A Flower Blooming Between Shadow and Honor: Jiro Yanagawa and the Kito Gumi War (Late 1950s-1969)

A Flower Blooming Between Shadow and Honor: Jiro Yanagawa and the Kito Gumi War (Late 1950s-1969)
In Osaka, which was recovering from the postwar rubble, poverty and discrimination remained, and the zainichi Korean community was seeking its own survival in the underworld. Jiro Yanagawa was a central figure in the zainichi community and led the Yanagawa-gumi, an autonomous organization to protect the zainichi community. Gun battles broke out frequently, and the city was enveloped in fear. In the 1960s, amid the trend toward economic growth and tighter security, the police tightened their control over gangs, and the Yanagawa clan finally decided to voluntarily dissolve itself in 1969. This decision marked a historical turning point in the underworld and became a symbol of order and social awareness in place of violence. The life of Jiro Yanagawa is deeply engraved in the shadowy history of postwar Japan as the trajectory of a man who, despite the social contradictions of the postwar era, never lost faith and pride.