Comments on: “Tokyo Underworld” – The Fast Times and Hard Life of an American Gangster in Japan

By: 北九州　賃貸

北九州　賃貸 — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:16:06 +0000

A couple years ago, this was supposed to have been getting developed into a movie. Any information on how the screenplay of this Whiting piece is coming along?

By: Charles Jannuzi

Charles Jannuzi — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:13:17 +0000

Japan has always had to import. So if your economy is black market–such as in the days of the Occupation and the immediate reconstruction–your black market is an import market. Studs Terkel’s oral history of WWII brings this out I think, if I remember, in the case of US military being involved in the black markets in Europe.

By: Kam

Kam — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 13:59:19 +0000

Hey bitches I am in a Yakuza to its called fuck you japs and hey hotties

By: VoXman

VoXman — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 20:30:31 +0000

I read this book twice since I found in on a bookshelf in 2001. I found it interesting as a history of the post WWII era in Tokyo, with the blackmarket and such. Nice little antecdotes about little Japanese girls who did favors for GIs for candy and cigarettes. Later it tells of the history of organized crime in Tokyo in the 1950′s. All the while, here’s this little Jack Ruby type wannabe gangster that opens a resturant that popular with the local Yakuza and celebrities. WOW! It’s like Las Vegas in the 1950′s Frank Sinatra and Bugsy Segal in a booth at da Sands with da girls and da drinks. Ok truthfully, I liked the book it was informative. Sadly he looses his business he created from the ground up to WHO? his wife WTF, who da thunk it. Bitch got half……hmmm all the while she was sitting at that cash register doing her time waiting till she knew she’d be rich if she got a divorce. I hear that even today his son and the ex-wife have this chain of resturants through Japan, where like Nick complained about, she japanized the recipes….hmmm oshi scallop pizzia with mayo……A fool and his money are soon parted by a pretty girl who spead her legs for the guy. Fact is Ol Nick squandered all his money away on some of the most expensive marriages a man could be cursed with…….

By: Yellowhead

Yellowhead — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:45:22 +0000

I read TOKYO UNDERWORLD about a year and a half ago-it really blew me away. The ending to his story is sad, but it’s amazing what used to go on-and still goes on in Japan.

By: gman

gman — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 01:46:45 +0000

i dont think he was a “family” member most guys are part of the organisation but not fully initiated family

By: David

David — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:58:21 +0000

wow how would a gaijin could make it in the yakuza how did he become a member of yakuza?

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:26:44 +0000

Ken.. so?

By: ken

ken — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:51:39 +0000

I remember when i was in japan visiting some friends and family, and i saw some yakuza getting out of a car, and there was a tall black guy with them he was dressed in a really nice suit like them and had the same kind of shade on….

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 07:05:15 +0000

Another book with a lot on the Japanese underworld is “Toppamono: Outlaw, Radical, Suspect,” which is the translated version of the bestselling autobiography of Manabu Miyazaki.

Robert Whiting, the author of “Tokyo Underworld, wrote the introduction.

The first chapter, on Miyazaki’s family background as the son of a Kyoto yakuza boss, is available as a free download at the homepage of the publisher:
http://www.kotan.org/books/books.html