The Genealogy of Chivalry with Roots in Asakusa: The Age of the Ianeya Family and Yoji Murayama: From the Mid to Late Showa Period

The Genealogy of Chivalry with Roots in Asakusa: The Age of the Ianeya Family and Yoji Murayama: From the Mid to Late Showa Period

The Yaneya Ikka is a secondary organization based in Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, that plays a central role in the Sumiyoshikai, an expatriate-affiliated designated crime syndicate. The Yaneya Ikka has a long history and is said to have been founded at the end of the Edo period by the chivalrous Yakichi Ianeya (real name Yagoro Ando, born 1847), and since then, successive presidents have continued to hold power in the Asakusa area of Tokyo and Edo (present-day Tokyo). Its base was in the Asakusa-Hirokoji area, and its influence expanded through its close relationship with the local yuri culture and gambling establishments.

As for successive presidents, Koutaro Suzuki succeeded Yayakichi Ianeya, the first president, but the length of his tenure is unclear from the data. The third generation was followed by Sukejiro Tabata, the fourth by Kikujiro Tabata, the fifth by Kohsaku Shimotsuma, the sixth by Tsutomu Takagi, and the seventh by Yoji Murayama in the mid to late Showa period. Murayama was born in Mukden, Manchuria in 1919, and after returning to Japan in the postwar period, he established roots in the Asakusa area and entered the world of expositions, succeeding Takagi as president.

The exact date of Murayama's tenure as president is not clear, but it is likely to have been between the 1960s and 1970s. Some sources claim that he held a position equivalent to that of vice president within the organization, while respecting chivalry and deepening cooperation with the Sumiyoshikai as a whole. During the period when he was the face of the organization, the Kanto area centering on Asakusa had a complicated relationship with delinquent groups and gangs, and Murayama was reportedly involved in the control of these groups. In later years, he retired from the position of president and became a permanent advisor to the Sumiyoshikai, maintaining its presence. Although official records of his life and movements in his later years are scarce, he is a figure long talked about within the Sumiyoshikai.

The eighth generation was succeeded by Koichi Kaneko, and the ninth generation by Yoshihide Ohno. The Ianeya family still retains historical significance within Sumiyoshikai. The Ianeya family lineage, which has continued since the end of the Edo period, is a tradition in the underworld of downtown Tokyo, and the Yoji Murayama era represents a significant turning point in this tradition.