Main characters and organizations

(in order of appearance)

Note: At the end of each entry is a letter indicating the yakuza group or social group that the individual is affiliated or associated with:
I: Inagawa-kai; Y: Yamaguchi-gumi; S: Sumiyoshi-kai; K: Kyokuto-kai; and P: Police

The yakuza

Inagawa-kai: founded in 1948. Japan’s third-largest yakuza group, originally a federation of gamblers, once the ruling yakuza group in eastern Japan.

Yokosuka-Ikka: once one of the most powerful factions in the Inagawa-kai crime family.

Makoto Saigo (aka Tsunami): born after the war to a Japanese American woman. A juvenile delinquent, motorcycle gang member, and right-wing group leader, he rises up in the Inagawa-kai. (I)

Fujimori: Saigo’s former band member during the days when they played rock and roll together. (I)

Takahiko Inoue (aka The Buddha): The former bodyguard of Susumu Ishii and an executive of the Yokosuka-kka faction. Also later a Zen Buddhist priest. (I)

Hideo Hishiyama: a crafty underboss in the Inagawa-kai, and Saigo’s first oyabun (father figure). (I)

Susumu Ishii: The brilliant second-generation leader of the Inagawa-kai who took the group into the financial sector, sometimes called “The Father of the Economic Yakuza”. (I)

Hiroshi Miyamoto: a loyal soldier to the Inagawa-kai second-generation boss Susumu Ishii. (I)

Kakuji Inagawa, also known as Seijo Inagawa: the wise founder of the Inagawa-kai who earned tremendous influence and respect in postwar Japan. (I)

Daisaku Hanzawa: a loose cannon under Saigo with serious drug problems. (I)

Coach: Nobuyuki Kanazawa, a former professional baseball player turned yakuza. A major executive in the Inagawa-kai who would later become the head of the Yokosuka-Ikka. (I)

Kenji Mizoguchi: one of Saigo’s most loyal and dependable soldiers over the course of his criminal career. (I)

Kazuo Kawasaki aka Purple: The third-generation head of a tekiya (street merchant) yakuza group that became part of the Inagawa-kai. Eccentric, hypersexual, and Saigo’s older brother in the yakuza world. (I)

The Preacher: a high-ranking Inagawa-kai yakuza boss who also claimed to be a Christian. (I)

Yoshio Tsunoda: a close friend of Coach and the fourth-generation leader of the Inagawa-kai. (I)

Chihio Inagawa: The son of the founder of the Inagawa-kai, Japan’s third-largest organized crime family. He was the third-generation leader. (I)

Jo Yabe: A low-ranking Inagawa-kai member with a drug problem. (I)

Kyokuto-kai: a yakuza group, originally tekiya, founded before the war in Tokyo. Infamous for peddling methamphetamines. (K)

Kinbara: a bad-tempered boss in the Kyokuto-kai, head of the Kinbara-gumi, and rival for Saigo’s turf. (K)

Tosei-kai, a predominantly Korean Japanese yakuza group that rose to power in postwar Tokyo. Now known as the Toa-kai.

Hisayuki Machii: aka The Bull. The leader of the Tosei-kai.

The Sumiyoshi-kai: a federation of Kanto yakuza groups, it is Japan’s second-largest yakuza organization. (S)

The Yamaguchi-gumi: founded in 1915, Japan’s largest organized crime group, and likened to Goldman Sachs with guns.

Kazuo Taoka: the charismatic third-generation leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Born March 28, 1913. (Shares the same birthday as the author.) (Y)

Masaru Takumi: a top leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi known for his financial wizardry and strong political and economic connections. (Y)

Cops and colleagues

Detective Lucky: a reasonable and crafty organized crime control division police officer. (P)

Junichiro Koizumi: former prime minister of Japan whose grandfather had also been a yakuza and had friendly ties to the Inagawa-kai. (I)

Detective Midorigawa aka Greenriver: A rule-breaking cop in the organized crime control division who came to form a sort of friendship with Saigo. (P)

Barbarian: A rapper, former marijuana dealer, and eventual friend of Saigo. (I)

Yuriko: Saigo’s second wife.

Takashi Muraki: a corrupt cop on the Kanagawa prefecture police force who would shake down yakuza when it suited him. (P)

Aum Shinrikyo: A doomsday cult that spread nerve gas on the Tokyo subway, killing several and injuring thousands. They earned money for their operations by producing methamphetamines and other drugs, and selling them wholesale to the Yamaguchi-gumi, especially to the Goto-Gumi.

Shoko Asahara: The leader of the doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo. (See above.)