This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same number. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
Development for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves began immediately following the critical and commercial success of the first entry.[3] The development team drew inspiration from explorer Marco Polo and his expeditions through archipelagos and eastern Asia. Naughty Dog developed an updated proprietary engine for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which runs exclusively on the Naughty Engine 2.0 system. These improvements enabled extensive motion capture, greater in-game cinematic sequences, and inclusion of an online multiplayer component, a first for the franchise.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves received critical acclaim for its elaborate set pieces, character design, storytelling, graphics, technical innovation, and gameplay mechanics. It received Game of the Year accolades from numerous publications and award events and is considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made, and among the most significant titles for the seventh console generation. It also enjoyed great commercial success, with over six million copies sold worldwide. The game was followed by a sequel titled Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception in 2011, and was re-released on PlayStation 4 as part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection.[4]
Drake climbs a hotel in Nepal as he attempts to locate a temple.
Uncharted 2 is an action-adventureplatformvideo game played from a third-person view, with the player in control of Nathan Drake. Drake is physically adept and can jump, climb, and scale narrow ledges and wall faces to get between points. Drake can be equipped with up to two firearms – one single-handed and one two-handed – and a limited supply of grenades. Drake can pick up weapons, automatically replacing the existing weapon he was using, and additional ammunition from slain enemies. The player can direct Drake to take cover behind corners or low walls using either aimed or blind-fire to kill his enemies. The player can also have Drake fire while moving. If Drake is undetected by his enemies, the player can attempt to use stealth to take them out, such as by sneaking up behind them to knock them out with one hit, or by pulling an unsuspecting foe over a ledge from which Drake is hanging.[5] In most areas, if all of the foes patrolling are killed stealthily then other waves that would normally appear do not. Some areas of the game require the player to solve puzzles with the use of Drake's journal, which provides clues to the puzzles' solutions. When enabled, a hint system provides gameplay clues, such as the direction of the next objective.
Throughout the game are 101 special treasures that may be hidden or in difficult-to-reach places that the player can collect. There is also one secret "hidden" relic exactly the same as the one in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Collecting these treasures, along with completing certain feats within the game, is tracked by the awarding of medals, which give the player in-game money to use to unlock extra content on the disc, including concept art, game movies, and game cheats such as guns with infinite ammunition. A large portion of the in-game medals is used to award trophies.
Uncharted features both competitive and co-operative multiplayer. The co-op multiplayer allows a maximum of three players to take the roles of Nathan and two other "hero" companions and features missions involving gunfights, platforming, and teamwork-based objectives.[6] Players can also assist their comrades if they become critically injured or if they are grabbed by an enemy.[6]
The competitive multiplayer allows a maximum of ten players to play against each other in two teams of five. Six competitive modes are featured: Deathmatch, Plunder, Elimination, Turf War, King of the Hill and Chain Reaction.[7] Deathmatch features two teams of five, with one team acting as heroes and the other as villains. Players can choose their own appropriate character models (such as Nathan, Elena, Sully, and new characters Tenzin and Chloe for the heroes team). As players accrue points and rank up, they can purchase more skins for both heroes and villains.[7] Players can select two Boost abilities that assist them in the matches.[7] Plunder is similar to the traditional capture the flag game mode, and sees each team attempt to capture the treasure from a central point in the map and return it to their base; the player carrying the treasure is slowed down a great deal, and may also choose to hurl the treasure away at any point, to keep it out of reach of the enemy or to pass it to a teammate.[7] Elimination has two teams of five players against each other to kill everyone on the other team. In Elimination, the players do not respawn. The goal is to eliminate the other team three out of five times.
Chain Reaction is a mode that is similar to Turf War. This has the player capturing posts, but the player must do them in a specific order – one team works out from their base needing to capture 1 through 5 while the other team starts from their home and needs to snag 5 through 1. King of the Hill has players capturing a hill, spawned on the map to score points. They must stay on the hill to score points while the enemy team tries to do the same.
Gold Rush is a cooperative mode of play where 2–3 players must team up to obtain a treasure, which is randomly spawned on the map, and take it back to their base, much like Plunder. However, AI enemies try to stop the players from returning the treasure. If a player goes down and is not revived before the timer goes out, they will not come back until the next round. In each consecutive round, the enemies become tougher to defeat. Survival is the second cooperative mode of play, where 2–3 players must work together to defeat a total of ten waves of enemies, each wave becoming more and more difficult. A new co-op game mode, titled "Siege", was also added, in which 2–3 players must team up to secure a zone while holding off waves of enemies.
The multiplayer servers of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves were terminated on September 3, 2019.[8]
Two years after the events of the first game, treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake (Nolan North) is approached by former associate Harry Flynn (Steve Valentine) and Flynn's associate Chloe Frazer (Claudia Black) to help steal a Mongolianoil lamp connected to Italian explorer Marco Polo's doomed 1292 voyage from China. The group plans to cheat Flynn's client and take Polo's treasure for themselves. Unbeknownst to Flynn, Chloe and Nate are former partners, and Chloe plans on escaping with Nate afterward. Nate and Flynn break into a museum in Istanbul and find the lamp, which contains a map and flammable resin that reveals Polo's fleet was shipwrecked in Borneo, and was carrying the Cintamani Stone from the fabled city of Shambhala. Flynn double-crosses Nate, leaving him to be arrested.
Three months later, Chloe helps free Nate with his long-term friend Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Richard McGonagle). She reveals that Flynn is working for Zoran Lazarević (Graham McTavish), a Serbian war criminal seeking the stone. In Borneo, Nate and Sully infiltrate Lazarević's camp, with Chloe as a mole. Nate discovers that the stone never left Shambhala. They locate a temple containing the bodies of Polo's crew, as well as a phurba and map detailing that its carrier will gain passage to Shambhala through a temple in Nepal. Nate and Sully escape after being cornered by Flynn and his men.
Sully backs out, so Nate and Chloe continue to Nepal, which has been ravaged by Lazarević's mercenaries. They encounter Nate's ex-girlfriend journalist Elena Fisher (Emily Rose) and cameraman Jeff (Gregory Myhre), tracking Lazarević. At the temple, Nate and Chloe use the phurba to uncover Shambhala's location in the Himalayas. After Jeff is shot in an ambush, Chloe insists on abandoning him; Nate and Elena help him but are caught by Lazarević. Chloe switches sides to maintain her cover while Lazarević kills Jeff and obtains Shambhala's location from Nate, who escapes with Elena.
With Elena's help, Nate catches up to Lazarević's train. He fights through it to find Chloe, but she refuses to leave after he compromised their mission to help Jeff and Elena. Flynn arrives and shoots Nate. Cornered, Nate causes an explosion that derails the train over a cliff. He escapes the hanging train car, recovers the phurba, and falls unconscious. A TibetanSherpa, Tenzin (Pema Dhondup), brings Nate to his village.
Nate reunites with Elena and is introduced to German explorer, Karl Schäfer (René Auberjonois). Schäfer sends him and Tenzin after the remains of Schäfer's failed expedition for the Cintamani Stone decades ago. Nate and Tenzin travel through ice caves and fight off strange monsters. They discover that Schäfer was working for the NaziAhnenerbe and killed his men to protect the world from the stone. They return to repel an attack on the village by Lazarević, who kidnaps Schäfer and steals the phurba. Elena and Nate follow Lazarević's convoy to a monastery, where the mortally-wounded Schäfer warns Nate to destroy the stone before Lazarević can obtain its power.
After reacquiring the phurba from Chloe, Nate and Elena unlock the secret passage to Shambhala underneath the monastery, but Lazarević corners them. With Chloe's cover blown, Lazarević forces Nate to open the pathway to Shambhala. The monsters attack but are killed by Lazarević, who reveals them as human-like guardians of Shambhala. After the gate is opened, unsuited guardians attack, allowing Nate, Elena, and Chloe to escape.
In the city, the group discovers that the Cintamani Stone is a giant amber derived, along with the flammable resin, from the sap of an ancient tree of life. The sap gives the drinker inhuman powers, explaining the guardians and Polo's doomed crew. Flynn, left for dead by Lazarević, ambushes them in a suicide attack, seriously wounding Elena. Nate leaves her in Chloe's care and confronts Lazarević at the tree. Lazarević drinks the tree sap, becoming nearly invincible. By shooting explosive pockets of resin, Nate defeats Lazarević and leaves him to be killed by the guardians. As the city crumbles under the collapse of the tree and exploding resin, Nate and Chloe carry Elena to safety.
In the village, Chloe advises Nate to tell Elena that he loves her, before bidding him farewell. Sully leaves a recovering Elena to Nate. The couple pays their respects at a memorial for Schäfer and kiss.
First revealed by Game Informer in December 2008, the first teaser trailer showed a weary, wounded Nathan Drake marching through a snowstorm to reach a phurba half-buried in the snow. Lead character artist Richard Diamant remarked that the trailer was rendered in real-time, using the game's engine.[9] A second teaser trailer was released soon after, showing a badly wounded Drake stuck in the remains of a wrecked train hanging precariously over a cliff. The story begins in medias reswith this opening. The narrative opens with a quote attributed to Marco Polo: "I did not tell half of what I saw, for I knew I would not be believed".
Uncharted 2 features an online multiplayer component; Naughty Dog hired a dedicated multiplayer designer in August 2008 to work on this aspect of the game.[11] The beta phase of the multiplayer was playable by those who bought early copies of the game inFamous.[12] The beta was also accessible by annual subscribers of the PlayStation Network service, Qore, on June 3, to those who had subscribed to Qore by May 15.[13] The beta codes from Qore began to be sent out on May 8, 2009. Beta codes from inFamous shipped inside the game's packaging, on May 26. On September 15, another beta was released and an open beta was released to the EU and US on September 29 via the PSN store. Both expired on October 12.[14] In the first year since the game's launch, more than 125 million matches and 10,500 man-years had been played online.[15][16]
The development period was 22 months, with six months of the total spent in pre-production.[11]
In E3 2009 videos from Naughty Dog showed the voice actors of the characters performing the motion captures in some of the scenes.[18] The actors act out the scene wearing specially designed motion capture suits. Their performance was used to provide both motion capture and voice work. The actors would even rehearse together in a room and had discussions with the creative directors of the game before carrying out the performance to create a highly realistic and cinematic dialogue throughout the game.[19]
Naughty Dog intended to maximize the utilization of the Cell's SPUs, as their estimates for utilization in the first Uncharted were only around 30%.[20] As a result, the game has more realistic environments and animations. Uncharted 2 has 564 in-game cinematic animations in comparison to 80 in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.[11]
Uncharted 2 uses Naughty Engine 2.0, a revamped and optimized version of the original engine that has allowed the game to have real-time moving environments, more realistic textures, and animations. The Naughty Dog Game Engine 2.0 also works in harmony with Havok Physics.
Uncharted 2 uses between 90 and 100% of the Cell's processor and uses all 25GB of a single Blu-ray Disc.[21] However, Evan Wells later pointed out:
... now it's at least busy 100% of the time, but it's still not fully-optimized code. I mean, in order to get to that 100%, it was more about making sure the pipeline was filled, and we weren't running into one of the processors becoming idle because there wasn't a job ready for it.[22]
In the interview, Christophe Balestra also pointed out how important it was to ship every system with a hard drive:
The fact that every PlayStation 3 has a hard drive is huge for us. It's the combination of Blu-ray and a hard drive. You can play the entire game without loading. We don't require an installation. We're doing all the post-processing effects on the Synergistic Processing Units.
Naughty Dog's creative director Amy Hennig revealed a special Fortune Hunter edition of Uncharted 2 that was not obtainable in stores. The Fortune Hunter edition contains the game, a replica of the Phurba Dagger artifact and stand, a BradyGames strategy guide, an art book, the official soundtrack, and a collector's case autographed by Naughty Dog. It was also said to include various downloadable content.[24] A collector's edition of Uncharted 2 was not announced for sale in the United States.
SCEA marketing manager Asad Qizilbash told readers of the PlayStation Blog at the time that the limited edition giveaways took place on that blog, PlayStation Home, the game's multiplayer demo, and a few other unnamed places. Qizilbash also mentioned that only residents in the US were eligible to win. Only 200 copies were released.[24]
Exclusive to the PAL region, the Uncharted 2 special edition contains the game, gold versions of the Beretta and AK-47 weapons, two post cards, a PlayStation 3 theme, and multiplayer skins.[25] The game comes packaged in a steel case by SteelBook. Never formally announced, the Special Edition was discovered on the game's official European launch site, with the only link for the special edition leading to one of Britain's major game retailers, Game.[26]
A Game of the Year Edition was released on October 12, 2010. Among other features, this edition includes all previously released downloadable content (with the exception of the Sidekicks Skin Pack),[15] four motion comics, and Pinball Heroes: Uncharted for the PSP.[27] Besides being available as an individual "Greatest Hits" title, Uncharted 2 and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune have been released together, as a "Greatest Hits DualPack", and an "Ultimate Combo Pack" which includes a metallic blue DualShock 3 controller.[28][29]
The first pack of downloadable content (DLC) was released on November 27, 2009, and featured a new multiplayer map, "The Fort", from The Fortress chapter in Drake's Fortune for free.[30] It was quickly followed by "Uncharted: Eye of Indra Multiplayer Skin Pack" in December, exclusively for the PAL PlayStation Store. It included all four parts of the motion comic Uncharted: Eye of Indra and two Uncharted 2 multiplayer skins based on the motion comic. The pack contained Rika for the heroes and Pinkerton for the villains. The pack was later released in North America.[31]
Several packs were released in 2010: "PlayStation Heroes Skin Pack" was released in January, containing Sev and a Helghast soldier from Killzone 2, Nathan Hale and a Chimera from the Resistance series, and Cole (Evil and Good) along with Zeke from inFamous.[32] A DLC pack that contained two new multiplayer maps, six skins based on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, 12 PSN Trophies, and 13 medals was released in February. Skins were released as a single purchase and the 2 maps with the 12 PSN Trophies were released as a single purchase. A bundle of both purchases was also released.[33] On April 22, the third expansion pack, "Siege" was released. This DLC pack contained a new co-op multiplayer mode known as Siege, two new multiplayer maps, six new character skins, and 11 PSN Trophies (10 of which are bronze, one of which is silver). Two of the six new skins are from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and the other four are new and exclusive to the game.[34] The "Sidekick Skin Pack" was released on August 26, containing 6 alternate appearances of previously available characters, and 2 new villain skins, Dillon and Mac.[35] The "Golden Guns" DLC was released on December 12. This DLC pack contained gold skins for the AK-47 and Beretta weapons.[36]
In PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, Naughty Dog has released a themed game space for Uncharted 2, developed by Outso.[37] This makes the second game space to be released from Naughty Dog, the first being the game space for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. This space is called "Nepalese Village" and features the mini-games Mask Mayhem, Torch Race, and Fortunate Thieves with rewards. There's also an Uncharted 2 Blog that lets users access the Uncharted 2 blog. It was released on October 23, 2009, in the European and North American versions of PlayStation Home.[38] In the video on the PlayStation blog, Jack Buser, the director of Home for SCEA, describes the mini-game, Fortunate Thieves, as being a "full-on, interactive mini-MMO". The Uncharted series is the first game series to have a game space for both games of the series in Home.
Between the hours of 8 am PT on November 5 and 12 pm PT on November 6, there was a contest in the North American Home (in which only U.S. citizens could participate), where users could win the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – Fortune Hunter Edition. Between those times, users went to the Uncharted 2 space and played the "Mask Mayhem" mini-game. The user who placed first on the Uncharted 2 space's leader board won a copy of the Fortune Hunter Edition.[39] Users had another chance to win the Fortune Hunter Edition in the Uncharted 2 space between the times of 8 am PT November 20 and 12 pm PT November 21. Between those times, users had to try to get in first place on the "Fortunate Thieves" mini-game leader board to win the Fortune Hunter Edition.[40] The user who placed first on the Fortunate Thieves leader board won the Fortune Hunter Edition. Users had one final chance to win the Fortune Hunter Edition from 8 am PT December 18 to 12 pm PT December 21. Users had to play the "Torch Race" mini-game and be first on its leader board in the Uncharted 2 space.[41]
An Uncharted apartment was released on May 6, 2010 for European and North American versions of PlayStation Home called the "Uncharted Fortune Hunter's Apartment".[42]Uncharted themed costumes have also been released in Home. The apartment was released on May 27 in the Asian version.
In 2015, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was released as part of Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection for the PlayStation 4.[43] Other games included in the compilation are Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. There are several changes in elements of the gameplay, including the shooting and grenade mechanics, some controls, and the camera schemes. In-game cutscenes were overhauled to improve lighting, visuals, and character models, while online leaderboards and motion blur were introduced. The Nathan Drake Collection contains only the single-player story modes, with all multiplayer content absent.
This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
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From the plural form: This is a redirect from a plural noun to its singular form.
This redirect link is used for convenience; it is often preferable to add the plural directly after the link (for example, [[link]]s). However, do not replace these redirected links with a simpler link unless the page is updated for another reason (see WP:NOTBROKEN).
Use this rcat to tag onlymainspace redirects; when plural forms are found in other namespaces, use {{R from modification}}instead.
When appropriate, protection levels are automatically sensed, described and categorized.
Yakuza (Japanese: ヤクザ, IPA:[jaꜜkɯdza]; English: /jəˈkuːzə,ˈjækuːzə/), also known as gokudō (極道, "the extreme path", IPA:[gokɯꜜdoː]), are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them bōryokudan (暴力団, "violent groups", IPA:[boːɾʲokɯꜜdaɴ]), while the yakuza call themselves ninkyō dantai (任侠団体, "chivalrous organizations", IPA:[ɲiŋkʲoːdantai]). The English equivalent for the term yakuza is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization.[3]
The yakuza are known for their strict codes of conduct, their organized fiefdom nature, and several unconventional ritual practices such as yubitsume, or amputation of the left little finger.[4] Members are often portrayed as males with heavily tattooed bodies and wearing fundoshi, sometimes with a kimono or, in more recent years, a Western-style "sharp" suit covering them.[5]
At their height, the yakuza maintained a large presence in the Japanese media, and they also operated internationally. In 1963, the number of yakuza members and quasi-members reached a peak of 184,100.[6] However, this number has drastically dropped, a decline attributed to changing market opportunities and several legal and social developments in Japan that discourage the growth of yakuza membership.[7] In 1991 it had 63,800 members and 27,200 quasi-members, but by 2023 it had only 10,400 members and 10,000 quasi-members.[2] The yakuza are aging because young people do not readily join, and their average age at the end of 2022 was 54.2 years: 5.4% in their 20s, 12.9% in their 30s, 26.3% in their 40s, 30.8% in their 50s, 12.5% in their 60s, and 11.6% in their 70s or older, with more than half of the members in their 50s or older.[8]
The yakuza still regularly engage in an array of criminal activities, and many Japanese citizens remain fearful of the threat these individuals pose to their safety.[9] There remains no strict prohibition on yakuza membership in Japan today, although many pieces of legislation have been passed by the Japanese Government aimed at impeding revenue and increasing liability for criminal activities.[9]
The name yakuza originates from the traditional Japanese card game Oicho-Kabu, a game in which the goal is to draw three cards adding up to a score of 9. If the sum of the cards is 10 or more, the second digit is the score. So a sum of 13 is a score of 3, a sum of 14 is a score of 4, etc. A sum of 10 or 20 is a score of 0. If the three cards drawn are 8-9-3 (pronounced ya-ku-sa in archaic Japanese), the sum is 20 and therefore the score is zero, making one of the worst possible hands that can be drawn.[10][11] In Japanese, the word yakuza is commonly written in katakana (ヤクザ).
A yakuza with a dragon tattoo is running to help his comrade, who is fighting against the police.Yakuza boss Shimizu Jirocho (Chogoro Yamamoto)
Despite uncertainty about the single origin of yakuza organizations, most modern yakuza derive from two social classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo period (1603–1868): tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.[12]
Tekiya (peddlers) ranked as one of the lowest social groups during the Edo period. As they began to form organizations of their own, they took over some administrative duties relating to commerce, such as stall allocation and protection of their commercial activities.[13] During Shintofestivals, these peddlers opened stalls and some members were hired to act as security. Each peddler paid rent in exchange for a stall assignment and protection during the fair.
The tekiya were a highly structured and hierarchical group with the oyabun (boss) at the top and kobun (gang members) at the bottom.[14] This hierarchy resembles a structure similar to the family – in traditional Japanese culture, the oyabun was often regarded as a surrogate father, and the kobun as surrogate children.[14] During the Edo period, the government formally recognized the tekiya. At this time, within the tekiya, the oyabun were appointed as supervisors and granted near-samurai status, meaning they were allowed the dignity of a surname and two swords.[15]
Bakuto (gamblers) had a much lower social standing even than traders, as gambling was illegal. Many small gambling houses cropped up in abandoned temples or shrines at the edges of towns and villages all over Japan. Most of these gambling houses ran loan-sharking businesses for clients, and they usually maintained their own security personnel. Society at large regarded the gambling houses themselves, as well as the bakuto, with disdain. Much of the undesirable image of the yakuza originates from bakuto; this includes the name yakuza itself.
Because of the economic situation during the mid-Edo period and the predominance of the merchant class, developing yakuza groups were composed of misfits and delinquents who had joined or formed the groups to extort customers in local markets by selling fake or shoddy goods.[clarification needed]
Shimizu Jirocho (1820–1893) is Japan's most famous yakuza and folk hero.[16] He was born Chogoro Yamamoto, but changed his name when he was adopted, a common Japanese practice.[17] His life and exploits were featured in sixteen films between 1911 and 1940.
The roots of the yakuza survive today in initiation ceremonies, which incorporate tekiya or bakuto rituals. Although the modern Yakuza has diversified, some gangs still identify with one group or the other; for example, a gang whose primary source of income is illegal gambling may refer to themselves as bakuto.
Kyushu island (and particularly its northern prefecture Fukuoka) has a reputation for being a large source of yakuza members,[18] including many renowned bosses in the Yamaguchi-gumi.[19] Isokichi Yoshida (1867–1936) from the Kitakyushu area was considered by some scholars and political watchers as one of the first renowned modern yakuza.[20] Recently Shinobu Tsukasa and Kunio Inoue, the bosses of the two most powerful clans in the Yamaguchi-gumi, originate from Kyushu. Fukuoka, the northernmost part of the island, has the largest number of designated syndicates among all of the prefectures.[21]
Large yakuza organizations have a multi-layered structure, with executives and members running their own organizations.
During the formation of the yakuza, they adopted the traditional Japanese hierarchical structure of oyabun-kobun where kobun (子分; lit. foster child) owe their allegiance to the oyabun (親分, lit. foster parent). In a much later period, the code of jingi (仁義, justice and duty) was developed where loyalty and respect are a way of life. The oyabun-kobun relationship is 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 brotherhood relationships.[22]
The structure of yakuza organizations is characterized by a multi-layered hierarchical structure. The kobun (pseudo child) of an organization become oyabun (family head and pseudo parent) and run their own subsidiary organizations, and the kobun of the subsidiary organizations also become oyabun and run their own subsidiary organizations. A large yakuza organization such as Yamaguchi-gumi is made up of five or six layered organizations.[23][24][25] In other words, the heads of subsidiary organizations are often executives of the parent organizations.[26]
The oyabun of the organization is generally called a kumichō (組長) or kaichō (会長, chairman), the person corresponding to pseudo younger brother of the kumichō is called a shatei (舎弟), and the person corresponding to pseudo child of the kumichō (kobun) is called a wakanaka (若中) or wakashū (若衆).[27]
Although positions in yakuza organizations vary from clan to clan, the three most important yakuza positions are kumichō, wakagashira (若頭, second-in-command and pseudo eldest son of the kumichō), and shateigashira (舎弟頭, pseudo oldest younger brother of the kumichō). Honbuchō (本部長, general manager), fuku-kumichō (副組長, deputy kumichō), and jimukyokuchō (事務局長, secretary general), are also important positions.[28][29] In general, the shikkōbu (執行部, executive office) of an organization is run by the wakagashira, shateigashira, and honbuchō. Since the shatei are the pseudo-younger brothers of the kumichō, they are generally older and have higher nominal positions but relatively little real authority.[30] In the Yamaguchi-gumi pecking order as of 2024, the order is kumichō, wakagashira, shateigashira, and honbuchō.[29]
Yakuza groups are headed by an oyabun (kumichō or kaichō) who gives orders to his subordinates, the kobun. In this respect, the organization is a variation of the traditional Japanese senpai-kōhai (senior-junior) model. Members of yakuza cut their real family ties and transfer their loyalty to the oyabun. They refer to each other as family members—oyaji (親父, fathers), ojiki (叔父貴, uncles), and kyōdai (兄弟, elder and younger brothers). The yakuza is populated almost entirely by men and the very few women who are acknowledged are the wives of bosses, who are referred to by the title ane-san (姐さん, older sister). When the 3rd Yamaguchi-gumi boss (Kazuo Taoka) died in the early 1980s, his wife (Fumiko) took over as boss of Yamaguchi-gumi, albeit for a short time.
During the World War II period in Japan, the more traditional tekiya/bakuto form of organization declined as the entire population was mobilised to participate in the war effort and society came under the control of the strict military government. However, after the war, the Yakuza adapted again.
Yubitsume, also referred to as otoshimae, or the cutting off of one's finger, is a form of penance or apology. Upon a first offence, the transgressor must cut off the tip of his left little finger and give the severed portion to his boss. Sometimes an underboss may do this in penance to the oyabun if he wants to spare a member of his own gang from further retaliation. This practice has started to wane amongst the younger members, due to it being an easy identifier for police.[31]
Its origin stems from the traditional way of holding a Japanese sword. The bottom three fingers of each hand are used to grip the sword tightly, with the thumb and index fingers slightly loose. The removal of digits starting with the little finger and moving up the hand to the index finger progressively weakens a person's sword grip.
The idea is that a person with a weak sword grip then has to rely more on the group for protection—reducing individual action. In recent years, prosthetic fingertips have been developed to disguise this distinctive appearance.[22]
Many yakuza have full-body tattoos (including their genitalia). These tattoos, known as irezumi in Japan, are still often "hand-poked", that is, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using non-electrical, hand-made, and handheld tools with needles of sharpened bamboo or steel. The procedure is expensive and painful, and can take years to complete.[32]
When yakuza play Oicho-Kabu cards with each other, they often remove their shirts or open them up and drape them around their waists. This enables them to display their full-body tattoos to each other. This is one of the few times that yakuza display their tattoos to others, as they normally keep them concealed in public with long-sleeved and high-necked shirts. When new members join, they are often required to remove their trousers as well and reveal any lower body tattoos.[citation needed]
The total number of yakuza members and quasi-members peaked at 184,100 in 1963, and then continued to decline due to police crackdowns.[6] The number of regular members decreased with the implementation of the Act on Prevention of Unjust Acts by Organized Crime Group Members (暴力団員による不当な行為の防止等に関する法律) in 1992,[33] and the total number of members and quasi-members began to decline rapidly with the implementation of the yakuza exclusion ordinances in all 47 prefectures around 2010. Between 1990 and 2020, the total number of members and quasi-members decreased by 70 percent.[34]
The National Police Agency reported that Japanese yakuza organizations had 10,400 members and 10,000 quasi-members in 2023.[2]
A designated yakuza (指定暴力団, Shitei Bōryokudan)[35] is a "particularly harmful" yakuza group[36] registered by the PrefecturalPublic Safety Commissions under the Act on Prevention of Unjust Acts by Organized Crime Group Members (暴力団対策法, Bōryokudan Taisaku Hō) enacted in 1991.[37] Groups are designated as Shitei Bōryokudan (designated yakuza) if their members take advantage of the gang's influence to do business, are structured to have one leader, and have a large portion of their members hold criminal records.[38] After the Act on Prevention of Unjust Acts by Organized Crime Group Members was enacted, many yakuza syndicates made efforts to restructure to appear more professional and legitimate.[38]
As of 2023, Under the Act on Prevention of Unjust Acts by Organized Crime Group Members, the Prefectural Public Safety Commissions have registered 25 syndicates as the designated yakuza groups. Three of these organizations have more than 1,000 regular members, eight have more than 100, and 14 have less than 100. Fukuoka Prefecture has the largest number of designated yakuza groups among all of the prefectures, at 5; the Kudo-kai, the Taishu-kai, the Fukuhaku-kai, the Dojin-kai, and the Namikawa-kai.[2]
In August 2021, the Fukuoka District Court sentenced Satoru Nomura, the fifth head of Kudo-kai, to death for murder and attempted murder. This was the first death sentence handed down to a designated yakuza head. Kudo-kai is the only one of the designated yakuza to be designated as a especially dangerous designated yakuza (特定危険指定暴力団, Tokutei Kiken Shitei Bōryokudan), a more dangerous type of yakuza.[39]
Three largest syndicates and six major syndicates[edit]
As of 2023, the National Police Agency has designated Yamaguchi-gumi, Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, Kizuna-kai, Ikeda-gumi (ja), Sumiyoshi-kai, and Inagawa-kai as Shuyō dantai (主要団体, major organizations) among the designated yakuza. These six organizations have a total of 7,700 members and 6,800 quasi-members, for a total of 14,500 members, or 71.1 percent of the total 20,400 yakuza members and quasi-members in Japan.[2]
Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi split off from Yamaguchi-gumi in August 2015, Kizuna-kai split off from Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi in April 2017, and Ikeda-gumi split off from Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi in July 2020. These Yamaguchi-gumi and the three organizations that split from them are fighting each other.[2]
The Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest yakuza family, accounting for 30% of all yakuza in Japan, with 3,500 members and 3,800 quasi-members as of 2023.[2] From its headquarters in Kobe, it directs criminal activities throughout Japan. It is also involved in operations in Asia and the United States. Shinobu Tsukasa, also known as Kenichi Shinoda, is the Yamaguchi-gumi's current oyabun. He follows an expansionist policy and has increased operations in Tokyo (which has not traditionally been the territory of the Yamaguchi-gumi.)
One of the best-known bosses of the Yamaguchi-gumi was Kazuo Taoka, the "Godfather of all Godfathers", who was responsible for the syndicate's massive growth and success during the 20th century.[41]
The Sumiyoshi-kai is the second-largest yakuza family, with an estimated 2,200 members and 1,300 quasi-members as of 2023.[2] Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller yakuza groups. Its current head (会長 kai-cho) is Shūji Ogawa. Structurally, Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its principal rival, the Yamaguchi-gumi, in that it functions like a federation. The chain of command is more relaxed, and its leadership is distributed among several other members.
The Inagawa-kai is the third-largest yakuza family in Japan, with roughly 1,700 members and 1,200 quasi-members as of 2023.[2] It is based in the Tokyo-Yokohama area and was one of the first yakuza families to expand its operations outside of Japan.
In the 2010s and 2020s, the yakuza's main source of funding is a fraud called tokushu sagi (特殊詐欺, special fraud), which mainly targets the elderly to cheat them out of large amounts of money. Their methods include calling the homes of elderly people to beg for money by pretending to be the elderly person's son, or visiting the homes of elderly people posing as employees of financial institutions to swindle them out of their money. In 2014, tokushu sagi accounted for 10.4 percent of all yakuza arrests, surpassing theft for the first time at 10.2 percent, and 34.6 percent of tokushu sagi perpetrators were yakuza and their associates. The total damage from tokushu sagi identified in 2019 exceeded 30 billion yen, and while yakuza accounted for just over 10 percent of the lowest level members of criminal groups, such as cash receivers who play the role of financial institution employees, yakuza accounted for nearly 40 percent of the main perpetrators leading fraud schemes.[42][43][44]
The yakuza and its affiliated gangs control drug trafficking in Japan, especially methamphetamine.[45] While many yakuza syndicates, notably the Yamaguchi-gumi, officially forbid their members from engaging in drug trafficking, some other yakuza syndicates, like the Dojin-kai, are heavily involved in it. The most common charge for yakuza and their associates arrested in 2014 was violation of the Stimulants Control Act (覚せい剤取締法), which prohibits the import, export, sale, transfer, possession, and use of methamphetamine, accounting for 26.5 percent of arrests.[42][46]
Some yakuza groups are known to deal extensively in human trafficking.[47] In the Philippines Yakuza trick girls from impoverished villages into coming to Japan by promising them respectable jobs with good wages. Instead, they are forced into becoming sex workers and strippers.[48]
The Kabukicho district of Shinjuku has historically been known as a popular yakuza hangout in Tokyo.
Yakuza frequently engaged in a unique form of Japanese extortion known as sōkaiya. In essence, this is a specialized form of protection racket. Instead of harassing small businesses, the Yakuza harass a stockholders' meeting of a larger corporation. Yakuza operatives obtain the right to attend by making a small purchase of stock, and then at the meeting physically intimidate other stockholders. The number of sōkaiya has decreased over the years, and in 2023 there were only about 150 sōkaiya, of whom 30 worked in groups and 120 worked alone.[49]
Yakuza also had ties to the Japanese real estate market and banking sector through jiageya. Jiageya specializes in inducing holders of small real estate to sell their property so that estate companies can carry out much larger development plans. The Japanese bubble economy of the 1980s is often blamed on real estate speculation by banking subsidiaries. After the collapse of the property bubble, a manager of a major bank in Nagoya was assassinated, prompting much speculation about the banking industry's indirect connection to the Japanese underworld.[50]
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