The Kodo-kai is a yakuza criminal organization based in Nagoya, Japan. It is a secondary organization of the Sixth Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest known yakuza syndicate in Japan. With an estimated membership of 4,000, it is the second-largest Yamaguchi affiliate after the Yamaken-gumi, and operates in at least 18 prefectures.
The Kodo-kai's territories include Sakae, the largest downtown in the Nagoya area.
Yakuza , also known as gokudō , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , while the yakuza call themselves ninkyō dantai . The English equivalent for the term yakuza is gangster, meaning an individual involved in a Mafia-like criminal organization.
An early example of irezumi tattoos, 1870s
The Kabukicho district of Shinjuku has historically been known as a popular yakuza hangout in Tokyo.
Yakuza often take part in local festivals such as Sanja Matsuri where they often ride the shrine through the streets proudly showing off their elaborate tattoos.
Poster for the 1948 Akira Kurosawa film Drunken Angel, a yakuza eiga-genre film