Kaminari Yakuza

THIS SUBFACTION IS CURRENTLY INACTIVE - HOWEVER THE PLAYER THAT RUNS IT IS IN THE PROCESS OF A REVAMP AND IT WILL BE REACTIVATED SOON.

(Currently the clan is not publically known - they are merely the owners and workers at the Guggenheim Museum)

Clan Structure:

Oyabun (Boss) - @Kagami Suzaku

Wakagashira (First Lieutenant) - Hattori Hayato

Shateigashira (Second Lieutenant) - Pending

Shingiin (Law Advisor) - Pending

Kaikei (Accountant) - Pending

Kyodai (Big Brothers) - Pending

Shatei (Little Brothers) - Pending

(Permission is needed to join this clan - if interested in joining please contact the Oyabun via PM)

Yakuza Culture:

Yakuza are traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. Consisting of members of Asian decent, the yakuza are secretive, notorious for their strict codes of conduct, very organized in nature and suspiciousness of outsiders. The formation of the yakuza adopted the traditional Japanese hierarchical structure of oyabun and kobun where kobun (lit. foster child) owe their absolute allegiance to the oyabun (lit. foster parent) or kumichō (family head). Later the code of jingi (justice and duty) was also infused into the Yakuza solidifying loyalty and respect as a way of life.

The oyabun-kobun relationship was traditionally formalized by ceremonial sharing of sake from a single cup. This ritual is not exclusive to the yakuza—it is also commonly performed in traditional Japanese Shinto weddings, and may have been a part of sworn samurais as well. It is a custom fallen out of favor in more recent times, but then again modern day Yakuza have become more thugs and gangs in Japan.

But the Kaminari clan is old school. Holding to the strict traditions, particularly around honor. They live truer to the code of Samurai than the modern day Yakuza of Japan.

Members of Yakuza clans cut their family ties and transfer their loyalty to the Yakuza boss. They refer to each other as family members and you do not cross family. The Yakuza is populated almost entirely by men, the few women involved in Yakuza clans tend to be called "nee-san" (older sister). A Kumicho that is female is unheard of. The Kaminari clan is unique and because of this, hold a very steep price on their heads in Japan.

The second in the chain of command is the wakagashira (First Lieutenant), who is not only the right hand to the oyabun, but in very large clans will govern the smaller factions in the clans region.

Tattoos are a very integral part of the Yakuza culture. Youth's often receiving their first with their first act that honors the Yakuza clan. Many yakuza have full-body tattoos. These tattoos are still often "hand-poked", that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made and hand held tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. The procedure is expensive and painful and can take years to complete. A full body array done in the old traditional way is a sign of one's strength of character. The old tradition is also not to share the tattoos with any but one's own Yakuza clan as they are a story of one's life as a Yakuza. When yakuza members play Oicho-Kabu cards with each other, they often remove their shirts or open them up and drape them around their waists. This allows them to display their tattoos to each other, it is a sign of respect and one of the few times that yakuza members display their tattoos to others.

Yakuza syndicates are known for anything from money laundering, protection rackets, drug trafficking, human trafficking, protection for hire, corporate espionage, and simple blackmail. As a matter of principle, theft is not recognised as a legitimate activity of Yakuza. Ironically, a city with a strong Yakuza clan holding power is typically one of the safest cities to be in because "cheap" criminals such as street gangs and thugs are afraid to attract the Yakuza's attention so they avoid being active in such a city.

History of the Kaminari Clan:

The Keiryō-ka (Lightening) clan had been steadily growing in power in Japan before the Nevus event. Led by Negasashi Kaito, this clan was beginning to infiltrate all aspects of Japan politics and power. The man believed in the old honors and looked down on many of the existing powerful Yakuza clans that had become more gangs and thugs than samurai. He was trusted by his kobun and led them with a firm but caring hand.

It was this environment that had raised Wong Aiko. A child of the streets she was taken in by Kaito who thought the bright five year old would make a good snitch, her pretty looks and large rare green eyes for a Japanese female had a knack for making people want to take care of her. He used this to his advantage and learned quickly the girl would only become more valuable in time. This foresight is what made the man put her through vigorous training, both her body and her mind. She was schooled in subjects normally reserved for men within the ninkyō dantai organizations as well as taught to walk in kimonos and traditional geta shoes.

Her first kill for the clan was at age twelve, by her early twenties she could no longer remember the number and was responsible for keeping the “protection” books for Kaito, her sharp mind trusted with the multitude of numbers. He made her his wakagashira, first lieutenant, by twenty seven when his former first was killed protecting the boss from an assassination attempt. This did not sit well with Ito Masaru, the second lieutenant who had assumed he would be made first.

The clan was solid but there was a cancer within its ranks. More than once she was cornered by the Masaru… more than once the first and second locked in combat to prove their worth in front of the clan members… and time and time again she put him in his place. Her sword skills had exceeded anyone else in the clan thanks to Kaito’s continued rigorous training.

But then came 2010 and the world went insane. Kaito was killed in a manner that left her suspicious it was not the Resonance but Masaru that had killed him. She had every intention of trying to take Kaito’s place as was her right. Masaru had other plans. A woman yakuza was rare…. a woman boss was unheard of. The clan was quickly dividing its loyalty and it was not in her favor. The infighting was making them weak, easy prey for the more organized clans to overcome and absorb.

She had several loyal followers but Masaru had the backing of other clans…. they refused to acknowledge her as kumicho.

Her life was forfeit among the clans, a target with a very high price on her head, as she fled one district to the next with her few loyals that now called her kumicho in defiance of the other clans. But none of them were going to survive long… so she made a brutal decision…she and her small clan vanishing from the streets of Japan.

In March 2014 they arrived in New York with a determination to build a clan here… a large and powerful clan that the Yakuza back home would be forced to respect. She paid homage to the man that had built her life, the Kaminari (Thunder) clan was born from the spark of the "lightening" the man had given her.

Now the clan is working to slowly grow a foundation it can stand on. Alliance has already been made with the Bakkhos syndicate in New York and the clan has begun to slowly embed itself into the ranks of higher society within the city. The Guggenheim is proving a valuable front as the presence of a Yakuza clan is still unknown within the city. It is also providing a strong source of income to the clan that hopes to grow slowly, for a tree that grows fast falls too quickly, but one that is slow and spreads its roots is hard to kill. And this tree is proving strong, the kumicho is good to her family, and they are loyal to none but her.

Location:

Suzaku purchased the run down Guggenheim Museum and spent months restoring it and amassing an art collection to fill it’s vacant spaces, an honest business to put before the public. The top floor is no longer part of the museum. The glass roof seen from the rotunda below is actually a fake now. Specially placed lights give the illusion of the sun and moon when the day changes. Above, the entire floor has been soundproofed and reinforced as her home and office, the headquarters for the Kaminari Yakuza clan.