yakuza
- n a Japanese gangster
- n organized crime in Japan; an alliance of criminal organizations and illegal enterprises
- But where did my tough and tragic yakuza boss come from? He came, somehow, from the films of Takeshi Kitano, which I had not yet seen.
- Putting the heat on the sons of samurai banditsTo most Japanese, the yakuza are as instantly recognizable as soldiers in an enemy army.
- More than half of yakuza are now classified by police as "associates" rather than fully fledged members; in 1991, only 1 out of 3 yakuza were associates.