One of the joys of visiting used bookstores is finding past gems, like Christopher Seymour’s Yakuza Diary: Doing Time in the Japanese Underworld (1996, 0-87113-604-X).  Seymour, in riding around with and interviewing various Yakuza, seems to be, by the end of the book, clearly a fan of the Yakuza subculture. There are loads of great stories in this book, touching on AV (adult video) girls, the mizu shobai “water trades,” comprising geisha and massage parlors, shabu (crystal meth), and various business transactions between Yakuza and traditional “clean” businesses. 

Especially insightful are his interviews with Yakuza wives, who run the gamut from the traditional to the outré, and describe family life behind the scenes. Our favorite stories, though, related to classic business practices, from the Yakuza boss that specializes in building small but profitable ramen shops (p. 123-124), to a wonderful description of Yakuza assassination diplomacy (p. 164-165), in which the giving of gifts and allowing the potential target to save face often prevent the assassination from taking place. 

All in all, the book is a romp, and Seymour’s black humor is infectious throughout. Buy it now.