"TOEI COMPANY PRESENTS" "In 1945, among the burned-out rubble of Kure City in Hiroshima," "SHOZO HIRONO FUTURE BOSS OF HIRONO FAMILY a band of repatriated soldiers led by Shozo Hirono, fired by youthful ambition, embarked on a quest fordominance in the violentworld ofthe yakuza." "However," "BOSS OF YAMAMORI FAMILY YOSHIO YAMAMORI between Boss Yoshio Yamamori's crafty maneuvering, and bitterstruggles for power among the younger bosses under his wing, one young leaderafteranother was consigned to his grave." "In 1962," "Yamamori succeeded in taking over" "Hiroshima City's most powerful yakuza family, the Muraoka family." "BOSS OF UCHIMOTO FAMILY NOBORU UCHIMOTO Stung by this turn, rival sub-boss Noboru Uchimoto" "BOSS OF AKASHI FAMILY TATSUO AKASHI swore loyalty to Kobe's Akashi family, which held sway over much ofwesternJapan." "CAPTAIN OF YAMAMORI FAMILY AKIRATAKEDA" "At the urging of Captain Akira Takeda," "CHAIRMAN OF THE SHINWAGROUP KUMASHIRO UNOKICHI Yamamori allied himselfwith the Akashi family's rival, the Shinwa Group." "Hiroshima thus became the battlefront in the struggle for power between WesternJapan's two largestsyndicates." "To defuse the crisis," "FAMILY ELDER KENICHI OKUBO Hirono joined with Kure's Kenichi Okubo" "UNDERBOSS OF AKASHI FAMILY SHINICHI IWAI and Shinichi Iwai ofthe Akashi family to scheme for Yamamori's retirement." "But he ran afoul ofTakeda, who was determined to defend the family, and was expelled from the Yamamori family." "The Akashi family retaliated by expelling Hideo Hayakawa," "FORMER UNDERBOSS OF UCHIMOTO FAMILY HIDEO HAYAKAWA an Uchimoto family underboss who had cozied up to Yamamori." "Hayakawa promptly joined the Yamamoris and attacked the Uchimoto family." "Thus itwas that the two cities of Hiroshima and Kure became the stage fora bloody war between the Uchimoto and Hirono families, underthe wing ofthe Akashi family, and the Yamamoris, affiliated with the Shinwa Group." "BATTLES WITHOUT HONORAND HUMANITY POLICE TACTICS" "Original Story by KOICHI IIBOSHI" "Screenplay by KAZUO KASAHARA" "Cinematography by SADAJI YOSHIDA" "Music by TOSHIAKI TSUSHIMA" "Cast:" "BUNTASUGAWARA" "TATSUO UMEMIYA" "TOSHIO KUROSAWA KUNIE TANAKA" "HIROKI MATSUKATA" "AKIRA KOBAYASHI" "Directed by KINJI FUKASAKU" "In the fall of 1963, with the Tokyo Olympics a yearaway and Prime Minister Ikeda's rapid-growth plan in full swing, as the heady intoxication ofthe economic boom took hold, the public grew increasingly hostile to the yakuza families disturbing the peace." "In answerto the growing outcry, the police mounted a nationwide crackdown aimed atwiping outyakuza syndicates." "Move it!" "Outofthe way!" "Outofthe way!" "I said move your ass!" "Chief!" "This is the only gun we can find!" "Amatchlock?" "This sure as hell ain't whatyou been fighting with!" "Despite the authorities'efforts, central Hiroshima was divided down the middle--east and west" "UNDERBOSS OF YAMAMORI FAMILY SHOICHI EDA the Yamamori family facing off against the Uchimoto family." "Reinforcements forthe Yamamori side began to pour in from across Western Honshu." "Yamamori ensconced himself in the cabaret he owned and flamboyantly paraded to the bathhouse each morning with an army ofbodyguards." "Meanwhile, in Kure, the Makihara family, under Yamamori's wing, was embroiled in guerrilla warfare with the Hirono family." "We've gotan emergency summons!" "UNDERBOSS OF YAMAMORI FAMILY MASAKICHI MAKIHARA" "Hirono's having lunch with Ueda on Naka Avenue!" "Go take him down!" "Boss!" "What's up?" "Get in!" "Makihara's men are coming!" "Quick!" "In the car!" "The rank and file of each family pulsed with renewed life, just as Hirono and his cohorts had in an earlierday." "The cops' detectors will never sniff'em outthis way!" "Nota chance!" "Fuck!" "Someone's coming!" "Act like you're taking a leak!" "No, over here!" "Don'tsuppose this'll make 'em rust, do you?" "Watch where you're aiming, asshole!" "What's with the shaved heads?" "With war coming,we thought we'd purify body and soul!" "We're giving up women too, so stay away from us!" "You're probably justshaking in your shoes and can't get it up!" "Watch it, bitch!" "Come back here!" "MEMBEROF HAYAKAWA FAMILY HIROSHI SUGIMOTO" "Bro!" "Whatare you doing here in your condition?" " Hello, boss!" "Well,well, Matsui!" " I heard aboutthe troubles!" "Take a load off!" "I thoughtthey had you hospitalized back home!" "I heard there was a fight brewing!" "I couldn'tsitstill!" "I figured I could still stop a bulletortwo, if nothing else!" "You should be looking to your health and taking iteasy!" "Haven'tseen you around here in a long time, Mieko!" "It's been three years!" "That long?" "Have a drink!" "Did ya get it?" "Hop in a sec!" "Nice heft!" "Try it!" "Ifthere's a war, I'll need more!" "Hope I can counton you again!" "Have you heard, Fukuda?" "Mieko's back in Hiroshima!" "Mieko?" "That's right:" "Mieko!" "Your old squeeze!" "Afriend of mine saw her in Hiroshima!" "Who could it be?" "Gotta go!" "I've gotsome people waiting!" " I'll be back formore!" "Anytime!" "Wonder if she was a good piece of ass!" "What're you daydreaming' about?" "Getmoving!" "MEMBEROF HIRONO FAMILY SHIGERU TAKEMOTO" "MEMBEROF HIRONO FAMILY KIYOSHI KAWANISHI" "Who is it?" " Me." "Boss!" "I had some business in Hiroshima, so I thought I'd stop by!" "Could you have a look atthis?" "Something's wrong with the firing pin!" "Sure!" "Then you'd bettertake this!" "I'll be okay!" "You never know when you might need it!" "Be careful aboutaccidents!" "Whatcha gotthere?" "Cyanide!" "Dusta case shotwith this and one shot is all ittakes!" "Nowthatwe've gotthe hardware, how aboutyou send us to ice Makihara?" "Don't be so antsy!" "He may be our enemy now, but he and I were brothers under Yamamori!" "I can't just go waltzing in and knock him off!" "And the cops are snooping around for an excuse to revoke your parole, so you gotta think aboutthat,too!" "Right!" "You guys be careful, now!" "If you have to go out, take someone with you!" "I'll be going,then!" "Hirono had been convicted of murder 14 years earlier, and was still on parole from his 20-yearsentence." "Welcome!" "Is Uchimoto here?" "UCHIMOTO FAMILY" "Hold it rightthere!" "Where do you think you're going?" "I'm Hirono from Kure!" "Sorry, sir!" " Don'tscare me like that!" "Welcome!" "Where the hell's he from?" "Needs to learn some manners!" "Just gotoutofthe joint!" "He's a biton edge!" "I see!" "Hey there!" "This is Kawada from the westside!" "He's gonna stand with us," "BOSS OF KAWADA FAMILY HIDEMITSU KAWADA so I'd like to take him along!" "I'm Kawada!" "It's a pleasure!" "We just gota call from Okajima!" "He's waiting for us!" "I guess we better get going!" "The man they went to see that day was Tomoji Okajima, the head ofthe Gisei Group, which had long controlled gambling" "CHAIRMAN OF GISEI GROUP TOMOJI OKAJIMA in Hiroshima's western suburbs." "Okajima was a temperate man, always maintaining his neutrality in the frequent flare-ups between families." "But he was also a man ofinfluence, whom Hirono needed on his side ifhe was to gain the upper hand in Hiroshima." "The boss will be right in!" "All us youngermembers favorfighting on your side, so go ahead and press him hard!" "UNDERBOSS OF GISEI GROUP SHOICHI FUJITA" "Thanks!" "I appreciate it!" "How's your health been?" "Reasonably good,thanks!" "You know him well?" "Yeah!" "We were in the jointtogether!" "He has chest problems, so I looked outfor him!" "Now he's trying to return the favor!" "You know, if Okajima balks," "I really see no point in twisting his arm!" "I've got Kawada collecting around here for baseball gambling, but lately Okajima's been showing signs of interest!" "Sure, it'd be nice having him on our side, but I wouldn'twant him horning in on Kawada's turf!" "Look, Uchimoto!" "We'd all have ita loteasier if you could protectyour own neck!" "I didn't pick this fight!" "You disrespected Yamamori and got us into this!" "Why don'tyou hurry up and knock him off?" "!" "Don'tworry, Kawada!" "Okajima won't do anything uncalled for!" "You needn'tworry aboutme!" "Sorry to keep you waiting!" "Excuse me!" "Fujita here has filled me in on whatyou're here about, but I'm afraid I can'tcommitmyself to either side!" "I'm a sworn brother of both Hirono here and Yamamori's captain,Takeda!" "Has Takeda been to see you?" "No!" "And if he had, my answerwould be the same!" "If you go ahead with this fight, where's it going to leave you?" "You blow a wad of money and lose a bunch of men, and what do you gain?" "Why should I wantto take sides, only to have the other atmy throat?" "Can'tyou settle this peacefully somehowwith Yamamori?" "I've been saying we should talk to Yamamori, but Hirono won't listen to me!" "Won't listen?" "Whatexactly did you intend to say to Yamamori?" "I'm on his team for 18 years, and he just kicks me out?" "Don'tforget howthings gotto this point!" "Every time we try to make peace, we getstabbed in the back!" "And you're no exception, Okajima!" "You don'tsay anything, so Yamamori keeps skimming off yourtake!" "Ifwe back down now, you think Yamamori'll still stay off yourturf?" "!" "There's a war coming, Okajima, whetheryou like itor not!" "If you're notclear on who yourfriends and enemies are, you're the one who's gonna get hurt!" "You can claim neutrality allyou want, but hotheaded young toughs don't have time forfine distinctions!" "What do you say?" "Try to see itourway!" "The Giants are coming up to bat." "MEMBEROF KAWADA FAMILY HIROSHI YAZAKI" "With a three-run homer in the third, the Giants are offto a good start." "Sorry it's taking so long!" "Who's winning?" "The Giants are up 3-to-0!" "What handicap did you guys go with today?" "Three points on Hiroshima!" "We held itattwo!" "Guess itwasn'tenough!" "You'll have to teach me more about handicaps!" "Since we're going to be brothers and all!" "Thanks!" "Your boss sure does like to hem and haw!" "Someday he's gonna weep for it!" "Stop getting so friendly with outsiders!" "All right, Hirono, I understand!" "If you think I can be of service, countme in!" "Buton one condition:" "I have some thoughts of my own, so promise me you won't do anything rash!" "Sure thing!" "I'll be grateful foryour help!" "Meanwhile, in Kure, blood was already being shed." "Hirono family underboss Kiyoshi Kawanishi was gunned down in the street." "Aftera brief argumentwith several members ofthe Makihara family, he had drawn his gun and pulled the triggerthree times, but the gun misfired every time, atwhich point one ofhis antagonists" "SEPTEMBER 10, 1963 KIYOSHI KAWANISHI DIED shot him dead." "Boss Uchimoto, Hirono is upstairs with Okubo and Iwai!" "I have urgent business in Hiroshima!" "Theywere quite insistent!" "Theywantto discuss our nextmove!" "Don'tyou know the cops are rightoutside?" "I didn'tcome to a funeral to get nabbed in yourfucking war!" "What ifthe Yamamori family decides to raid us now?" "Who the fuck's gonna protectme?" "Looks like Uchimoto's leaving!" "They didn'tstop him?" "Sorry, boss!" " Forget it!" "I was never really counting on the bastard anyway!" "Kawanishi died in my place!" "If I'm gonna repay his sacrifice, I've gotta do Yamamori myself!" "Get ready to attack Hiroshima soon as the cops outfront go home!" " Don't do it!" "Why not?" "From what I've heard, the cops'll be waiting to nab every lastone of you!" "You can'tfighta war if you're kowtowing to the fucking cops!" "Hearme out!" "Since Yamamori and Makihara have run for cover in Hiroshima, allyou have to do is lock Kure down!" "Make itso they can't return, and they'll have to admit defeat!" "Remember, mostof Yamamori's money comes from here in Kure!" "I agree!" "If you go to Hiroshima, there's gonna be blood for sure!" "Any chance of making peace will be gone!" "Making peace?" "Howthe fuck you expect to make peace with Yamamori?" "His view ofthings is simple:" "Kill or be killed!" "You gotta move first, oryou'll never getthe upper hand again!" "Look what happened to Kawanishi!" "Got killed because I was preening around!" "Butyou can't do anything thatwould destroy your honor!" "No matterwhat he's done now, Yamamori used to be your boss!" "I don't give a fucking shit about honor anymore!" "I'll happily kill myself after I take Yamamori down!" "Then have ityourway!" "Butthe Akashi family has its own honorto uphold!" "We can't join a fight thatmakes no fucking sense!" "Who the hell asked you?" "I never expected a bunch of outsiders to fightmy battles forme!" "BOSS OF UEDA FAMILY TOSHIO UEDA Take iteasy, bro!" "Mr!" "Iwai, Hirono's got us, so he can do withoutAkashi's backing, butwe need a clear signal from Kobe:" "Are you more interested in keeping egg off your own faces or supporting us here in Kure?" "Your answerwill affectour plans!" "Look, Hirono!" "I'm in an awkward position here!" "The family's been having some trouble outeast, so Boss Akashi's gone up to Tokyo!" "Itmeans he hasn't had time forthe brothers!" "I need you to be patient!" "Don't putme in an impossible spot with the other brothers and the boss!" "Besides,you're only outon parole!" "If you get nabbed and have to serve yourterm, everything falls apart!" "Think itover,willyou?" "Ueda!" "Whatthe hell do you think you're doing?" "Who told you to speak up for Hirono?" " But, sir" " I've got businesses to protect!" "You wantto help Hirono, you'll have to break with me first!" "When are you gonna getoff my tail?" "Did you talk to Hirono?" "I told him to stay in Kure!" "Whatelse can I do?" "I shouldn't be seen with you, so hurry up and go!" "All right,then!" "I'll go quietly today!" "But if Hirono shows up in Hiroshima, it's gonna be your head, no matter how precious it is!" "Keep that in mind!" "TAKEDA CO!" "Goddamn punk!" "Buy your own drinks, asshole!" "Quiet!" "Sorry!" "Asshole!" "Whatwas thatabout?" "One ofthe reinforcements from Osaka wanted more pocketmoney!" "Who the fuck's he think he is?" "If he comes again, give him a good working over!" "Boss Yamamori sentthese around!" "Hotel bills forthe reinforcements?" "Letthe boss pay them!" "He refuses!" "The hotels are threatening to go to the police!" "Restaurants!" "Geishas!" "Drinks!" "They sure are having a good time living on someone else's purse!" "What's this one for 180,000?" "The tab from the noodle shop Boss Yamamori takes them to!" "They say the more the merrier, but I'd call ittoo much of a good thing!" "The massive costs of supporting the visiting troops was a bigger headache than the feud itself." "Sensing this, the police kept a close eye on collections activity and sought to disrupt the families'cash flow." "Hold it!" "You won't getawaywith it, punk!" "I ain't doing nothing!" "You're coming with us!" "Letme go!" "Come on!" "He didn't do anything!" " Run!" "Stop!" "Makihara here's been completely shutoutof Kure!" "You need to mounta jointattack and crush Hirono!" "It's notthatsimple!" "Hirono has the Akashi family behind him!" "We need to find the rightmoment!" "I'm working on a plan!" "We knew aboutthe Akashis all along!" "Why should thatstop us now?" "That's right!" "You've got iteasy sitting back here in your safe zone, butconsidermy situation!" "You think we've got iteasy?" "In thatcase, you won'tmind paying these goddamned bills!" "That's whatourvisitors are costing us!" "When have you ever paid a yen?" "Let's notquibble aboutmoney,Takeda!" "Look, boss, mywar chest is down to Yen100 mil," "and collecting is getting tough!" "How am I supposed to fight a warwith that?" "Whatare you worrying aboutmoney for, bro?" "Boss Yamamori is chairman ofthe Boat Racing Association!" "He's rolling in money!" "That's right!" "He can coverthe bills!" "Right, boss?" "Tell him you'll pay!" "The Racing Association isn't like my other businesses!" "I may be chairman, but it's notmy money!" "Right, honey?" "Then at least listen to me!" "Give us a minute, ladies!" "Here's how I see it!" "We're on the defensive here!" "Outsiders attacking us can run and hide, butour own troops are sitting ducks forthe cops!" "Ifthe Akashis attack after our soldiers have been rounded up, how are we going to fight back?" "We might have won a battle, butwe'll lose the war!" "So what do you suggest?" "We all need to talk to ourmen and make sure they keep their cool and stay put!" "Our strategy is to divide and conquer!" "Divide and conquer?" "We'll pull their alliance to pieces!" "I've already putthe squeeze on Okubo so he can'tmove!" "Uchimoto's not likely to do anything anyway!" "Which leaves Okajima the only one Hirono can turn to!" "Okajima!" "I noticed he's here tonight!" "Fucking bastard!" "Comes to my club and acts all innocent!" "Have one of yourmen drag him into the office!" "Leave Okajima to me!" "Could you all move?" "Aiko's into me for at least Yen2 million in advances, damn it!" "And he sneaks in here like a thieving catto make nice with her!" "She's supposed to be my girl, butshe won'teven letme touch her pussy hair!" "Mr!" "Yamamori's here,you know!" "Don'tworry!" "They hitme when I'm with you and I'll die happy!" "Don'ttalk like that!" "You live in the same city!" "Why do you have to be such enemies?" "Actually, ever since I sided with Hirono," "Yamamori's been spinning his wheels and the war's been on hold!" "Give me time and I'll mediate a truce!" "Don'tworry!" "Pull over!" "You guys wait here!" "I gotta go borrow some bread from Boss Uchimoto!" "If you're gonna see Uchimoto, I'll go with you!" "You know Boss Uchimoto?" "Sure,we've been buddies since black-market days!" "We'll be right back!" "Who're you?" "Is the boss in?" "Tell him I wanna borrow some scratch!" "Get lost,you fucking drunk!" "What do you think this is?" "I ain't got no use foryou!" "Where's the boss?" "Stop!" "Are you crazy?" "That's one ofthe boss's legitclients, you fucking moron!" "Quick!" "Clean it up!" "The blood!" "Hose the blood away!" "Getoutofthe way, idiot!" "With one innocent civilian dead, and one critically wounded," "SAVAGE VIOLENCE the public and the media" "HITS ORDINARYCITIZENS broke theirfrustrated silence" "NO MORE GUNS!" "and demanded police action." "CITIZENS UNITE TO PROTECT OURCITY!" "The police established a command center" "GANG VIOLENCE ERADICATION COMMAND CENTER and launched a crackdown on gangs." "Letme speak!" "Witnesses should help us determine a suspectsoon!" "Aren'tyou going to investigate the Uchimoto family?" "If it's part of a gangland feud, why aren'tyou arresting Yamamori?" "They're making you look like monkeys!" "Stop pussyfooting around!" "No self-respecting paper can ignore this stuff!" "We've gotto hitthem with blanketcoverage!" "Any crime involving a gangster gets reported, no matter howtrivial!" "Even where there's no crime, I wantexposes oftheirtax schemes and business rackets!" "I wantyou digging deep like your life depends on it!" "Got it?" "Hey, it's Hayakawa!" "All right!" "Everybody come to my club!" "Get in!" "Let's go,fellas!" "Fucking reporter!" "What paperyou from,you bastard?" "STOPTHE THUGGERY!" "MAKE A CLEAN SWEEP OF SENSELESS VIOLENCE!" "Idiots!" "How could you letthem getthat picture?" "What kind of moron goes prancing around when the cops and media are both on high alert?" "Don'tyou knowthey're talking about revoking my business license?" "Are you fucking trying to hang me orwhat?" "Hirono's the one who started this feud!" "It's notmy fucking fight!" "I'm flying to Tokyo to discuss the situation with Representative Kuwabara, so try to use yourfucking heads while I'm gone!" "That block on your shoulders!" "How's Matsui doing?" "I don'tthink he's gotmuch longer!" "A lotof good he did coming back!" "Please just let him die in peace!" "I need to do a little shopping!" "Excuse me!" "Boss Uchimoto's still gotmoney, so he doesn'twantto fight!" "But how can we hold our heads up ifwe let Hayakawa walk all over us?" " Fucking right!" " Damn straight!" "Fried noodles, please!" "And hurry!" " Fukuda?" " I thought itwas you, Mieko!" "Whatyou been up to?" "You're looking good!" "You too!" "It's been so long, I almost didn't recognize you!" "It's been three years!" "I've grown up-- especially after getting rid of a fool like you!" "Where the hell did you run offto, anyway?" "Did ya lose some weight?" "I still haven'tforgiven you for selling me to thatstrip joint!" "Sorry aboutthat!" "I was justa footsoldierthen!" "I didn't know any better!" "Could we have some beer over here?" "Bro!" "Hayakawa's car is parked just up the street!" "Hayakawa?" "Go find outwhere he went!" "I'll blow his head off!" "Butwhat'll Boss Uchimoto say?" "The boss is in Tokyo!" "We're justtaking care of business while he's gone!" "Let's go!" "I suppose you heard aboutthat Hayakawa bastard!" "The boss expelled him, so now he's got itchy fingers!" "You justwatch!" "I'll showyou what kind of man I've made of myself!" "Speaking ofwhich, you've turned into a real knockout!" "I've gotta be going!" "Can I see you again?" "Sure!" "Getyourthings together and move into my apartment if you want!" "Really?" "Really!" "Where's Boss Hayakawa?" "He wentto see a friend!" "Some of Uchimoto's men are looking for him!" "You better go tell him notto show his face!" "Who told you about Uchimoto's men looking forthe boss?" "Nobody!" "I sawthem myself!" "Did you see Fukuda?" "Don't be ridiculous!" "What're you doing?" "Matsui comes back to die, and this is howyou treat him?" "Getout!" "So what?" "Hayakawa and Uchimoto have nothing to do with me!" "I haven't done anything wrong!" "Whatthe fuck?" "Move it!" "You fucking scum!" "Justso you know, it's Mieko who sold you out!" "Serves you right!" "SEPTEMBER 17, 1963 YASUKI FUKUDAOF UCHIMOTO FAMILY DIED With this killing as the trigger, the rank and file ofboth camps set all hesitation aside and exploded in open warfare like a dam bursting." "Let's getoutta here!" "Move it!" "Get in!" "Fucking assholes!" "That'll teach 'em!" "Take this, shitface!" "Go ahead and kill me!" "You better believe I'll killyou!" "Hey, men!" "It's not nice to make 'em suffer, so either kill 'em or send 'em home!" "I'll do it!" "Letme do it!" "SEPTEMBER 20, 1963 --TSUTOMU MORITA OF THE UCHIMOTO FAMILY DIED" "ANTI-VIOLENCE COALITION Fed up with the constantviolence, the citizens of Hiroshima rose up en masse to drive violence from the city." "MASARU MARUYAMA, MEMBEROF TAKEDA FAMILY, SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS" "As family members were flushed out oftheirterritories," "HAYAKAWA FAMILY MEMBER HIROSHI SUGIMOTO SENTENCED TO 18 YEARS the police made one arrest afteranother." "Stop itorwe'll haulyou in for obstruction of justice!" "Whatare you talking about?" "We're justcleaning house!" "If you don't like it, you can move yourfucking car!" "Meanwhile, close surveillance by the Kure police had effectively paralyzed Hirono." "To make matters worse, his backers in the Akashi family had theirown problems, meeting resistance from the locals" "MEMBEROF AKASHI FAMILY SHIGEO AIHARA as they sought a foothold in Tokyo, which left them unable to come to Hirono's aid." "Seeing this, the rival Shinwa Group" "SECOND CHAIRMAN OF SHINWAGROUP GIICHI ITAMI installed strongman Giichi Itami as its second chairman, striving to establish a balance of power." "Boss,you have a call from Takeda!" "Takeda?" "Thatyou,Takeda?" "What's the matter?" "We've been ready, butyou don'tattack!" "Look who's talking!" "You said you'd kill Yamamori, butyou haven't lifted a finger!" "Uchimoto's ignoring you and Akashi's abandoned you!" "Pretty pathetic!" "So what's this?" "They've gotyou caged in, so you figured you'd call and give me grief on the phone?" "Fucking asshole!" "You're in the same boat!" "So letme make a suggestion:" "Give it up and go straight!" "I can't justtake yourword, so announce itto the papers!" "Then I'll give due consideration to your circumstances!" "Sure, I'll announce I'm giving up the life-- as long as you do the same!" "And you've gotto bring Yamamori with you,too!" "Look, Hirono!" "Think about it!" "Atthis rate,the police and press are gonna do us in for good!" "Don'tyou think?" "Welcome!" "Hey, Hirono!" "Mr!" "Okubo's friends on the city council tried talking to the Kure police, butthe police won't pull offtheir cordon!" "Theywon't, huh?" "I wish I could be your arms and legs and help out, but Mr!" "Okubo absolutely forbids it!" "Meanwhile,Yamamori's been traipsing around with no one paying him any heed!" "He and Eda plan to attend the installment ceremony forthe new Shinwa Group chairman, with a free pass from the police!" "Money really does talk!" "So Yamamori's going to Kobe?" "Say,when exactly is this installmentceremony?" "I'm ready!" "What's going on?" "Open up!" "Open up!" "Let's go!" "What're you stopping for?" "Boss!" "we really don'tthink you should go to Kobe!" "Me and Iwami here can ice Yamamori foryou!" "You should go on back to Kure!" "What're you giving me grieffor ata time like this?" "Getmoving!" "You know, boss!" "cuta snake in pieces, it'll recover if it keeps its head!" "But if its head gets chewed up, then it's a goner!" "That's why you need to stay in Kure!" "Look, I have an 18-year grudge against Yamamori!" "This is something I have to do with my own hand!" "Now getthis thing moving!" "Whatthe fuck?" "Sorry, butwhile you two are talking," "I need to go take a shit!" "Again?" "You having stomach trouble?" "These suckers chill my stomach and give me diarrhea!" "My stomach's feeling bad,too!" "So it's group shittime, is it?" "Acouple of stinking buddies, aren'tyou?" "The snake's head, huh?" "Takemoto!" "Iwami!" "Where are you?" "Answerme!" "Those shitheads!" "SEPTEMBER 25, 1963 SHINWAGROUP INSTALLATION CEREMONY" "There he is!" "I told you to give it up, you stupid punks!" "Sure, it'd be great to ruin the bastard's special day!" "Butour Boss Akashi will be attending,too!" "Did you think aboutthat?" "Then how aboutafterwards-- after Boss Akashi goes home?" "Atthe station, orwherever!" "Please just let us do it!" "Keep yourfucking hands off him in Kobe!" "You explain it to the knuckleheads, Iwai!" "Fine, but I can't go back to Hirono empty-handed!" "Isn'tthere anyway we can send him some reinforcements?" "The boss said no!" "So what's the excuse going to be for contradicting the boss?" "If you wantan excuse, we've gotone!" "The plan Iwai had in mind was to hold a grand memorial service forthe murdered Kiyoshi Kawanishi." "Pressed by Iwai that the time foraction had come," "Hirono immediately began preparations forthe service, along with plans to attack Hiroshima, as soon as the funeral was over." "Starting several days before the scheduled service, men from the Akashi family and otherfamilies across the country began arriving in Kure in droves, soon reaching some 1,600 in number." "Hey there!" "Did you wait long?" "I hearthings are kind oftouchy right now!" "Is itwise to always meet in the same place?" "This place is safe because my men have a clearview outfront!" "Coffee!" "Besides, even in wartime, a guy needs a break now and then!" "I said coffee!" "Keep itquiet!" "Come with us!" "Yo, Uchimoto!" "Afine sightyou are!" "You spend so much time chasing pussy, it's made you soft!" "Please don't harm me!" "I'm the one's been telling my men to stay outoffights, yetthe men who've been killed are all my men!" "Still wantto save your hide, do you?" "Okay, I'll letyou off!" "Butfirstyou'll have to give us a nice little showwith your girlfriend!" "Hurry it up!" "Getyour clothes off!" "You can'tmean it!" "Take their picture, Eda, and we'll send itto the Akashis!" "Have a heart!" "Go geta camera!" "Boss Yamamori," "I don'tcare aboutmyself, but please don'ttormentthis man!" "Itwould be too cruel a blow if his wife found outabout us!" "I beg you!" "Two-bitwhores should mind their own business!" "Only two-bittoughs have to get theirman when he's with his lady!" "Enough fucking lip!" "Justyou watch this!" "Hold on, Eda!" "Kill him and allyou do is make yourselfthe nexttarget!" "That's no reason to let him go alive!" "That's right!" "Do it!" "Sit down!" "Boss!" "so long as this fuck's alive, we have a chance to make peace!" "Knock him off, and who're you gonna make peace with?" "Ifwhatyou want is all-outwar, that's fine with me,too!" "But I can'ttake responsibility forwhatmight happen!" "So tell us, Uchimoto!" "Hirono's planning a big fancy memorial service for Kawanishi, but I'm guessing it's justa front for launching an attack on us!" "Am I right?" "Spill it!" "Save your neck, dear!" "Tell him!" "All right,then!" "Let's hearthe whole story!" "KNOCKOUTVIOLENCE BUILD A LIVABLE COMMUNITY" "To all Hirono family members, we have you completely surrounded!" "Do exactly as we say, oryou'll be arrested for obstructing justice!" "Shozo Hirono, we have a warrantforyour arrest!" "Come out peacefully!" "I repeat:" "We have you surrounded!" "Do exactly as we say, oryou will be arrested for obstructing justice!" "Shozo Hirono, we have a warrantforyour arrest!" "Come out peacefully!" "Boss,we'll hold them off!" "You getoutof here!" "There's a time for everything!" "What happens, happens!" "You've gotto save yourself, boss!" "You know it's just some unrelated offense!" " I'll be back in no time!" " Boss!" "Putthat hardware away!" "No sense letting them confiscate it!" "Hirono, the charge is assaultand battery!" "I see!" "Lastsummer you dragged a Makihara family member to the Yamamori office and worked him over!" "Is that right?" "Supposedly Yamamori's the only one who knows aboutthat!" "So he's your snitch, is he?" "Come with us!" "This is a waste oftax money!" "Boss!" "Boss!" "Hirono was arrested foran unrelated offense, but it effectively removed him from the field ofbattle." "Three days later, the service was held without him, and the troops who'd gathered in Kure left withoutseeing action." "Yamamori and Makihara promptly returned to Kure." "With the tables nowturned, bloody retribution followed against members of Hirono's family." "We've gotcompany!" "Run!" "OCTOBER3, 1963 MASUO IWAMI CRITICALLYWOUNDED" "Stop it!" "SHIGERU TAKEMOTO OF HIRONO FAMILY SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS" "The fuck!" "Give me my fucking money!" " Letme go!" "I wantmy money, damn it!" "Stop it!" "Whatthe fuck's going on?" "I had Yen1,000 riding on that home run!" "Fucking bastard claims I only get Yen500 back!" "I calculated it right!" "Who the fuck do you think you are?" "I'm with the Gisei Group!" "Gota problem with that?" "Yazaki!" "you doing this all on your own?" "Uh-huh!" "To stay underthe cops' radar!" "You'll never last if you let'em give you shit!" "Here,take this!" "Anybody complains, teach him a lesson!" "Thanks!" "I sure didn'tfigure on Hirono getting hauled in!" "Itchanges the whole picture in ourwarwith Yamamori!" "Takeda's trying to stop bleeding money by sending home all the troops from outside!" "Since Uchimoto's obviously useless, how aboutyou and Ijoin up for a showdown with Yamamori?" "I don't have the troops for a fight!" "We gotour hands full justcollecting baseball bets!" "Used to be Uchimoto took care of us, but lately he's just been squeezing our balls!" "So I don'tfigure I owe him a thing anymore!" "I'd heard a little something aboutthat, so I broughtyou this to tide you over--Yen5 million!" "I'd like you to take it!" "I don'towe a thing to either Uchimoto or Akashi, but ifwe just letthem keep pounding Hirono's men, then you know they'll come after us next!" "That's why I'm asking foryour help!" "Please!" "I'll do what I can!" "You've taken on a new glow since coming to this bar!" "Then maybe I should break up with Okajima and play the field again!" "Good idea!" "I'll be yourfirstcandidate!" "Time to trade in for a newmodel!" "Butseriously, I can'tthank you enough, Mr!" "Takeda!" "If I'd stayed where I was," "Boss Yamamori would have hounded me outof Hiroshima!" "If Okajima realized I owe itall to you," "Ijust know he wouldn't go on standing againstyou!" "But promise me you won'ttell him I gotyou this gig!" "I wouldn'twant him to take itwrong!" "Just be sure you call me every day to tell me where he is!" "I need to know so I can protect him!" "There's too many guys angling to knock him off!" "I will!" "Well, if it isn't Okajima!" "How long's it been?" "Join us!" "Sit down!" "Where've you been keeping yourself?" "!" "Here, have a drink!" "How've you been?" "What've you guys been up to?" "Welcome!" "These are friends of mine from grade school!" "My goodness!" "You know, Okazaki, we should have a class reunion!" "We can invite old ""Knuckle Trumpet!"" "Who in the world is that?" "Ourteacher!" "Bottoms up!" "Hello?" "Takeda?" "Justa moment!" "Boss,there's a call from thatAiko who used to work foryou!" "She's asking ifTakeda's here!" "Aiko?" "Tell heryou're one ofTakeda's men!" "See whatshe has to say!" "KABE HOT SPRINGS, HIROSHIMA" "You used to rap me on the head with your knuckles!" "You said only the reformatory could straighten me out!" "Did he really?" "So I turned into a reprobate, but do you suppose I've straightened out justa little?" "I think my face justturned red!" "Watch your step, sir!" "You don't need to treatme like a doddering old man yet!" "Hello there!" "You're Okajima, I believe?" "That's right!" "Believe it!" "You saw it!" "OCTOBER 1 1, 1963 --TOMOJI OKAJIMA, CHAIRMAN OF GISEI GROUP, DIED" "Takeda flew into a rage when he heard ofYamamori's unilateral action." "Takeda knewthere could be no winning ifthe public was against them, and his bitterdifferences with the hawkish Yamamori and Eda led him to pull back from the forefront ofthe feud." "Meanwhile, the opposing Uchimoto spurned Iwai's repeated calls foraction, needlessly delaying resolution ofthe hostilities." "So are you going to take Yamamori outor not, damn it!" "The thing is,with Hirono away, if I take on Yamamori all by myself, there's no way I can win!" "What kind oftalk is that from a yakuza?" "Or are you justa cab company owner?" "Which do you wanna be?" "Well, if I have to choose," "I'd really just like to focus on my business now!" "Fine!" "Do whatyou like!" "We've got no use for a cab company, so you'lljust have to walk your own path!" "But I'm warning you!" "You've gota precipice ahead and a precipice behind!" "I suggestyou watch your step very carefully!" "Right?" "Doesn'twhat I said make good sense?" "You guys hang in there now!" " Boss!" " Mr!" "Uchimoto!" "Bro!" "Fora time the feud seemed to be dying down, but the flames flared up again when the younger men in the various families grew disgruntled with their bosses' political maneuverings." "OCTOBER 15, 1963 ""HAREM" CABARET BOMBED" "Take cover!" "THAT SAME NIGHT-- EDA FAMILYOFFICE BOMBED" "WAR ESCALATES TO BOMBINGS" "CABARET BOMBED" "Is this the police?" "What?" "This is Yoshio Yamamori!" "Whaddaya mean, "What's up?"" "I keep calling to ask for protection, and you guys don't do squat!" "Bombs are flying, and I've got no place to hide!" "It's your job to protect upstanding citizens!" "If I get killed, it's on your shoulders!" "Ouch!" "So,where are you right now?" "All right!" "Staywhere you are!" "What does he want?" "Wants to knowwhywe refuse to protectan upstanding citizen!" "Is he kidding?" "You shouldn'teven be taking his calls!" "Until we can bring charges, we have to treat him like anybody else!" "Boss Yamamori called the police, so you guys can scram!" "Are you sure?" "He's gotmore faith in the cops than in us!" "Enough ofthis shit!" "Go!" "Yamamori's hiding outwith Eda at Hayakawa's bar!" "You sure?" " No question about it!" "And Hayakawa and his men split, so now's our chance!" "All right!" "Let's go get'em!" " Right!" "Followme!" "Yeah, it's me!" "And?" "Going after Yamamori?" "Hurry it up!" "Takeda here!" "Yeah,what's up?" "I'm telling you this "cause I owe you one forthe other day!" "Some of my men just rushed out, saying theywere going to ice Yamamori!" "Theywere headed for Hayakawa's bar!" "You better call him and warn him rightaway!" "Idiot!" "Why didn'tyou stop them?" "Why should I have to stop them?" "We're atwar!" "Look, if Yamamori survives, could you get him to lend me" "Yen20 million or so?" "Whatmoron lends money to his enemy,you dimwit?" "What gives,Takeda?" " Ueda!" "Whatmade you think you could protect the boss here withoutany defenses?" "What're you talking about?" "There's a police cruiser outside!" "None that I see!" "Go look!" "Takeda," "I trust Ueda, and my life is in his hands!" "I have no use foryou!" "Is thatso?" "In thatcase, when the Uchimoto fellas show up in a minute, you can fightthem off yourselves!" "Hold on!" "I'll go with you!" "Come if you want, butam I yourman forthis fightor not?" "I never said you weren't!" "Notthatway!" "This way!" "This way!" "Move it!" "Drive!" "Cops!" "Clearthe road!" "Letme go!" "Run!" "Who the hell are you?" "You're with Uchimoto!" "Take iteasy!" "Stop it!" "We're in the same boat here!" "Fucking asshole!" "You're lucky you gotaway!" "Damn straight!" "What happened was the car broke down, so everybody gotoutto push!" "You pushed,too?" "Yeah!" "But then when I stopped to think," "I realized, why should I be helping them?" "So I ran away." "Whata moron!" "Butyou knowwhatTakeda said?" "Itwas Boss Uchimoto who squawked aboutour raid!" "The boss himself?" "!" " Uh-huh!" "No wonderwe're always being taken forfools!" "That pisses me off!" "Let's attack again!" "Yeah, let's hit'em again!" "Uchimoto's goons are walking the streets again!" "Fucking bastards!" "Let's go get'em!" "Where ya think you're going, punks?" "Get lost,you fucking assholes!" "Justtry and make us, shithead!" "Fucking bastard!" "OCTOBER 17, 1963 --GUN BATTLE IN SHINTENCHI 2 DEAD, 3 CRITICALLYWOUNDED The wild gun battle directly threatened ordinary citizens, and anti-gang sentiment boiled overamong the public." "Pressured from every direction, the police and district attorney began rounding up all family leaders." "What kind oftreatment is this?" " Boss!" "What?" "Get in!" "UCHIMOTO  CO!" "KAWAHATA HOSPITAL" "No!" "Don't do that!" "Stop!" "Outof myway!" "What's this about?" "Yamamori, I have a warrantforyour arrest!" "What possible charge could you bring againstme?" "Two years ago,you punched an employee ofthe Boat Racing Association!" "I have Potts disease!" "I have to stay off my feet!" "Go ask the doctor!" "The only thing keeping you off yourfeet is too much pussy!" "The reporters are here too, dear, so act like a man!" "Leave me alone!" "Have you completely lostyour spine?" "Come with us!" "Just give me a second!" "I'll hold a press conference!" "As soon as he learned ofYamamori's arrest, Iwai flewto Hiroshima to begin rebuilding the Akashi camp there, centering on the Gisei Group's henchmen left leaderless by Okajima's death." "Meanwhile," "Takeda made peace with his formerenemy, Otomo, and called on other Hiroshima families to unite in common purpose and meet Iwai's challenge head-on." "The yakuza in this city feel a certain pride!" "The Shinwa Group from Kobe wants us to raise their banner here, butwe've turned them down!" "Stay here yourself as long as you want, buttake down the Akashi family sign!" "Hold on a second!" "I belong to the Akashi family!" "Why shouldn't I put up their sign wherever I am?" "In thatcase, declare right here and nowthat you'll break offwith the Gisei Group!" "When you come in here and open an office with these guys, you're meddling in internal Hiroshima affairs!" "And what kind of satisfaction can we expectforthe murdered Okajima?" "This is war!" "Killing's the name ofthe game!" "Then you'll be our nexttarget, so fucking bring iton!" "Anytime, asshole!" "Anytime!" "Calm down!" "Do I take whatyou said as yourfamily's official answer?" "I'm Iwai ofthe Akashi family!" "All right!" "Then justso you know, we may not be very sophisticated here in Hiroshima, butwe never letvisitors stand upwind of us!" "We won't letso much as a cat getthrough if he's from Kobe!" "Don'tforgetthat!" "Fine!" "You guys take care your spit doesn't blow in your own faces!" "Gotthat?" "Now getoutof here!" "Handle this with care!" "Justmake sure no harm comes to Boss Akashi!" "It'd make things too messy!" "Otherwise, blow up whateveryou like!" "Just be careful!" "Right!" "TATSUO AKASHI" "OCTOBER 20, 1963 BOSS AKASHI'S RESIDENCE BOMBED The Akashi family assumed" "SHINWAGROUP they'd been attacked by the Shinwa Group and retaliated immediately." "THAT SAME NIGHT-- SHINWAGROUP OFFICE ATTACKED" "The fire jumped to Hiroshima the very same night, and gun battles erupted between Takeda's and Iwai's men." "THAT SAME NIGHT-- TAKEDAOFFICE ATTACKED" "Get him to a hospital!" "Don't juststand there!" "Start cleaning up!" "And so the feud in Hiroshima grew into a battle between Hiroshima and Kobe, a bloodletting thatshook all ofWesternJapan." "OCTOBER 21, 1963 BOSS OF YOSHIKURA FAMILYATTACKED" "Stop!" "Fucking bastard!" "OCTOBER 22, 1963 BOSS OF HAYAKAWA FAMILYATTACKED" "Iwai and his troops from Kobe are putting themselves outthere!" "Ifwe letoutsiders do all the work, how can we ever liftour heads high again?" "We're gonna join the battle!" "Could you send yourmen outtoo?" "You're barking up the wrong tree!" "I owe my loyalty to Uchimoto!" "When Uchimoto's sitting tight," "I can't go joining fights on my own!" "I understand your position, but Boss Okajima was counting on you!" "That's why he gave you thatmoney!" "You owe him!" " Let's not bring money into this!" "It's true I owe Okajima, butas repayment," "I've been sending part of my take to him every month!" "You think money can repay your obligation?" "You guys brought it up first!" "Calm down!" "Look, Kawada, if you join the fight, so will Uchimoto!" "Whetherwe can avenge Boss Okajima is on your shoulders!" "You can make men of us!" "Please!" "Bro!" "I'll go talk to Uchimoto, so don'tworry about it, okay?" "Move it!" " Bro!" " Listen to me!" "Don't get itchy triggerfingers until we have a clear answer from Kawada!" "Forgetthat bastard, bro!" "We can do itourselves!" "I don't intend to die withoutavenging Okajima's death!" "Kawada's a little strange!" "Don't geton his bad side oryou'll regret it later!" "I won't lastmuch longer!" "Bro!" "HOWTO BUILD A BOMB" "GUNPOWDER" "Hello!" "I see!" "All right!" "I have to go!" "Thatwas Boss Kawada!" "He hit it!" "All right!" "Nowwe're sitting pretty today!" "There you are,Yazaki!" "You've been helping out Fujita over atthe Gisei Group a lot!" "Why don'tyou give it up?" "But I owe Mr!" "Fujita a debtof gratitude!" "Forwhat?" "Those guys think they've gotone up on us, and they've been cutting into ourterritory!" "The gas stations are all showing Gisei Group badges!" "Thatmay be true, but ifthere's a war, we have to side with Gisei!" "Think again!" "I'm notsiding with anyone!" "Whatare we so broken up about thatwe should have to help Gisei?" "Leave the warto the warmongers!" "Ourfirstconcern is protecting ourturf!" "You know,Yazaki, it'd sure simplifythings if you'd do him for us!" "Excuse me?" "Fujita's in line to be the nextchairman ofthe Gisei Group!" "Without him," "Gisei's gotaboutas much going for it as a pile of horseshit!" "This here is howmuch those bastards rake off ourtake!" "With Fujita gone, this would all be yours!" "Think about it!" "I knowyou've kind of become friends, so if you can't do it,you can't do it!" "Butyou know,Yazaki, don'tyou think it's time to startacting like a man?" "An opportunity like this may notcome again!" "MOTOMACHI IN HIROSHIMA AKA""THE A-BOMB SLUMS"" "Turn the television off!" "It's giving me a headache!" "I told you to turn itoff, you numbskull!" "Get up, Hiroshi!" "How long are you going to lie around and notwork?" "Get up!" "Hurry up and eatyour dinner!" "I'll buy you a betterTV!" "More big talk!" "Who's there?" "Yazaki?" "What're you doing here atthis hour?" "Bro!" "OCTOBER 25, 1963 SHOICHI FUJITAOF GISEI GROUP DIED" "What's going on?" "Where's your son?" "Has he done something?" "He's wanted formurder!" "There he is!" "This way!" "Stop!" "HIROSHI YAZAKI OF KAWADA FAMILY SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS" "Hirono!" "Iwai!" "Hirono!" "the Gisei Group's Fujita gotoffed!" "Fujita?" "Yep!" "Some punk from the Kawada family did it!" "It's brother killing brother now!" "The Gisei Group's in tatters, and I have no idea howto fix it!" "And that's notall!" "The family in Kobe accepted police mediation and made peace with the Shinwa Group!" "I've been called home!" "Hirono!" "I hate to do this, but I have to pull out!" "I'm really sorry!" "I'm the one who should apologize!" "I understand howyou feel!" "I appreciate everything you've done!" "Ijustsaw Uchimoto too, and he said itwas a relief to getthrown in the clink!" "That's aboutwhat I'd expectof him!" "Hey!" "So long,then!" "The world may be changing, butthere's more to life than just Kure and Hiroshima!" "You should plan to come to Kobe!" "I'll be waiting foryou!" "I'll be counting on it!" "You wantto stay a yakuza orturn legitimate businessman?" "Which is it going to be?" "I'm sure you're aware we can cancelyour business license!" "I've been thinking aboutthat for a long time!" "Butwhen you're outthere in yakuza society, you have to live with your shields up!" "So I couldn'tsay anything,you know!" "Are you going to disband or not?" "That's why I'm saying!" "Since being in here," "I've finally made up my mind!" "All right?" "Regarding the charges oftax evasion and illegal possession offirearms," "I'm negotiating with the prosecutors, so the less you say,the better!" "Buttry notto be so contrary!" "Maybe they'll letyou outsooner!" "The city's talking about taking overthe boat-racing business for a billion yen!" "We'll be set forthe restof our lives!" "You can turn everything over to a successor!" "Here's your asthma medicine!" "Asthma?" "Hey,this medicine sure works great!" "Iwai leftthis foryou!" "Bosses like you getto feaston fancy food, butall the grunts get is prison garbage!" "Poor bastards!" "When you're a yakuza, only the boss gets the perks!" "Even in war,they don't lifta finger!" "The grunts do all the dirtywork!" "Truth is,they're probably afraid of dying!" "We live by a differentcode!" "Shutthe fuck up if you don't know!" " Don't give me thatcrap!" "Oh,yeah?" "If you cared a damn aboutyourmen, you'd be the firstto die!" "Soon, Hirono's parole was revoked, and he was sent to Hiroshima prison." "The followingJanuary, he was resentenced to seven years and four months in prison." "Hirono!" "How long they putyou away for?" "Seven years and fourmonths, including what I had before!" "Is that right?" "Notmuch different from some murder sentences!" "Who knows?" "By the time they figure in the Kobe bombing and whatnot," "I might be in longerthan you!" "Yeah?" "Eda gotfive years, and Makihara gotaboutthree!" "Uchimoto gotoffwith probation!" "Whatabout Yamamori?" "Ayear and a half!" "He gets one and a half and I getseven!" "I sure gotthe short end ofthe stick there!" "I blew everything I had, so I'm penniless now!" "And the papers have pounded me so ruthlessly, onlyway I can survive is to turn my organization into a political committee!" "I suppose thatmight be fine, but it looks to me like ourtime is over!" "Do this for 18 years, you grow used to certain comforts, butthe cold in here really gets to my bones!" "No kidding!" "Somehow I've gotto find a way to getthrough seven years ofthis!" "Well,then, Hirono, you hang in there!" "Yeah,you too!" "And so the Hiroshima feud that led to 1 7 dead," "26 wounded, and some 1,500 arrests came to its fruitless end, and the gangland violence soon disappeared beneath an increasingly stable public order." "But this is not to say that violence itself,northe societal contradictions that drive people to it, have disappeared from the world around us." "THE END"