35 Years of Discrimination and Violence” by the First President of the Chinese Mafia, Furarakuon

When I first formed Doragon with my six friends, we were not thinking of forming a motorcycle gang or a crime syndicate. But at the time, we had all been repatriated from China and were all being discriminated against in one way or another. I was hoping that we could all work together as a united front against that.

So says Hideo Sasaki. He is a second-generation Chinese orphan and the first president of “Ura-Kon,” a mafia group that even the Yakuza fear. On February 14, Sasaki published a book titled “Dara-Kon Hatsushiro” (Takarajimasya, Inc.). The book reveals the 35-year history of the “Dera-kwon” group, which has been hidden from the public.

Mr. Sasaki was born in Hebei, China, in 1970 to a Chinese father and an orphaned mother. He came to Japan in 1981 when his mother was repatriated and started living with her family in Kasai, Tokyo.

When I was in China, I was ridiculed as a ‘Japanese ogre,’ and in Japan I was discriminated against as ‘Chinese. At elementary school in Japan, upperclassmen would suddenly say to me, ‘Chinese! I was even hit on the head with my fist. In the midst of this situation, we stood together with our friends and stood up against them.

When I was in junior high school, I heard that there was a boy in Ayase who was being bullied because he was a second-generation Chinese orphan and could not speak Japanese, so I went to the school and spoke directly to the principal. When the bullying didn’t stop, we sanctioned the perpetrators.

In 1986, Mr. Sasaki and six friends created the name “Rage Ragoon. The Chinese characters for “rage” and “shura” mean “anger” and “right,” respectively, and “right” means “to seize rights after a battle.

The name “Doura-Kon” became famous through various fights, such as the “Urayasu Western Incident” with the Ichikawa Specter motorcycle gang in 1989. The number of members other than Chinese orphans also increased one after another, and “anger gangs” named after places were born in various regions. The group became a mafia.

When I was in my 20s, I even started a construction company in order to have a regular job. However, in 1997, I was the target of an intensive crackdown by the police on the furious gang, and I was arrested on an unreasonable charge of violating the Child Welfare Law, and I lost most of my business partners. I thought to myself, ‘The country of Japan is telling me not to have a legitimate business.

After serving a total of 10 years in prison and meeting his family, Sasaki now works as a carpenter and serves as the head of a non-profit organization. He has a YouTube channel and is involved in a wide range of other activities.

He says, “One of the reasons I publish books and talk about my past is because there is so much misinformation about the Rajaragons that is being spread. I want to tell an accurate history. The other reason is that I hope that people who have suffered discrimination and pain like we did in the past will think, ‘Even though we had a hard time in the past, society will accept us as long as we live diligently.

I get comments on my YouTube page that say, “Don’t brag about your past crimes,” or “Go back to China. Such reactions are stressful, of course, but I will use that energy as gasoline to continue my activities in the future.

The man who has faced discrimination head-on is still fighting.

From the March 25, 2022 issue of FRIDAY