Yamaken-gumi

Yamaken-gumi
Founded1961; 63 years ago (1961)
FounderKenichi Yamamoto
Founding locationKobe, Japan
Years active1961–present
TerritoryKobe, Japan
EthnicityJapanese
Membership (est.)~800

The Fourth Yamaken-gumi (四代目山健組, Yondaime Yamaken-gumi) is a yakuza gang based in Kobe, Japan. It was the largest affiliate, followed by the Nagoya-based Kodo-kai, of the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan, the Yamaguchi-gumi until 2015.[1]

Yoshinori Watanabe was kumicho (Godfather) of the Yamaken-gumi from 1982 to 1989 before becoming kumicho of the Yamaguchi-gumi.[2] Watanabe retired from that post in July 2005, but the Yamaken-gumi remains largely loyal to him. Many of its members were upset that the sixth Yamaguchi don was not chosen from their ranks, instead, the Nagoya-based Kenichi Shinoda was chosen.

In 2015, the Yamaken-gumi, along with several other organisations, withdrew from the Yamaguchi-gumi and formed the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi. From 2015 to 2020, it was under the umbrella of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi.[3] In August 2020, Koji Nakata, the head of the Yamaken-gumi, declared that the Yamaken-gumi had become independent of the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi.[4]

On 16 September 2021, the Yamaguchi-gumi announced that it will be welcoming back Yamaken-gumi members who had disunited from them in 2015. As a result, the Yamagken-gumi once again became the umbrella organisation of the Yamaguchi-gumi.[5][6]

Before the split, the Yamaken-gumi was estimated to have between 3,000 and 7,000 members. Following the split the number dropped to around 800.[7]

  1. ^ "Police wary as Yamaguchi-gumi prepares to fete sixth don", August 19, 2005, The Japan Times
  2. ^ "Yamaguchi-gumi don celebrates a decade at the top", July 19, 1999, The Japan Times
  3. ^ "新組織、文書で「神戸山口組」周知 「山菱」も使用 拠点は淡路市の侠友会本部か". sankei.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  4. ^ "「若頭の刺傷からガタガタし始めた」名門・山健組が神戸山口組から独立宣言《勾留中の組長が指令》". Bungeishunju. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Yakuza group Yamaguchi-gumi welcomes back gang that split". The Asahi Shimbun. 17 September 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021. According to sources, Yamaguchi-gumi executives notified members on Sept. 16 that they were welcoming back returning Yamaken-gumi members. The same day, executives of Yamaken-gumi met to confirm they were rejoining.
  6. ^ "【最新データを入手！】勢力差は25倍に拡大…10年目を迎える山口組分裂抗争「驚きの最新勢力図」". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  7. ^ Mizoguchi, Atsushi (2011). 暴力団 ("Boryokudan: Twenty-two Designated Boryokudan"). p. 19. ISBN 978-4-10-610434-3.