<p><span class="strongInContent">In contrast to such yakuza, there were once gang leaders who continued to pursue &#8220;chivalry&#8221; throughout their lives. &#8230;&#8230; They were said to have continued to question the Violence Prevention Law, which regulates the yakuza as a single &#8220;antisocial group. Kikuji Minamide, a &#8220;chivalrous lawyer&#8221; who worked with the two big-name yakuza, tells the true story of the two lawyers.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_440243" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-440243" style="width: 1731px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2248aacf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/09/b5b9751194815b523a49cc70d67a1e7a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-440243" class="wp-caption-text"> Aizu Kotetsu Chairman Tokutaro Takayama at a hearing under the Anti-Robbery Law. The lawyer who worked with him reveals the unexpected true face of the big-name crime boss.</figcaption></figure>
<p> The enactment of the Anti-Gang Law had a major impact on yakuza society. In the more than 30 years since the law was enforced, police crackdowns have been strengthened and gangster organizations have been shrinking.</p>
<p> Before and after the enforcement of the law, there were two &#8220;big-name gang leaders&#8221; who questioned the way the law should be enforced and attempted to reform the organization from within. They were Tokutaro Takayama, the fourth-generation chairman of Aizu Kotetsu, a long-established yakuza gang in Kyoto Prefecture, and Hideo Mizoshita, the leader of the Kitakyushu-based Kudo-kai. In addition to their significant contributions to their respective clans, they were also &#8220;unique&#8221; in that they had the idea of allowing their members to have their own livelihoods, and in that they sought to ensure the survival of their organizations by returning to the philosophy of &#8220;chivalry.</p>
<p> The person at the core of the fight against the Violence Against Chivalry Act was Kikuji Minamide, a lawyer. Mr. Minamide, who considers himself a &#8220;chivalrous lawyer,&#8221; was deeply involved with the two men, representing them in a lawsuit against the Violence Against Women Act, which most lawyers at the time were hesitant to file. In this interview, Mr. Minamide talks about the situation at the time and the human nature of the two gang leaders, which had never been revealed before (statements in parentheses are by Mr. Minamide).</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> We are a chivalrous organization.</span></h3>
<p> Mr. Minamide began by looking back on Mr. Tokutaro Takayama. Mr. Takayama is a famous yakuza known for his role as an arbitrator in many fights, including the &#8220;Yamaichi War&#8221; between the Yamaguchigumi and Ichiwakai between 1984 and 1989.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> When the Violence Against Women Act came into effect in March 1992, the yakuza community was shaken. The Yamaguchigumi, the largest organization, took a stance to fight the law while maintaining the reality as an economic yakuza, but Mr. Takayama&#8217;s idea was completely different. He insisted that &#8216;Yakuza should fight against this law only in order to return to the origin of chivalry. And with this belief, he visited my office and said, &#8216;I want you to fight with me.</span></p>
<p> At that time, however, Mr. Minamide was facing difficult issues with an affiliate of Aizu Kotetsu, and there was no telling when he might confront Mr. Takayama. Therefore, Mr. Minamide set conditions for Mr. Takayama.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> There are three conditions,&#8221; he said. The first was that he would not interfere in any way with the litigation policy. The second is that he not withdraw the lawsuit in the middle of the case. The third is that I will not interfere in any way with any matter that may conflict with Mr. Takayama&#8217;s. The third condition is that I will not interfere in any way with any matter that may conflict with Mr. Takayama&#8217;s. The third matter concerned a dispute over the Sohnin area in Kyoto, where I was representing the head of a group that was in conflict with Aizu Kotetsu.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> It was a three-way conflict involving the Yamaguchigumi, and the situation was so violent that bullets were fired into the meeting hall and many people were killed, so I could never have accepted the offer without a promise that I would not interfere in the matter. Mr. Takayama promised, &#8216;Okay, I will definitely keep that,&#8217; and he kept his word to the end.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> On May 21, &#8217;92, the Aizu Kotetsu hearing was held at the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters. Attorney Minamide confronted the public safety commission with the legal definition of a gang (an organization that promotes violent and unlawful acts, etc.) and criticized the commission bitterly. The pachinko parlors you permit are aiding and abetting habitual gambling, and soaplands are a crime of controlled prostitution. The biggest gang in Japan is you guys with the cherry blossom crest! The biggest gang in Japan is you guys with the cherry blossom emblem! Chairman Takayama also stated, &#8220;We are a chivalrous organization, and we do not want to be unilaterally lumped together as a gang. The two faced the law, appealing for their legitimacy under the statement, &#8220;We will return to the path of chivalry.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" The Legendary Yakuza&#39;s &quot;Fatherly Side&quot;"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Protect my son until the end.&#8221;</span></h3>
<p> In Mr. Minamide&#8217;s eyes, Mr. Takayama was a man with a compassionate side.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Takayama had always believed that yakuza should have their own business, and in fact, he owned his own construction company. He had his own construction company. Because he was such a man, he wanted his son to live as a stalwart. However, after Mr. Takayama retired from the fourth generation, the Aizu Kotetsu-kai, which became the fifth generation, began to persistently interfere with and harass the business of the retired Mr. Takayama.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> His son, Yoshiyuki, unable to see this, decided that the only way to protect his father was to join an organization that was powerful enough to check the fifth generation. Out of pure filial piety, he decided to join the Yamaguchigumi-affiliated Kodokai, which was in a rival relationship. I was truly impressed by his spirit. However, for Mr. Takayama, there was a big fight between father and son because his son was going to the Yamaguchigumi, which was not only a firm but also different from the Yamaguchigumi. I interceded.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> When lawyer Minamide tried to persuade Mr. Takayama to understand his son&#8217;s feelings for his parents, Mr. Takayama finally agreed, saying, &#8220;I understand,&#8221; and asked him, &#8220;Dr. Minamide, please be my friend until the end.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Minamide, please protect Yoshiyuki to the end.</span></p>
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<p> At this time, Mr. Takayama&#8217;s health was already failing. Two days before his death, Mr. Takayama called Attorney Minamide.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Two days before he died, Mr. Takayama called Attorney Minamide and said, &#8220;I may not be able to do it anymore. Please take good care of Giyuuki. It was like a last will and testament to me.</span></p>
<p> While Takayama showed deep affection for his son, he also had strong feelings about his own identity. As a zainichi Korean, he had a strong desire to become Japanese and had applied for naturalization, but was denied due to his status as a yakuza. Mr. Minamide recalls the strength of his desire in the following episode.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> One time, at a meeting to discuss the policy of Mr. Takayama&#8217;s personal lawsuit, which was separate from the lawsuit against the unconstitutionality of the Riot Act, the year to be written in the complaint came up for discussion. The lawyers on the team came from a variety of backgrounds, and one Korean lawyer used the Korean year &#8220;Danki,&#8221; while another, who is also a Buddhist monk, used the Buddhist year &#8220;Bukki,&#8221; and others suggested that the western calendar should be used.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I argued that we should use the Japanese era or the &#8220;Imperial Chronicle,&#8221; and the discussion became heated! This is my trial! It&#8217;s my trial! Everyone present was surprised that he, a Korean living in Japan, insisted on the Japanese Imperial Era. I think he had such a strong desire to be Japanese.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Anecdote with a major Kudo-kai leader"></div>
<p>Another person who shared Takayama&#8217;s ideology was Hideo Mizoshita, who headed the Kudokai. Mizoshita was the head of the Kudokai, based in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Mr. Takayama told me, &#8216;Mizoshita of the Kudo-kai is the one who resembles my line. I went to see him at Osaka Prison, where Mizoshita was serving his sentence.</span></p>
<p> There, Attorney Minamide heard shocking words. Mizoshita told him that he would completely dissolve the Kudo-kai and create a completely new political organization based on the philosophy of &#8220;chivalry. Mizoshita was shocked by this surprising statement.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I was shocked by this surprising statement, and at the same time I was convinced of his seriousness. I was shocked by his surprising statement, but at the same time I was convinced that he was serious about what he was doing. When I heard about this plan, which combines both of these elements, I immediately agreed with him, saying, &#8216;I can fight with this man until the end.</span></p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> The Legacy of Mr. Takayama and Mr. Mizoshita</span></h3>
<p> Mizoshita was also a man of great personal charm, according to Mr. Minamide.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He was a man of many talents,&#8221; said Mizoshita, &#8220;a lover of the arts and a writer. After his release from prison, he once took a trip to Ureshino Hot Springs in Kyushu as a consolation gift. At that time, we went to a kiln together and made tea bowls. I still have the bowl from that trip.</span></p>
<p> Mr. Mizoshita had a firm philosophy about the future of the organization.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Rather than suddenly talking about big ideals, he believed that Japan would not improve unless he first corrected the situation at his own feet, in other words, starting with the yakuza world. Instead of profiting by dishonest methods, as the third head of the Yamaguchi clan, Kazuo Taoka, said, &#8216;Get to work for a living. Then there would be no need to be dishonest. That was his vision of the future of the Kudo-kai.</span></p>
<p> During the 10 years that Mizoshita served as chairman, he was searching for the ideal form of the yakuza. However, for health reasons, in 2000, he began to hand over power to the number two defendant, Satoru Nomura, and the organization underwent a metamorphosis. Under the Nomura regime, the group also began to carry out attacks on citizens and businesses. The Kudo-kai later became the only &#8220;designated dangerous gang&#8221; in Japan. Mizoshita&#8217;s vision remained unrealized until his death in 2008 at the age of 61 due to illness.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I have seen, heard, and known many yakuza, but Mizoshita-san seemed to be on a different scale of character. If he had lived longer and in better health, the yakuza of today would be different.</span></p>
<p> Although the organizational reforms that Mr. Takayama and Mr. Mizoshita aimed for were never realized, their ideas have been carried on by lawyer Minamide. Together with former Yamaguchigumi leader Kenji Moririki and others, Minamide established the General Incorporated Association &#8220;Nenshikyosha Moririki Kenji&#8221; ( 任俠盛力健児). The Yakuza are deprived of their human rights under the Anti-Riot Law and the subsequent Violent Exclusion Ordinance. Mr. Minamide is trying to revive the correct spirit of chivalry by creating an outlet for such people and giving them a livelihood.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If people are willing to eradicate methamphetamine, break away from the path of the economic yakuza, and truly live by the chivalrous spirit, they should be able to say, &#8220;I am a n chivalrous person.</span><span class="strongInContent"> If a person is truly determined to live his life in the ninkyaku way, he will be accepted as a &#8220;ninkyaku Kenji Moriki. We will crush the strong and help the weak. Japan needs an organization like the Machiyakko, which protects the hard core from the corrupt and powerful Hatamoto yakuza.</span></p>
<p> The fact that Takayama Tokutaro and Mizoshita Hideo were seriously searching for a way to organize themselves in response to the Violence Against Women Act, a major change in society, is a testament to one aspect of yakuza society.</p>
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 Kyodo News

 There were big-name yakuza bosses who did everything for money and were willing to resort to violence. ...... In contrast to such yakuza, there were also big-name gang leaders who continued to pursue the "chivalrous way. Kikuji Minamide, a "chivalrous lawyer" who worked with them, recounts an anecdote.

A fatherly figure, an artistic side&#8230; &#8220;The realities of legendary bosses&#8221; as told by a &#8220;chivalrous lawyer&#8221; who fought against the Violence Against Chivalry Act.

A fatherly figure, an artistic side… “The realities of legendary bosses” as told by a “chivalrous lawyer” who fought against the Violence Against Chivalry Act.

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