Tokyo Underworld (54 page)

White Landrace hogs
202

White Russians
17
,
22
,
37
,
201

Widmark, Richard
85
,
101

wiretapping
25
,
190

women, Japanese:

ideal
160

social role of
23
,
135

Wong, ‘Crazy’
218–25
,
226
,
247
,
248
,
249
,
251–2

World War II
ix
,
1
,
3–4
,
8–9
,
14
,
24
,
25
,
26
,
28
,
29
,
32
,
35
,
243

Japanese surrender in
2
,
5

wrestling
x
,
38–47
,
67
,
74–5
,
79
,
88
,
89–91

anti-American sentiment expressed through
39–47
,
74

first Japanese star in
see
Rikidozan

governing body of
see
Japan Professional Wrestling Association

‘rules’ of
44

television industry boosted by
39
,
40
,
41
,
67
,
74

underworld ownership of
96

see also
sumo

Wright, Frank Lloyd
47

Wu, Sam
63–5

yakiniku-ya
106

yakuza
37
,
70

civil disputes ‘settled’ by
147–8

drug trade and
190–1

keizai
204–11
,
214–15
,
218
,
245
,
257
,
259

meaning of term
9

motto of
83

movies about
114

self-amputation of pinkies by
114–15
,
205

self-image of
76–7

status in
203

Yakuza
(film)
114

‘Yakuza Express’
209

‘Yakuza recession’
256

Yamaguchi-gumi
96
,
106
,
205
,
258
,
263

Yamaichi Securities
216
,
257

Yamate Line
4

Yami Shakai
(newspaper)
x

yasahii
155

Yasuda
196

Yawata Steel
12

yen
8
,
21

exchange rates of
17–18
,
187
,
193–4

postwar ban on reconversion of
8
,
32

Yep, Chester
142

Yokohama
1
,
5
,
12
,
25
,
76
,
83
,
113

Yokoi, Hideki
69
,
148–9
,
244

Yokosuka
76
,
83

Yokota Air Force Base
81

Yokota Nicola’s
81–2
,
112
,
137
,
236

Yomiuri Shimbun
163

Yoshida, Shigeru
33

Yoshida cabinet
58

You Only Live Twice
(film)
99

Yozawa River Project
126–30

Yuskoff, Leo
17
,
22
,
38

zaibatsu
27
,
28
,
29
,
45
,
72
,
196
,
215

Zaimoku
109

Zappetti, Nicola
106
,
108
,
109
,
122–23
,
125–36
,
181–82
,
183
,
185
,
186–87
,
204
,
205
,
235
,
297

ailments and heart attacks of
220
,
226
,
227–31
,
251

anti-Japanese resentment of
195
,
239–45
,
248–9

background of
13–14

‘black rider’ vision of
227

custody of children awarded to
133–4

dairy farm of
111–12

death and funeral of
251

debauched lifestyle led by
15–16
,
112
,
131–2

deportation and return of
15–16

drug arrest of
190

embittered final years of
220–52

employees’ relationship with
184–5

final visit to Hokkaido made by
249–50

financial ups and downs of
101
,
132
,
140–6
,
149–54
,
236
,
244
,
246
,
249

first black market dealings of
13
,
14–15

first marriage of
14
,
54
,
133–4

first restaurant opened by
see
Nicola’s

Fujita’s lawsuit brought against
184
,
186–7
,
201
,
226

gold scam and
218–25

hog farm of
201–4

homes of
15
,
111
,
143
,
247

Imperial Hotel diamond robbery and
47–50

Japanese citizenship of
182–4
,
187–9

Japanese language and
132
,
182
,
187–8

Japanese name of
188
,
189

at
kabu
game
79–81

Lansco black market operation and
13
,
17–22
,
36–8

last near-fistfight of
241

lawsuit over Hokkaido farmland of
187
,
201
,
226
,
247

as ‘Mafia boss of Tokyo’
80–4
,
87
,
108–12
,
113
,
117
,
119
,
132
,
146

mink farm of
136
,
141

Nihon Kotsu’s lawsuit against
144–6
,
149–54
,
184
,
187
,
226
,
228
,
232
,
235
,
236
,
247
,
249
,
265–6

own lawyers’ lawsuits brought against
228–9
,
231–2
,
247
,
249

physical appearance of
65–6
,
136–7

police file on
118
,
178
,
251–2

revenge fantasy of
238–9

sausage factory of
112
,
145

second and fourth marriages of
see
Koizumi, Yae

as soft touch
184

third wife of
see
Miyoko

in US occupation of Japan
14

Wong’s lawsuit brought against
218–25
,
226
,
247
,
248
,
249
,
251–2

wrestling by
38
,
43–4
,
45

Zappetti, Patti
140

Zappetti, Vincent
134
,
140
,
228
,
241–2

Zia pizzeria
267

Outdoor markets in Tokyo were up and running almost from the moment hostilities ceased, and well before the conquering Americans had set foot on Japanese soil. Operated by gangsters, the black markets – like the one shown here in Shinjuku (which belonged to the mob boss Kinosuke Ozu and peddled supplies stolen from the Japanese Imperial Army) – were for a time the only thing that kept the war-ravaged, impoverished populace from starvation.
(Mainichi Shimbun)

It didn’t take long for the initially wary American soldier to start relaxing and enjoying what Japan had to offer. In addition to rickshaw rides and government-sponsored hostesses supplied by the Japanese Recreation and Amusement Association to satisfy the Yankee libido, this could also mean highly lucrative participation in the underground markets.
(Mainichi Shimbun)

Post-war economic hardship forced many Japanese to find new ways of making a living. A top-ranked but financially strapped sumo wrestler named Rikidozan, shown here in 1950 in formal sumo garb that dates back centuries, turned to the crass imported American ‘sport’ of professional wrestling and, in the process, ignited an extraordinary craze.
(Mainichi Shimbun)