movies (subject to tumblr's inconsistent search engine. for more complete results, try the archive): badlands, blow out, bring me the head of alfredo garcia, cadavres exquis, charley varrick, chinatown, dog day afternoon, il conformista, klute, le cercle rouge, marathon man, mean streets, night moves, point blank, prime cut, save the tiger, serpico, sisters, straight time, the day of the jackal, the don is dead, the driver, the friends of eddie coyle, the getaway, the harder they come, the hot rock, the killing of a chinese bookie, the last of sheila, the long goodbye, the mackintosh man, the onion field, the organization, the parallax view, the spook who sat by the door, the sting, the taking of pelham one two three, the yakuza, three days of the condor, villain, wanda
“To perform yubitsume, one lays down a small clean cloth and the person performing the ritual lays their hand onto the cloth facing down.”
“Using an extremely sharp knife or Tantō, the person cuts off the portion of his left little finger above the top knuckle on the finger or the tip of the finger.”
“He then wraps the severed portion in the cloth his hand was resting on and submits the ‘package’ very graciously to his oyabun (boss), who also is referred to as a kumicho (godfather).”
“No man has a greater friend than Kilmer-san.”
The Yakuza (1974)
“It’s arguable that Asiaphilia, ironically, stems from legal attempts to exclude Asian Americans from the United States. The criteria by which many Asian women were permitted to enter the U.S. were not exactly morally sound: prostitutes, picture brides, war brides, mail-order brides. Sexuality was a prerequisite for refuge in the United States.”
The Yakuza (1974)
“The guiding principle of the yakuza structure is the oyabun-kobun relationship. Oyabun literally means ‘father role’; kobun means ‘child role.’ When a man is accepted into the yakuza, he must accept this relationship. He must promise unquestioning loyalty and obedience to his boss. The oyabun, like any good father, is obliged to provide protection and good counsel to his children. However, as the old Japanese saying states, ‘If your boss says the passing crow is white, then you must agree.’ As the yakuza put it, a kobun must be willing to be a teppodama (bullet) for his oyabun.
The levels of management within the yakuza structure are much more complex than the Mafia’s. Immediately under the kumicho (supreme boss) are the saiko komon (senior adviser) and the so-honbucho (headquarters chief). The wakagashira (number-two man) is a regional boss responsible for governing many gangs; he is assisted by the fuku-honbucho, who is responsible for several gangs of his own. A lesser regional boss is a shateigashira, and he commonly has a shateigashira-hosa to assist him. A typical yakuza crime family will also have dozens of shatei (younger brothers) and many wakashu (junior leaders).”
