant violence stokes flames of nostalgia for feudal Japan. Media depictions of urban and organized violence provide perspectives on hegemonic masculinities, particularly with the phallic symbol of the gun or even the samurai katana. Kitano’s rendering of masculine violence shows a world in which women are subservient and masculinity in a heirarchichal sense is earned, usually through violence. This idea of violent masculinity is pervasive in most urban violence, particularly with the Yakuza. How is this aspect of violent and hegemonic masculinity reflected in Japanese culture as a whole? And how is it demonstrated in violent initiation rites as well as attitudes towards sex and gender within the yakuza?
In democratic Japan, crime rate is on a decline, with reports of increasingly low homicide rates. Despite this, the yakuza’s plain sight presence on the streets of Osaka and Tokyo has been tolerated by Japanese authorities in the past. However, yakuza numbers have dwindled and violent crime has reduced as a result of anti-yakuza legislations from the 90s as well as more recent economic crackdowns on yakuza activities. The yakuza remain prominent in popular culture nationally and globally, and media content that depicts them shape attitudes on masculinity in Japan.
Hegemonic Masculinities
The hegemonic part of hegemonic masculinity refers to group dynamics and men define their masculinity in juxtaposition to women as well as other men. In the case of hegemonic masculinity, gender is ideological, and it plays out through class and other hierarchical struggles. Masculine expression is also competitive, leading to rituals that reinforce gender hierarchies. Often initiation rites play a part in elevating oneself up the ladder of masculinity. At the top of the hierarchy, the idealized form of masculinity is embodied by “masculine” traits, some of them visible, i.e., physique, tattoos, tangible indicators of wealth, etc. Others are demonstrated in attitudes of aggression and violence. In some cases, signifiers of masculinity are acquired through initiation rites, many of which can be as violent as masculine expression itself.
In the yakuza certain physical traits highlight belonging and affiliation, such missing fingers, and tattoos. Yubitsume, the cutting of one’s finger, serves as an initiation rite that serves as a form of penance. Meanwhile tattoos, also known as irezumi, which marks almost every inch of the skin concealed by clothing–including genitalia–is another violent initiation process that often takes years to complete. Both rituals are violent forms of indoctrination that are deeply rooted in cultural practices. While yubitsume has become less frequent to practice discretion in the public eye, irezumi has enormous cultural significance. In the west, the body tapestries of koi fish and dragons are heavily associated with the Yakuza. They symbolize allegiance. Yet, they aren’t necessarily expressions of masculinity, according to Horiyoshi, a Yakuza-favourite irezumi artist. It’s mainly a symbol of identity and strength. Despite this, tattoos are associated with violence, a particularly masculine one, in the public eye.
Sex and the Yakuza
Regarding masculinities reinforced by the juxtaposition with femininities, the yakuza has a reputation for violence against women. The Yakuza sources its revenue from not only drug trafficking, but also human trafficking. The yakuza’s exploitation of women for sex dates to the 2nd world war in which the yakuza helped provide Korean “comfort women” for imperial soldiers. In the 1970s, the yakuza turned towards rural villages in Thailand and the Philippines to source prostitution rings. These cases of sex trafficking add to Japan’s ripe sex industry, which is ever-present in its urban landscape with brightly lit advertisements for call girls and massage parlours. From love hotels to hostess clubs, sex as an industry is woven in Japan’s social fabric.
While the sexual exploitation of foreign women has demonstrated the construction of violent masculinities via its relationship with women, there is a limited focus on internal male-female relationships. As far as research suggests, women are not involved in Yakuza activity and are relegated to more elusive domestic roles. Yakuza women stay out of the limelight and are difficult to reach, as Chloé Jafé, a French photographer, discovered in her endeavors to reach out to women in the Yakuza. After having had to reach them through their fathers and husbands, her photo series “I give you my life” depicts them primarily in the nude, showcasing their tattoos, which she describes as “protective armour.” Nevertheless, irezumi’s mark of belonging does not protect against the internal violence that occurs within the group, as described by Shoko Tendo, the daughter of a yakuza member. She recounts brutal rapes at the hands of her father’s colleagues, many of which were enabled by her father. The yakuza is inherently patriarchal and built upon its subjugation of women, whether that be human trafficking victims from the Philippines or their own wives and daughters.
Yakuza and Violent Masculinity in Popular Media
Though the yakuza has sustained a notoriety within Japanese law enforcement, the yakuza are the heroes in most media featuring them. The discourse surrounding the yakuza is significantly male-dominated, violent, and sensationalized. Suit clad men toting guns is imagery that is not uncommon in Western popular media and has added to narrative of violent masculinities and gang culture across the world. Women, if there are ever women included in these narratives, will always either be mothers, wives, or whores.
The construction of violent and hegemonic masculinities is not just exclusive to the yakuza or even gang culture but is prevalent in most modern societies. While it doesn’t necessarily hinge upon criminal or event physically violent activity, it’s shaped by attitudes towards women, sex, and idealizations of masculinity. This is supported by economic activity, politics, and media. Observing public and media attitude towards gang violence can give insight into just how masculinity can be, not just in the criminal underworld.
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