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Gamblers, Gangsters, and Other Anti-Heroes: The Japanese Yakuza Movie An essay

There are many different conflicts in the movie between what Ian Buruma describes as the “traditional” and “westernized” gambling groups. According to Buruma, who is an international writer and journalist with a strong interest in Japanese film, the “westernized” gamblers dress in suits and act much like modern American capitalists. The “traditional” group wears kimonos and focuses on classic Japanese values and ideals. 

The film displays themes of honor, revenge, and love between members of the two different gangs. The main character, Red Peony Ryu, is a woman “traditional” gambler. In Japanese drama it was not unusual for a woman to play a man’s role, such as a gambler. Men and women switch gender roles even in the most traditional kabuki theater, a traditional Japanese drama form that is still popular, in which elaborately costumed performers use stylized movements, dances, and songs in order to enact tragedies and comedies.

This film is part of a genre of movies called yakuza, which is Japanese for gangsters. These films were very popular in Japan during the 1950s and 60s. Yakuza films focused on life in the Japanese mafia, similar to the way organized crime groups in America were portrayed in 1970s movies like “Scarface” and “The Godfather.”

Ian Buruma introduced the yakuza film at the Asia Society on March 27, 2008. The Dutch journalist has worked for many newspapers such as The Spectator in London and The Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong. He became interested in yakuza films after seeing them while living in Japan.   

Copyright 2008