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Sumiyoshi-kai

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(Redirected from Sumiyoshi-rengo)
Sumiyoshi-kai
The daimon of the Sumiyoshi-kai
Founded1958; 66 years ago (1958)
FounderMatsugoro Ito
Founding locationTokyo, Japan
TerritoryTokyo
Membership2,200 members[1]1,300 quasi-members[1]
Leader(s)Shūji Ogawa[1]

The Sumiyoshi-kai (住吉会), sometimes referred to as the Sumiyoshi-rengo (住吉連合, Sumiyoshi-rengō, "Sumiyoshi Union"), is the second-largest yakuza group in Japan with an estimated 2,200 members.[1]

Outline

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Their territories mainly consist of upscale districts such as Kabukichō and Ginza. Shops operating in these territories are often part of protection rackets in which they must pay a fee called a mikajime-ryō (みかじめ料). The Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller gangs. Structurally, the Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its main rival, the Yamaguchi-gumi. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as a federation, has a looser chain of command and while there is a chairman, some power is delegated to affiliate clan leaders.

The group has a complex history, with numerous name changes along the way. It was founded in 1958 as the Minato-kai (港会) by Shigesaku Abe who was the 3rd sōchō (総長, "Supreme Leader") of the Sumiyoshi-ikka. Yoshimitsu Sekigami, who was the 4th sōchō of Sumiyoshi-ikka, renamed it to Sumiyoshi-kai. It was dissolved in 1965.

In 1969, the group was rebuilt as a union, the Sumiyoshi-rengo, by Masao Hori, who was the 5th sōchō of Sumiyoshi-ikka. He remade it as the Sumiyoshi-rengokai (住吉連合会) in 1982, and Hori became kaicho (president). Chief Director Ryoji Kawaguchi assumed the role of kaicho, and Hori was promoted to sosai, or chairman, in 1988. Kawaguchi died of illness in May 1990, and Hori died of illness in October of the same year.

Shigeo Nishiguchi, born in 1929, became the 6th sōchō of Sumiyoshi-ikka and kaicho of this group in February, 1991. At that time, it was again renamed the Sumiyoshi-kai. Chief Director Hareaki Fukuda, born in 1943, became kaicho, and Nishiguchi was promoted to sosai in June 1998. Fukuda became the 7th sōchō of the Sumiyoshi-ikka on April 17, 2005.

On 19 April 2003, Takao Nishida, head of the affiliated Nishida-gumi, was gunned down in Ōizumi, Gunma. Police stated that they were probing for possible links between the murder and a series of shootings between the Sumiyoshi-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi in neighboring Tochigi Prefecture.[2]

On the morning of Monday, 5 January 2007, boss Ryoichi Sugiura was shot in his car in Tokyo. Within hours the offices of the Yamaguchi-gumi were fired upon in retribution.[3] The following month, 70-year-old Kazuyoshi Kudo, head of the Kokusui-kai, was discovered in his home in Tokyo, police said. A gun was found by his side, suspected to be a suicide, raising tensions between the Sumiyoshi-kai and the Yamaguchi-gumi.[4][5]

In September of 2017, Sumiyoshi-kai sosai, or chairman, Shigeo Nishiguchi died of natural causes at the age of 88.[6]

In April 2020, a report from the National Police Agency shows that the total number of members of organized crime gangs fell to historical lows, having just 2,800 members and 1,700 associated members.[7][8]

On May 31, 2022, Isao Seki, the eighth leader of the Sumiyoshi-kai, died at the age of 76.[9] Shūji Ogawa, who holds the position of kaicho, is the leader of the Sumiyoshi-kai at the time of Isao Seki's funeral.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Organized Crime Situation 2023" (PDF). National Police Agency. pp. 2, 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Mob boss gunned down in Gunma". The Japan Times. 21 April 2003. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  3. ^ BBC News - Tokyo death sparks gang war fear
  4. ^ "Tokyo gang boss found shot dead". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  5. ^ "All-out turf war feared in Japanese underworld". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  6. ^ Staff, Tokyo Reporter (2017-09-12). "Sumiyoshi-kai boss Shigeo Nishiguchi dies at 88". TokyoReporter. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  7. ^ "Yakuza Membership Hits New Record Low". Nippon.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  8. ^ "Life of Crime: Yakuza Membership Hits New Record Low". Nippon.com. Retrieved 2022-10-11.
  9. ^ 指定暴力団・住吉会トップの関功代表が死亡 (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. 31 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  10. ^ 住吉会代表が死去「供花や名札の配置は気を使う」「香典には数千万円を包んでくる組織も」 “義理事”は最重要儀式だが…現代ヤクザの葬儀事情はどんなもの？. Bungeishunju. 19 June 2022
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