Proud to be an Okinawan Yakuza: The History of Kiyoshi Tominaga and Kyokuryukai (1946-2019)

Proud to be an Okinawan Yakuza: The History of Kiyoshi Tominaga and Kyokuryukai (1946-2019)

Okinawa was devastated by the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 and subsequently separated from Japan by the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952 and placed under the administration of the United States. This period of U.S. military rule lasted until the reversion of Okinawa to mainland Japan in 1972, and Okinawan society developed uniquely within this special environment. The entertainment district and the sex industry flourished in dependence on the U.S. military base economy, and local gangs grew along with them. The yakuza in Okinawa built their power in a unique ecosystem that differed from that of the gangs on the mainland.

In postwar Okinawa, there were two major gang factions, the "Naha faction" and the "Koza faction," which were in constant conflict with each other. In the late 1960s, however, mainland gangs, especially the Yamaguchigumi and Sumiyoshi-kai, began to try to make inroads into Okinawa. Fearing that mainland forces would dominate the Okinawan underground, local forces responded by forming the Okinawa Rengo Kyokuryukai (later Kyokuryukai) in 1970, uniting the Naha and Koza factions. The Kyoryukai thus came to reign as the symbol of the Okinawan yakuza.

Kiyoshi Tominaga was born in 1946 on Kume Island, Okinawa, and rose to prominence as an executive in the Kyoryukai. In the late 1980s, however, disagreements within the Kyokuryukai intensified, and in 1990, Tominaga left the group with some of its leaders to establish the Okinawa Kyokuryukai. With this, the unification of the Okinawa yakuza was broken, and the group split into the "Okinawa Kyoryukai" and the "Kyoryukai IV (formerly the Kyoryukai). Although the split was rooted in a conflict over the organization's ideals and management policies, it is said that the extent to which it would tolerate the intervention of mainland gangster forces was also a factor behind the split.

Throughout the 1990s, a fierce struggle unfolded between the two factions, resulting in a series of shootings and killings. The entertainment district and construction industry in Okinawa were also affected, and the organization itself was on the verge of decline amid the growing momentum to eliminate the gangs. However, it was decided that continuing the war would endanger the survival of the yakuza in Okinawa as a whole, and in 2011 the "Okinawa Kyoryukai" and "Kyoryukai IV" finally merged to form the new "Kyoryukai. At this time, Kiyoshi Tominaga was appointed chairman, and the gang forces in Okinawa were once again unified.

With the unification, Kyokuryukai attempted to maintain a certain distance from mainland forces and maintain Okinawa's unique yakuza culture in the face of tighter gang exclusion and increasing social pressure. However, on July 12, 2019, Kiyoshi Tominaga passed away. After his death, Kyokuryukai transitioned to a new structure, but the future of gang power in Okinawa remains uncertain.

Kiyoshi Tominaga was a man who worked hard to unite Okinawa's gangs and prevent mainland forces from advancing into the region. In his lifetime, Okinawa was in the midst of many changes, including postwar turmoil, U.S. military rule, the entry of yakuza from the mainland, and the tightening of gang rule. Despite these changes, Kiyoshi Tominaga maintained his pride in protecting the Okinawan yakuza, and although he sometimes found himself involved in internal conflicts, in the end he made his mark on history by reintegrating the yakuza.