Was at Sanja Matsuri and came across local participants, including what seemed to be yakuza members chilling at a park nearby.
There was a heavily tattooed foreign guy who seemed to be participating with one of the mikoshi teams (the one holding the portable shrine at the festivals). He was acting incredibly territorial, ordering people around and giving condescending looks to tourists getting too close, kind of behaving like he owned the place. The park had tables where people could buy food and eat. And at one point, he got mad at a tourist for being there and telling him that he should step back from there and that he « didn’t belong there ».
Meanwhile the Japanese guys with full body irezumi, who I’m assuming were yakuza or yakuza-adjacent given the context were relaxed, polite, respectful to everyone around them. They were happy to take pictures with people and were showing off their tattoos.
Are these foreigners actually involved with the yakuza, or are they just wannabes who somehow got folded in? They were even included in the group pictures at the end.
by Lovetohate65