The Shadow of the Excommunication Letter: The Code of Texan Society and the Postwar to High Growth Period

The Shadow of the Excommunication Letter: The Code of Texan Society and the Postwar to High Growth Period

Excommunication was the most serious punishment in the internal order of the tekiya. Disrespect to one's boss or brothers, cheating on money, and serious violations of women's relations were considered acts that would destroy the credibility of the clan, and while minor cases could be dealt with by training or house arrest, more serious cases could lead to banishment, isolation, or even death. Excommunication was not merely an exit from the organization, but the final means of protecting the organization's prestige, and its very existence gave members a strong sense of discipline.

Immediately after the war, the black market and street vendors were the front line of life, and a lack of control led to the collapse of territory and trust. This is where the excommunication system functioned to maintain order. Just as the corporate world used discipline and dismissal to maintain discipline during the high-growth period, the tekiya community used excommunication as a means of organizational control. As time went on, the former harshness faded and the process became more formalized with a single postcard notice, but the excommunication letter remained an important sign of organizational breakdown.

In practice, documents called "letters of excommunication" and "letters of insulation" were circulated, with black letters of excommunication indicating room for reinstatement and red letters of excommunication in red indicating de facto permanent expulsion. In the 2010s, when gang exclusion ordinances were developed nationwide, the handling of the excommunication letter itself became an issue, and there were reports of confusion over how to notify by fax or postcard. Furthermore, there have been cases in which letters of excommunication and notices of withdrawal have been presented as evidence in court, and people have become aware of their legal weight.

The tekiya community was also associated with the belief in shin-noh, and the ritual drinking of sake cups formed the basis of the relationship. The exchange of sake cups established a contractual relationship of kinship and sub-division, which could be severed by excommunication if violated. It was a system to maintain a community that transcended blood ties. In an age when companies bound people with contracts and systems, tekiya maintained order through duty, code, and excommunication. This figure reflects another organizational culture in Japanese society from the postwar period to the period of rapid economic growth.