The Black Frost of Kitami - The History of the War between the Ichiwakai and the Inagawa-kai (1984-1986)

The Black Frost of Kitami - The History of the War between the Ichiwakai and the Inagawa-kai (1984-1986)

In 1984, a war known as the "Kitami War" broke out in Kitami City, Hokkaido. In July 1984, the Inagawa-kai fired shots at an Ichiwakai-affiliated office, which triggered heightened tensions, and in August of the following year, when Hanada Akira, the head of the Hanada clan, was shot and killed, the war quickly escalated. In November, Inagawa Kai leader Hoshikawa was shot dead in a cabaret in Kitami City, and the chain of retaliation continued. Finally, in January 1986, the war, which had lasted nearly two years, came to an end when a settlement was reached at a hot spring hotel in Torazuhama, Shiraoi Town.

This incident was positioned as a phase of the nationwide war between the Yamaguchigumi and Ichiwakai, and greatly shook the power structure of the gangs in Hokkaido. At the same time, the instability of the local economy after the closure of the coal mines and the interest structure of the entertainment district became a breeding ground for the war. Kitami City took the incident as an opportunity to establish the Council for the Expulsion of Violence, which is significant in that it has become a permanent citizen's movement. The deaths of major figures, including Akira Hanada and the leader of the Hoshikawa clan, symbolize the intensity of the struggle, and have strongly impressed upon Hokkaido society the awareness of the need to eliminate violence.