'I never lost a fight against a man': the story of the only woman to join Japan's notorious yakuza
These are signs of affiliation to the yakuza – Japan’s notorious criminal syndicates.
- These are signs of affiliation to the yakuza – Japan’s notorious criminal syndicates.
- Typically a woman involved with the yakuza might be an anesan, a boss’ wife who takes care of young affiliates and mediates between them and her husband.
- But she went one step further – Nishimura is the only woman who has ever partaken in the sakazuki ceremony of exchanging sake cups.
Joining the gang
- Her memories revolve around her authoritarian father and the bamboo stick he would use to discipline her.
- Her life took a turn when one night she received a call: her friend was in a fight and needed help.
- She joined alongside a cohort of male recruits, performing daily tasks, and eventually taking part in the group’s criminal activities.
Master of finger cutting
- As an affiliate, she ran prostitution and drugs businesses, collected debts and mediated disputes between rival groups.
- When she cut off her own little finger to apologise for a collective mistake in a ritual known as yubitsume, she realised she had a knack for it.
- Members who could not go through with the amputation themselves would ask Nishimura to do it for them, garnering her the nickname of “master of finger cutting”.
- She rejoined her old group, but meth had changed the boss that she adored, and in two years she left for good.
Life after crime
- She found a job in the demolition business and a modest home where she now lives alone.
- She lives a quiet life, trying to be accepted by the community and to help others.
- Her story redefines the boundaries of gender roles and allegiance in the brutal world of Japanese organised crime – a unique journey of identity and belonging.
Martina Baradel receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101029138.