If you are not a person of patience and prefer not to follow subtitles for a foreign film then, this is not going to be a feature you will bother to view. A shame really, as nowadays it has become so easy to get foreign films on DVD that would -in earlier times- have been impossible to have seen; so I for one am greatly pleased for the opportunity of technology being used for something worthwhile!
If however, you do decide to dip your toes into foreign waters I have written a short introduction to the Yakuza, and the period in which this films timeline concentrates!
Yakuza, also known as gokudo, are members of inter/transnational organized crime syndicate that originated in Japan during the Tokugawa era; better known as the Edo period. Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them boryokudan, while the Yakuza call themselves ninkyo dantai (chivalrous organizations). The name Yakuza comes from a losing hand in a traditional Japanese card game. Ya ku sa - 8, 9, 3.
During the formation of the Yakuza, the Tokugawa authorities used the group to help them control the populace and gather intelligence about the lords of each area. The fledgling Yakuza also acted as labor brokers for government construction projects and even as festival organizers.
Throughout their history, the Yakuza only hid underground during brief periods of persecution. They've long enjoyed illegal government sanctioning and government tolerance; which continues even in the modern era and goes a long way in explaining why they exist so strongly to this day! During the 1930s, the organization faced crackdowns but only until the near-total collapse of the economy, during World War 2, provided them with black market opportunities. As the economy improved in the post-war years, the Yakuza shifted toward bars, clubs, restaurants, and sexual service businesses in addition to their old roles as labour agents/brokers and construction company firms.
The various Yakuza family gang groups often fought with each other for dominance. The violence rarely spilled to civilians and public officials, but during the 1960s and the 1980s, the conflicts required the Japanese government to intercede when the public felt threatened. Public perception of the Yakuza shifted between viewing them as rough crooks with their own honour code to thugs, depending on the violence level of the gangs and their mix of legal and illegal actions.
