"Sparks in the Snow: A Record of the Gang War in Sapporo (January-March 1990).

"Sparks in the Snow: A Record of the Gang War in Sapporo (January-March 1990).

In 1990, a fierce war was waged in Sapporo, Hokkaido, between the Yamaguchigumi Seiyukai and the Ishin Tenchukai. The backdrop for this war was the reorganization of gang forces in Hokkaido and the struggle for territorial control. Behind the silence of the city, hatred between the two organizations flared up noisily in the snow.

The trigger for the war was an incident in January of the same year, when Haruo Ishima, the first president of Seiyukai, was attacked and killed on his way home. President Ishima had long reigned as a leading figure in the Sapporo underworld, and his assassination was seen not only as a violent incident but also as a provocation against the Seiyukai as a whole. This shocking incident ignited the flames of war among the gangsters in Hokkaido and started a chain of retaliation.

In the central part of Sapporo, radical actions by the Seiyukai side occurred one after another in retaliation for the assassination of President Ishima. One of the most memorable was the "suicide attack" on a building in Minami Rokujo Nishi, near Susukino, which was the site of the Ishin Tenchukai's "suicide attack" against the Seiyu-kai. This building was considered the base of the Ishin Tenchukai, and young members of the Seiyu-kai, operating an excavator in the shadows of the night, rushed into the front entrance of the building. The heavy machinery, a mass of iron and oil, pushed forward as if tearing apart the winter stillness of Sapporo, and the shards of glass flying about were a scene straight out of a war.

This excavator raid, an act symbolizing the intensity of retaliation, brought terror and shock to the city. When other incidents of gunfire and attacks, mainly in Susukino, began to threaten the lives of citizens, the Hokkaido Police recognized the gravity of the situation and placed the central area of Sapporo on special alert, with a strict surveillance system in place. The war continued intermittently until around March, and the air in the city remained tense.

The police enforced simultaneous raids on both sides of the rival gangs, arresting key members one after another. Although this was still before the enactment of the Anti-Boryokudan Law, the Hokkaido police took this opportunity to move toward full-fledged elimination of gangs. The war gradually calmed down, and the Seiyukai after the death of Chief Ishima proceeded with reorganization, but the dominance of the Yamaguchigumi forces in Hokkaido became clear.

This war was more than just a series of incidents; it was a turning point that redrew the map of gang power in Hokkaido, and it also showed how fragile and dangerous the boundary between civil society and the underworld can be. The sparks that ignited in the snow-covered streets of Sapporo may seem to have faded, but they continue to leave traces in deep places.

Related Sources

1. the Hokkaido Shimbun (January-March 1990)
　Daily reports on the attack on President Haruo Ishima, the excavator raid, and the special police alert. Reduced print version available at Sapporo Central Library, Hokkaido Public Library, etc.

2. the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Asahi Shimbun, and the Mainichi Shimbun (national newspapers)
　The Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun, and Mainichi Shimbun (national newspapers) reported on the "Sapporo gang war" and the "raid on the Minami Rokujo Building" incident, etc. Reduced-size print editions are available at libraries and the National Diet Library.

Police White Paper (1991 edition)
　Official record by the National Police Agency. Mentions the Sapporo gang war as one of the major gang incidents of the previous year. Available online at the National Police Agency Archive.

(4) Gangster magazines and reportage
　There are detailed reports of the incidents in Jitsuwa Jidai, Shukan Jitsuwa, and other publications. Some of the case is also mentioned in books dealing with the history of gang wars (e.g., Mizoguchi Atsushi's "Boryokudan").

5. court records (Sapporo District Court)
　Court records related to the attack and destruction of buildings may exist, and can be viewed upon request.