Bosozoku is the name of Japanese teenage gangs. These gangs can be found in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka (Yoshinaga 1). Bosozoku was "formed in the 1950's (Yoshinaga 1). " Bosozoku are "predominently made up of men but a few female gangs do exist." Bosozoku are "not violent" unlike their American counterparts (Yoshinaga 1). They are "energetic teenagers full of life and dedicated to the sublime intensity of youth (Yoshinaga 1)." Many movies and TV shows tend to "over exagerate Bosozoku behavior." Generally the Bosozoku can be found just "hanging out in large numbers and not roaming the streets seeking out altercation as depictied in the media." Bosozoku are merley a "healthy embodiment of youth and expression of freedom (Yoshinaga 1)." Most Bosozoku members "retire before the age of twenty and then re-enter society as law-abiding citizens (Yoshinaga 1)." Many believe that the next step for a Bosozoku would be to join the Yakuza, the Japanese equivilent of the Mafia (Yoshinaga 1). This is not normally the case, very few go on to become Yakuza (Yoshinaga 1). Yakuza is a profession you join for life, Bosozoku is not (Yoshinaga 1).
In Japan, "organized crime and criminals come under the
name of Yakuza (Okinawan 2)." The name is "derived from the worst possible score in a Japanese card game named Ochio-Kabu (Okinawan 2)." Yakuza are gamblers, peddlers, renegade warriors, and roving bandits (Okinawan 2). Yakuza form many themes in Japanese pop culture and have been around since the "17th century (Okinawan 2)." Yakuza's strength depends on what is going on in the Japanese socitey, with the "estimate of core membership ranging from 80,000 to 110,000 from 1945 to 1996 (Okinawan 2)." Like the Sicilian Mafia, Yakuza are formed into families with the father (Oyabun) as the leader and the children (Kobun) as the followers (Okinawan 2). This is and underground or secret society that has infiltrated socital infrastructure in order to control outcomes and yet its existance seems to be an accepted fact of life in Japan (Okinawan 2). "Yakuza are active worldwide and have been sucessful in employment of intermediaries and the absence of Japanese within a community does not mean an absence of Yakuza (Okinawan 2). "Bullying is a common problem in most societies, including Japan. In Japan, concern over bullying has grown in recent years (Makino 3). According to the Japanese National Police Agency, "bullying cases that resulted in police action reached a 20-year high last year (Makino 3)." When police asked the bullies what their motivation was they often said it was because their victims were weak, did not fight back, and did not fit it (Makino 3). Asao Naito, a Sociologist in Japan, says that "Japan is a group - oriented society and maintaining harmony within the group is paramount (Makino 3)." Cometition to get into good school and lots of homework in Japanese schools in preparation for High school and College entrance exams can add lots of tension and stress to students and bullying becomes an outlet (Makino 3). The influence of Western values has changed Japan's perception of bullying and made it an issue that needs to be addressed (Makino 3). Now more then ever Japanese government and education systems are implementiong new measures to decreade bullying and to catch it before it gets out of hand (Makino 3).
Here is a link to a video clip of a live performance from a Japanese band called Vidoll (ヴィドール). This song is titled At Age 13 and is about a young boy who tired everything. He tired to be a good son, he tired to be a good student but he stills feels empty and feels as if he has gained nothing back so he decideds to become evil and engage in bad activities. I watched an interview with Vidoll on TV a few weeks back and they were discussing why they decided to write a song like this. The group said that they felt that if they were to sing about problems in society that maybe people would be more open to talking about it and people would be less likley to engage in such activities.( Also, please view this in high quality or it will be fuzzy and not interesting. To view in high quality, there is a button at the bottom of the right hand side of the video and it is in blue and it says view in high quality. I wanted to embed this video but then it would be low quality.Also, check out their outfits! I love it!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWmvvdeYMow
私はヴィドールが大好きです！
Works Cited:
1. Yoshinaga, Masayuki. "Bosozoku - Pressure of a Conformist Society." The Globalist. 2003. 10 Nov 2008. < http://www.theglobalist.com/dbweb/StoryId.aspx?StoryId=4388 >
2. "The Yakuza." Okinawan. 7 April 2002. 10 Nov 2008.
< http://www.okinawan-shorinryu.com/okinawa/yakuza.html >
3. Makino, Catherine. "Bullying in Japan Leads to Student Suicides." VOA News. 26 March 2007. 10 Nov 2008. <http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-03/2007-03-26-voa14.cfm >
3 comments:
Once again, a very interesting post. You do a good job of being an unbiased reporter. I had a friend named Tatsuya Ado who was an exchange student from Japan and I believe he was in a Bosozoku once. He told me that one day they got out of control and took bats to all the cars parked on a street corner and were smashing in windows. He also said things like this weren't exactly uncommon though, stating problems regarding school. There seems to be a little disparity between what I'm reading and what he told me but, I suppose that could be a geographic thing as well (some cities are worse than others).
It might be interesting to find out why the Yakuza are an accepted aspect of Japanese culture? Corruption in the legal system? Respect? Surely they aren't considered like Neo-Samurai right?
As someone who is familiar with the Orient it might be interesting to do a post about the cultural values as well. I was actually considering doing my blog about the fundamental differences in Western/Eastern mentality.
Anyway keep up the good work.
Jack,
Wow, that is an interesting story your friend told you. I did research on the Internet but I didnt really see anything that made the Bosozoku sound violent. I guess since I dont live in Japan it is hard to REALLY know what is going on and you could be right, it could be that Bosozoku in different regions act differently. I e-mailed my Japanese friend the other night and asked her about her opinion of Bosozoku but I have not gotten a reply yet. Maybe she can give me some information I was unable to find on the Internet. Anyway I still hope that I had at least some accurate information and I am glad you enjoyed the post.
Good research and detailing here...but the phrasing doesn't sound as much like you as your other posts. When you find good data on subjects like the Yakuza, you'll want to put it in quotes so that your readers can differentiate between your writing and the source's writing. Ask me in class tonight if you have any questions about quoting vs. paraphrasing. You'll definitely want this updated before final submission if you choose this post as one of your favorites.
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