This is some light reading for this weekend.
I never knew that ya-ku-za (8-9-3) was derived from a losing gambling hand.
The relationship between the yakuza, the Japanese mafia, and politicians in Japan seems to me a perfect mirror for the tatemae/honne that is so important to Japan.
The "Underworld" Goes Underground: Yakuza in Japanese politics by Eiko Maruko [fas.harvard.edu]
