Talk:Yakuza

Revision as of 01:11, 5 March 2011 by A-Dust (talk | contribs)
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"Co-leaders"

I've always been a bit confused about the designation of Kenji and Asuka Kasen as "co-leaders" of the Yakuza, and was wondering if there was anything official from Rockstar about this designation. The main reason I ask is because of the designation of Kenji as wakagashira. The term is not used to designate a leader or co-leader within yakuza societies; rather, the term refers to the second-in-command, or underboss.

Denshi Jisho defines the term as "young leading subordinate". The Wikipedia article on the Yamaguchi-gumi, which this article states may serve as inspiration for the Yakuza in GTA III, states that "Wakagashira were elected as underbosses to the kumicho", kumicho being the term the article uses to designate the leader. The article on Masaru Takumi describes him as the "second-in-command (wakagashira) and financial overseer of... the Yamaguchi-gumi". A flowchart from Wikipedia, File:Yakuza hierarchy.png, translates wakagashira as "first lieutenant" and clearly shows the position as being subordinate to the family leader.

Considering these numerous designations, it would make sense to me that there are three possibilities for the organizational structure. The one in line with the "co-leader" theory is that Kenji and Asuka are jointly in charge of a larger organization's operations within Liberty City, and being "co-leaders", both hold the title of wakagashira, as the term can be applied to more than one person. However, in Waka-Gashira Wipeout, Donald Love specifically uses a definite article to refer to Kenji's title: "I want you to kill the Yakuza Waka-Gashira, Kenji Kasen." I would believe that that wording would not exist if others held the title of wakagashira, as then Kenji would be a wakagashira, not the wakagashira. As such, I am discounting that theory.

The two remaining possibilities, therefore, are a) that Kenji is the wakagashira subordinate to unknown persons outside of Liberty City, and Asuka is therefore subordinate to him as well; or b) that Kenji is the wakagashira subordinate to Asuka. Neither of these possibilities leave the option for "co-leadership" open.

So again, I'm wondering if there's any release from Rockstar indicating "co-leadership" of the Yakuza. If so, I'll put it down to an error on their part (or my own misunderstanding somewhere). But otherwise, I think we need to ditch the "co-leader" designation we've used for Kanji and Asuka on Yakuza-related pages. vonPreußentalk

The GTA III website states that the Yakuza are 'believed to be run by a brother and sister team', while also stating that Asuka is the superior due to her being expert in the art of torture and Kenji as the inferior mainly due to his funny way of speaking, suggesting that the two are actually equals but that Asuka is more respected/feared than her brother. A-Dust 01:11, 5 March 2011 (UTC)