Around 11:00 p.m. on July 19, 1977, a brawl broke out between two Yamaguchi-gumi-affiliated gangs at a robatayaki restaurant in Hanazono-Honmachi, Higashi-Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture. The conflict pitted the Hata-gumi, a subsidiary of the Ito-gumi, against the Ichiryukai, a Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate. The Hata-gumi boss and his men, accompanied by employees, stormed into the restaurant—which was run by the chairman of the Ichiryukai—and an attack involving knives broke out inside the establishment. An Ichiryukai member who was taken to the hospital died, and another member was injured. However, the incident did not end there. Around 1:00 a.m. the following day, the 20th, Ichiryukai associates stormed the Ito-gumi office in Katsura-cho, Yao City, and fired a handgun. In the space of just a few hours, retaliation begat further retaliation, and the feud intensified. The Osaka Prefectural Police arrested those involved on charges including murder and acts of violence, in an effort to bring the situation under control. Underlying the incident were the complex interpersonal relationships and rivalries among the Yamaguchi-gumi’s affiliated groups. The Higashi-Osaka Incident illustrates a cross-section of the Showa-era underworld, where a trivial clash escalated into retaliation that threatened the organizations’ prestige, and violence gradually eroded everyday urban life.
No comments:
Post a Comment