A “martial yakuza” representing the Showa era passed away…The inside story of the “strictly-guarded funeral” personally attended by the young Yamaguchi Gumi VI head Takeuchi.

Assaulted by a dump truck loaded with dynamite

In the evening of February 16, Shomei Takeuchi, 66, a young leader of the Yamaguchigumi VI, Japan’s largest crime syndicate, was at a funeral hall in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture, overlooking Japan’s most sacred mountain, Mt. Beside him, Masahiro Nouchi, chairman of the Koudoukai, and the direct supervisors of the Chubu and Tokai blocks of the Yamaguchigumi VI can also be seen.

The number two member of the Yamaguchigumi VI accompanied by his executive officers was visiting the funeral hall to offer condolences, but whose funeral ceremony was being held?

It was the wake of Tadamasa Goto, former head of the Goto clan, who had played a part in the executive committee as an assistant to the head of Yamaguchigumi V and served as a prefect in Yamaguchigumi VI. On the 8th of this month, he passed away from aspiration pneumonia caused by senility, being cared for by his family. He was 83 years old.

He was conscious despite being ill for a long time, but his health had been deteriorating since last year. Fujinomiya City was the ground of the Goto clan (dissolved in 2008). Even after retiring from the business, he continued to have strong feelings for the area where he founded the organization,” said a former Goto-gumi member.

Goto is known as a “legendary martial arts leader,” “pioneer of the economic yakuza,” and many other titles, and he is considered by many in the yakuza community to be a major figure.

His name became famous in the yakuza community during the Yamaichi War between the Yamaguchigumi and the Ichiwakai, which broke out in 1984. Goto members drove a dump truck loaded with dynamite into the home of the Ichiwakai chairman, clearly demonstrating the “fighting spirit” of the Goto clan. The year after the dissolution of the Goto clan and his retirement from the business, he attained Buddhist enlightenment and entered Buddhism. His autobiography, “Daringly,” became a bestseller, selling over 200,000 copies, and he was known not only in yakuza society but also in political, business, and entertainment circles as a man with extensive personal connections,” said a journalist familiar with the yakuza industry.

The funeral service, which was held as a “family funeral,” was packed with mourners even at the wake on the 19th. According to a photographer who covered the event, “There were many general mourners, over 200 people. It was after 5:00 p.m., before the general reception began, when Mr. Takeuchi appeared at the funeral hall.

He came out of the funeral hall within a few minutes, probably having finished burning incense. Perhaps he was concerned about the general mourners. There was no heavy atmosphere as he chatted with the people who greeted him. There were about 10 investigators on guard, but there were no problems,” said a local photographer.

The general reception began at 6:00 p.m., and the wake ended without a hitch.

The Aim Behind the Scenes: “Gaining Ground in the Organization

The next day’s funeral ceremony went smoothly and the funeral was over without incident, but one question remains here. It is believed that Mr. Takeuchi visited the funeral as a “representative” of Mr. Shinobu Tsukasa, 84, the head of the Yamaguchigumi VI, but the reason Mr. Goto dissolved the organization and retired was because the Yamaguchigumi VI had expelled him from the organization.

The decision to expel him was made at an emergency meeting of the top management in October 2008. Although a clear reason has not been revealed, at the time, Goto was often criticized for missing regular Yamaguchigumi VI meetings. Furthermore, a weekly magazine report revealed that he had invited several celebrities to a golf competition and party on his birthday. Criticisms such as, ‘He doesn’t have time to attend regular meetings, but does he have time for his own birthday party?

Why did he come to the funeral of such a former head of the association to offer his condolences? There, we can see through the intentions of the VI Yamaguchi Gumi to put the “young Takeuchi regime,” which will have been in existence for one full year this April, on the firm foundation.

In addition to their past achievements, the Ryochi-gumi, which is a descendant of the Goto-gumi, took over and protected the ground after the dissolution of the Goto-gumi, so to speak, and I think that the fact that they nurtured a “successor organization” was highly valued. The current head of the Ryochi-gumi was appointed as a “senior executive” under the reform personnel system promoted by the young Takeuchi, and is now a member of the executive committee.

It is likely that the young boss himself came to pay a condolence visit to the former head of the affiliated organization, not only to express the union’s condolences to ex-Gumi President Goto for his past services, but also to strengthen the current executive committee structure. It is said that Seiji Takayama, 78, advisor to the Yamaguchigumi VI, who is said to have punished ex-gumi leader Goto, also visited the wake to offer his condolences before the wake.

Even after the departure of a big-name boss, the consolidation of the Yamaguchigumi VI structure is steadily underway.