Why Do Yakuza Cut Off Their Fingers?
By Alex P. Vidal
Yakuza cut off the top joint of their little finger when they make a serious mistake, something that embarrasses the gang, costs the gang money, or causes dissent within the ranks.
It is also a way to apologize when one can’t pay a debt, to end a feud or to settle a dispute. The practice is called yubizume and is actually an old samurai tradition. When a Japanese sword is held properly, most of the grippes strength is applied by the little finger, so a person who had cut his fingers off could not hold his sword properly.
Samurai who could not hold their swords properly were far less effective in battle, and thus, more dependent on their lord. The yakuza adapted the practice, because many of them consider themselves to be following the old samurai traditions.
GORY DETAIL
Should you like to hear the gory detail of how yubizume is performed, continue reading here. A common misconception about yakuza, especially among the Filipinos, is that someone else cuts their finger off but this is not true, and the process is designed to be as unpleasant as possible, helping the yakuza show how sorry they are. They always do it themselves. First, they take a string and wrap it tightly around their finger so that it cuts off the blood circulation. This both numbs the finger and lessens the amount of blood with a knife but now it is usually done with a square-shaped, very sharp chisel called a nomi.
They put the chisel above the first joint, and give it a whack with a heavy hammer. The finger usually flies 20 or 30 centimeters, which gives rise to the expression, yobi o tobasu (to make your finger fly).
What do you do with your finger when you cut it off? You present it to the person you offended or to the kumicho (gang leader). In his book, Uyoku, yakuza, sokaiya: honto no sugata, former police officer Ishigumi Takao relates the story of how he visited a yakuza headquarters and went to get a drink. One of the yakuza told him, “Please don’t look in the fidge. “When he asked, “Are everyone’s fingers in there?” The man gave him an embarrassed nod.
STUPIDEST STORY
The stupidest finger-cutting story you will ever hear was told by Inagawa-kai president Kakuji Inagawa. He related how he tried to stop the practice of yubizume but some of his lieutenants just didn’t get the message.
When one of them demanded that one of his low-ranking gang members cut off his finger for some serious infraction, the oyabun got angry and berated the boss.
The boss, comprehending, but yet not comprehending, cut off his finger and sent it to Inagawa by way of apology.
The practice of yubizume is gradually dying out, both because yakuza does not want to be easily recognizable and because the samurai values that were once so important to them are fading.
Nowadays, a yakuza is as likely to offer money to end a dispute as he is his finger. Some Filipinos in the red light districts here said they are not afraid of the yakuza anymore. “We kicked and punched them if they got drunk and created trouble,” a certain Master Erik of the Guardians-Japan, a group composed of former military men, told this writer. ”Some yakuza respect us because we mean business and we show them that we are not afraid of them,” he added.
Can we Filipinos emulate the yakuza? In case of serious mistake, can we do self imposed penalty?
It is not enough, not really, to commit “lapse in judgment’ and merely say: “I’m sorry”.
“To whom more is given more is expected from.” For the sins of Gloria, her renouncement of the power and glory of the Presidency of the Philippines are just enough payment for the scandals now rocking the Philippines and the Filipino people. /MP http://madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
By Alex P. Vidal
Yakuza cut off the top joint of their little finger when they make a serious mistake, something that embarrasses the gang, costs the gang money, or causes dissent within the ranks.
It is also a way to apologize when one can’t pay a debt, to end a feud or to settle a dispute. The practice is called yubizume and is actually an old samurai tradition. When a Japanese sword is held properly, most of the grippes strength is applied by the little finger, so a person who had cut his fingers off could not hold his sword properly.
Samurai who could not hold their swords properly were far less effective in battle, and thus, more dependent on their lord. The yakuza adapted the practice, because many of them consider themselves to be following the old samurai traditions.
GORY DETAIL
Should you like to hear the gory detail of how yubizume is performed, continue reading here. A common misconception about yakuza, especially among the Filipinos, is that someone else cuts their finger off but this is not true, and the process is designed to be as unpleasant as possible, helping the yakuza show how sorry they are. They always do it themselves. First, they take a string and wrap it tightly around their finger so that it cuts off the blood circulation. This both numbs the finger and lessens the amount of blood with a knife but now it is usually done with a square-shaped, very sharp chisel called a nomi.
They put the chisel above the first joint, and give it a whack with a heavy hammer. The finger usually flies 20 or 30 centimeters, which gives rise to the expression, yobi o tobasu (to make your finger fly).
What do you do with your finger when you cut it off? You present it to the person you offended or to the kumicho (gang leader). In his book, Uyoku, yakuza, sokaiya: honto no sugata, former police officer Ishigumi Takao relates the story of how he visited a yakuza headquarters and went to get a drink. One of the yakuza told him, “Please don’t look in the fidge. “When he asked, “Are everyone’s fingers in there?” The man gave him an embarrassed nod.
STUPIDEST STORY
The stupidest finger-cutting story you will ever hear was told by Inagawa-kai president Kakuji Inagawa. He related how he tried to stop the practice of yubizume but some of his lieutenants just didn’t get the message.
When one of them demanded that one of his low-ranking gang members cut off his finger for some serious infraction, the oyabun got angry and berated the boss.
The boss, comprehending, but yet not comprehending, cut off his finger and sent it to Inagawa by way of apology.
The practice of yubizume is gradually dying out, both because yakuza does not want to be easily recognizable and because the samurai values that were once so important to them are fading.
Nowadays, a yakuza is as likely to offer money to end a dispute as he is his finger. Some Filipinos in the red light districts here said they are not afraid of the yakuza anymore. “We kicked and punched them if they got drunk and created trouble,” a certain Master Erik of the Guardians-Japan, a group composed of former military men, told this writer. ”Some yakuza respect us because we mean business and we show them that we are not afraid of them,” he added.
Can we Filipinos emulate the yakuza? In case of serious mistake, can we do self imposed penalty?
It is not enough, not really, to commit “lapse in judgment’ and merely say: “I’m sorry”.
“To whom more is given more is expected from.” For the sins of Gloria, her renouncement of the power and glory of the Presidency of the Philippines are just enough payment for the scandals now rocking the Philippines and the Filipino people. /MP http://madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
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