Gamblers & Drifters

---

---

MVPs

---

PLOT

Four Kyōdai and a Funeral (1960)

Run Time: start to 7:37 | Key Families: MURAOKA – UCHIMOTO (Sub-MURAOKA) – HIRONO – OTHER | Reference Chart (spoilers):

1960. As Japan shakes off American’s post-war influence and moves towards recovery, global unrest continues. At home, socialist politician Asanuma Inejirō is assassinated by a far-right extremist during a political debate, in front of a 2500-strong live audience. Worldwide, the cold war intensifies, leading to numerous skirmishes between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies. Called ‘proxy wars’, these deadly political conflicts soon influence the yakuza world itself, marking the start of the Hiroshima War.

In September of that year, a group of men happily walk down the Hiroshima streets: it’s our friend Hirono Shōzō, his kyōdai (sword brother) Uchimoto Noboru, and Sugihara Fumio (respectively second and first in line to the prosperous Muraoka family), with imposing boxer Wakamatsu in tow. Hirono has finally been paroled but is stuck in Kure, due to his release terms; nonetheless, the group suggests a wrestling show to celebrate his freedom. The pleasant conversation is suddenly cut short by a young yakuza who rushes in to (successfully) assassinate Sugihara, to Uchimoto‘s distress.

Chaos continues at Sugihara‘s funeral where Kuriyama, the suspected murderer and kyōdai to Uchimoto, vomits on the casket, sparking outrage from all present, including powerful Kyushu boss Takehara (friend of the Muraoka family and last seen hosting Yamanaka in the previous episode). Hirono and Muraoka members Matsunaga Hiroshi (wakagashira / captain) and Takeda Akira (underboss) gather around Uchimoto, letting him know that they would support retaliation against the offender, and will turn a blind eye to any action Uchimoto takes to enact it. But Uchimoto has cold feet and declines, unwilling to act and put himself in danger – to the disgust, once again, of everyone present. Through his weakness, Uchimoto, unbeknown to him, has sown the seeds of the Hiroshima War.

Mergers and Acquisitions 1: Yamamori and Hirono (1960-61)

Run Time: 7:37 to 21:55 | Key Families: MURAOKA – UCHIMOTO (Sub-MURAOKA) – YAMAMORI – HIRONO (Sub-YAMAMORI) – UEDA – AKASHI – OTHER | Reference Chart (spoilers):

Back in Kure, Hirono has other issues to deal with. His dim underling Katsuharu Saijo has stolen money from the family in order to buy a TV for his girlfriend, which earns him a brutal beating from Hirono. Hirono is barely done when his friend Ueda Toshio arrives, making light of the situation and telling Hirono that he has been summoned by yakuza elder Okubo Kenichi, who has also gathered Hirono‘s parole officer and guarantor.

In the last episode, Hirono‘s men were struggling to buy food – now they’re struggling to buy luxury goods like a TV. Times – and fortunes – are changing!

At Okubo‘s, the parole officer explains that they want to transfer Hirono‘s guarantor duties to… Yamamori Yoshio, Hirono‘s old boss and nemesis – and a very good business friend of the group. Hirono is taken aback, even more so when he finds out that Yamamori himself is behind the request, needing a well-connected man like Hirono by his side. Okubo drives the point by telling Hirono that the two should reconciliate and be part of the same family anyway, lest he wants to leave the yakuza world. Hirono is reluctant and – once again – asks for some time to think.

Hirono barely has time to step out that he runs into Yamamori and his right-hand man Makihara Masakichi, offering the fakest greeting and loudly wondering why they have been summoned. Hirono brushes them off politely, but not before Makihara delivers important news: Muraoka has resigned due to health issues, leaving a huge power vacuum behind him and no clear successor. Makihara hints that Yamamori hopes to be his successor with the help of Hirono‘s influence and friends. Hirono finally understands the strange shenanigans around swapping guarantor, and Yamamori‘s good mood: Yamamori has a plan, and he wants to use Hirono as his pawn once again.

Thoughtful, Hirono goes back to HQ, where Katsuharu presents him with a severed hand in penance for stealing money, crying girlfriend in tow. Hirono is appalled, and gives him and his girlfriend money to see a doctor, booting them out of the building. Faced with his family’s dire circumstances and pointless sacrifices, Hirono understands that, once again (see Episode 2 Deep Dive), his family needs to join ranks with bigger than them to survive – and asks his men to call Okubo to confirm that he will rejoin the Yamamori family.

Behind Hirono looking cool and thoughtful, his men are passing the hand around like a hot potato, unwilling to touch it. The trademark Battles humour is back!

Soon, the wrestling match suggested by Uchimoto is organised, with Muraoka family friend Wakamatsu headlining. Backstage, Uchimoto, his underboss Hayakawa Hideo, and Hirono gather around a beer. To motivate their wrestling champion who is under-performing, Hirono breaks a bottle on his head, promising him a night with Miss Hiroshima if he wins the match – which he does. As the friends continue laughing and relaxing, Hirono receives a visit: it’s Iwai Shinichi from the powerful Akashi Kobe family, rivals in size and influence to the Muraoka family. Hirono invites Iwai to share a drink with the group, much to Uchimoto‘s displeasure.

But Uchimoto does some thinking. Later on, in a local bar, he shares with Hirono how envious he is of his contacts (to Hirono‘s laconic response “I traveled a lot when I was younger, and made a lot of friends.“), and how he himself feels he has nobody to turn to as all his friends get killed (referring to the late Sugihara). He asks Hirono to arrange for Iwai to become Uchimoto‘s kyōdai, aiming to use a link with the powerful and large Akashi to strengthen his candidacy as the next Muraoka family boss. In an incredibly prophetic exchange, Hirono agrees to help but warns Uchimoto that allying too quickly with outsiders may come back to bite him later. As we will see…

Hirono agreeing to help Uchimoto, a man in disgrace after his cowardly behaviour at Sugihara‘s funeral, is another mark of Hirono‘s generous character. Friends come first, their reputation and doings in the yakuza world second.

As the wiser-than-he-looks Hayakawa mocks Hirono for being used by Yamamori as a contact book (with Uchimoto grimacing at the name in the background), a commotion is heard: Wakamatsu is drunk and lashing out to everyone around him, and he wants his Miss Hiroshima. Hirono asks Katsuharu to provide a good-looking girl, and Katsuharu turns to prostituting his own girlfriend Tamie for the occasion. Tamie gets a quick glance at Wakamatsu and recoils in horror, refusing to go ahead with the deed. But it’s Wakamatsu himself, increasingly drunk and disorderly, who puts a stop to the situation, smashing a bottle on a near-by food stall tableand angering a young man in army clothes, Kuramoto Takeshi. The two fight and, predictably, Wakamatsu and his raw strength flatten Kuramoto… until Kuramoto finds two knives lying around, which he promptly grabs and savagely plants right in Wakamatsu‘s back, before cutting his ear off.

Some time soon after, Kuramoto and his mother end up at Hirono‘s, accompanied by Kuramoto‘s teacher – who happens to be Hirono‘s old teacher. Over some juicy watermelon, the teacher explains the situation: Kuramoto is troubled and poor, with a yakuza father who was killed and left him and his mother fending for themselves; furthermore, he’s open to brutal retaliation if he’s not protected. Hirono, never one to refuse someone in need, offers to mediate with Wakamatsu – and, to the teacher’s insistence, accepts to let Kuramoto join his family, promptly teaching him some manners and how to say good-bye to his mother respectfully.

Not content with making friends in the yakzua world, Hirono is also friends with (slightly dodgy) academia – and was obviously a polite and pleasant enough student that his old teacher has no fear walking into his HQ mocking his aggressive men. Good boy Hirono.

Mergers and Acquisitions 2: Yamamori and Uchimoto Branch Out (1961)

Run Time: 21:55 to 27:38 | Key Families: MURAOKA – UCHIMOTO (Sub-MURAOKA) – YAMAMORI – HIRONO (Sub-YAMAMORI) – UEDA – AKASHI – SHINWA – OTHER | Reference Chart (spoilers):

In summer 1961, fashionable Muraoka underboss Eda Shoichi (last seen in the previous episode with an eye patch) is released from prison. Uchimoto, seeking to solidify his ties with the Muraoka VIPs, uses this opportunity to organise to become kyōdai with Matsunaga, Eda, Takeda, and Hirono – resulting in a beautiful souvenir photo.

Once again, Hirono comes back to his HQ to fall right into a crisis: his valuable scrap, the Hirono family’s main business and sustenance, is being hauled away by… Yamamori, who pretended that Hirono approved of the 5 million Yen (!) haul. When confronted, Yamamori is, as usual, completely remorseless, stating that he needed the money to help a friend out – while manually counting vast sums of cash in front of Hirono, with Makihara in tow. Hirono, well aware of the lie, asks Yamamori to let him know who his friend is but Yamamori explodes, stating that he could get Hirono fired from the scrap hauling contracts if he protests too much. Makihara, pressing the point further, reminds Hirono that Yamamori is his parole guarantor, able to send him back to prison at a moment’s notice.

Yamamori complains that Hirono likes Uchimoto more than him, and the motive becomes clear: payback from Yamamori to Hirono for exchanging vows with his enemy – with a bit of profit skimmed on top for good measure. Hirono, furious, threatens Yamamori before leaving – only to witness Yamamori being thanked by Eda for taking care of his men (while Hirono‘s were left destitute as always), and giving Eda a large sum of money as a welcome back present, all but waving the wad of cash in Hirono‘s face. Hirono, with the patience of a saint, leaves calmly.

While Uchimoto was exchanging vows with Muraoka underbosses, we now understand that Yamamori did not sit idle on his side, taking care of Eda‘s men and now giving him money. In the world of 1960s yakuza, which matters more – vows, or cold hard cash?

In response, in June 1961, Hirono makes good on his promise to Uchimoto and takes him to the Akashi family in Kobe to organise kyōdai bonds between the two – a clear and deliberate slight back from Hirono, who understands he has no future with Yamamori. They meet Akashi Tatsuo, head of the Akashi family, his kyōdai and underboss Aihara Akashi, and his Captain Miyaji Teruo – and Uchimoto gets his wish, becoming Aihara‘s kyōdai and building strong ties with the Kobe contingent.

But the Hiroshima gang have stepped onto a mine: the Akashi is at war with another powerful Kobe family, the Shinwa family, headed by Unokichi Kumashiro and underboss Itami Ginchi. All through summer, multiple conflicts erupt between the two all over Kansai and Kyushu, leading to the attacks and deaths of a significant amount of underbosses and members, and the eventual arrest of Iwai. War is coming to all, with Hiroshima as the flashpoint for the emerging conflict.

Mergers and Acquisitions 3: Yamamori and Muraoka (1961)

Run Time: 27:38 to 34:57 | Key Families: MURAOKA – UCHIMOTO (Sub-MURAOKA and/then Sub-AKASHI) – YAMAMORI – HIRONO (Sub-YAMAMORI) – UEDA – AKASHI – SHINWA – OTHER | Reference Chart (spoilers):

In an expensive restaurant, Aihara meets Hirono to inform him of Iwai‘s prison sentence, and to ask the fateful question: will Uchimoto succeed Muraoka?… Hirono confirms his intent of helping but learns some troubling information in return: Aihara has found out that Uchimoto, already pledged to Muraoka, was secretly seeking to pledge allegiance to Akashi. Aihara complains that the move was being done behind his back despite the two being kyōdai, but more importantly that it’s a taboo move in the yakuza world to pledge allegiance to two bosses. Hirono apologises on Uchimoto‘s behalf, pointing out that he’s a businessman as well as a yakuza. But is it too late?

Back in Kure, Kuramoto visits his mother to give her some cigarettes, before going back to his post: keeping guard outside a café where Hirono, Matsunaga, and Takeda are meeting over coffee and milk (!) to discuss the Muraoka succession. Matsunaga confirms that, as leaked by Makihara earlier, Muraoka is formally retiring. Matsunaga and Takeda have met with Muraoka and agreed on naming Yamamori as a successor – but they are keen to hear Hirono‘s opinion.

Hirono is shocked, warning the two men that making Yamamori the boss is a decision they will all regret later, asking why they did not put Uchimoto forward. Takeda reveals the reason: Muraoka is furious with Uchimoto‘s latest alliances with the Akashi, and wants him out of the succession for fear that he will sell out Hiroshima to Kobe.

Hirono is not convinced, pointing at the two men and asking why couldn’t they be put forward instead. They both shrug off the idea: Matsunaga couldn’t take precedence over Eda who went to jail for the family, but Eda is also out of the question because of his womanising and Muraoka‘s opposition (perhaps due to his close ties with Yamamori); Takeda, on his side, explains that his health is not great and that he doesn’t have the track record anyway. Matsunaga is reassuring: they won’t accept Yamamori as a boss forever, and it’s only a matter of time until one of them takes over.

<SPOILERS!> Matsunaga is actually correct: eventually, Takeda will take over the organisation, leaving Yamamori as a figurehead before dismantling the Yamamori family altogether to build the Tensei coalition. But Hirono is also right to worry – Yamamori‘s nomination will come at a great cost to all involved.

Hirono winces and is about to respond when a familiar voice stops him in his tracks: it’s Uchimoto, surprised and suspicious at seeing the three men deep in discussion. He has an axe to grind, and tells Hirono off for talking to Aihara about his formal boss bond with Muraoka. Hirono is confused, telling Uchimoto that he could only tell the truth on the matter – to Uchimoto‘s anger, who adds that his allegiance ceremony with Akashi is now postponed indefinitely, and blaming Hirono for that.

As Matsunaga and Takeda make a point of ignoring the altercation and looking away, Hirono kindly advises Uchimoto to avoid swearing loyalty to several bosses for his own reputation. But Uchimoto only gets angrier and Hirono loses patience, telling him to finally make things right for Sugihara if he wants prestige – with the two shouting at each other before Uchimoto walks out, with Kuramoto watching him one hand on a knife. Matsunaga wonders if the men should have informed Uchimoto that he was taken out of succession – but Hirono dismisses the concern, saying that Uchimoto turned out to be a big disappointment anyway, and that he’ll speak to Yamamori.

And soon, the move is finalised: Yamamori officially takes over the Muraoka family at a lavish, yakuza-celebrity-ridden ceremony. Uchimoto, bitter and angry, lashes out at Hirono once more, calling him a traitor – but there is no stopping Yamamori now.

The Hiroshima Proxy War – Inciting Incident (1961)

Run Time: 34:57 to | Key Families: YAMAMORI – HIRONO (Sub-YAMAMORI) – AKASHI – UCHIMOTO (Sub-AKASHI) – UEDA – SHINWA – OTHER | Reference Chart (spoilers): see previous section.

The ceremony over, Yamamori celebrates at a local bar with his underbosses Makihara, Hirono, Eda, Matsunaga, and Takeda – along with ceremony guests from Kobe Aihara and Miyaji. Yamamori delights in bragging about owning Hiroshima, adding that now the family didn’t need to cosy up with outsiders – a direct reference to Uchimoto‘s contested links with the Akashi family, and making things awkward for said Akashi outsiders Aihara and Miyaji. Called out by Hirono, but not done impressing the Kobe contingent, he then proceeds to brag about his family’s great money-making underbosses, pointing to them one by one with Takeda as the top earner – and, of course, skipping Hirono.

Note Takeda and Matsunaga‘s behaviour while the awkward scenes occur – playing with a lighter, looking away, looking down… They are well aware of the tensions at play here and, once again, are staying well clear of the storm brewing.

But things get much more awkward as a familiar figure is spotted on the other end of the bar: it’s Uchimoto with his right hand man Hayakawa and their acquaintance Komori, a yakuza at odds with Makihara‘s friend Yamazaki. Uchimoto summons Makihara to inform him that he wants to mediate between Komori and Yamazaki, which Makihara gracefully accepts. But, popping out of nowhere, a boisterous Eda interrupts them, asking Uchimoto and friends to come and greet Yamamori and the Kobe contingent – and so the group gruffly obliges.

What unfolds is an intensely embarrassing and dramatic scene, fit for a Shakespearean play. Uchimoto greets the table politely, only to get immediately smacked down verbally by Yamamori, drunk on power and intent on kicking Uchimoto (the big loser of the Muraoka succession war after all) when he’s down with zero remorse. Blow after blow, insult after insult, mocking Uchimoto‘s failure to succeed Muraoka, mocking his status as a yakuza, baby talking to him – Yamamori punches and punches as everyone around the table melts with embarrassment, eventually reducing a distressed and cornered Uchimoto to tears.

Once again, pause the scene and note everyone’s behaviour around the table: Takeda is looking firmly away; Matsunaga is silently judging; Makihara, amused, is looking on, while Eda looks down; we see Aihara and Miyaji exchange a few discreet glances and words, no doubt seeking an exit to this painful scene. Awkward.

Aihara and Miyaji suddenly excuse themselves, saying they have to go – but Yamamori won’t let them, taking one last swipe at Uchimoto by telling him he should invite the whole group to his bar. It’s Hayakawa who eventually breaks the tension, mentioning his own wife’s bar and inviting the group. The group starts leaving, and the humiliation is finally over.

As the group walks off, Aihara and Miyaji ask Hirono to look after a broken Uchimoto, with Matsunaga staying put in the background for additional support. Hirono tries to appease Uchimoto, telling him to grit his teeth through this painful situation while the Kobe guests are here. But Uchimoto lashes out at Hirono once more, calling him a black-hearted schemer who knowingly sabotaged Uchimoto for Yamamori. Hirono retorts that he had no doing in making the decision either way, reminding Uchimoto of his own missteps with dual loyalties. Uchimoto, irate, yells back that he will smash the Yamamori family starting with poor Hirono – by now very angry and thoroughly done with Uchimoto‘s antics. He leaves with Matsunaga, leaving a very upset Uchimoto reeling and hell bent for vengeance.

The Hiroshima War between Uchimoto, Yamamori, and their respective allies has officially started.

– PART 2 –

---