Department of Sociology
Martina Baradel sheds light on 70 years of Japan's yakuza in new book
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The Department's Dr Martina Baradel has published Yakuza Blues: Life and Death in the Japanese Mafia, an Italian-language book that reconstructs the last 70 years of yakuza history - offering a fresh perspective on Japan's complex relationship with its organised crime networks.
Published by Rizzoli, the book explores the yakuza's deep entanglement in Japanese society in the post-war years. A powerful, centuries-old mafia, the yakuza can play many roles: providing support for those abandoned by the state while also influencing politics, the economy, and the governance of the criminal underworld.
Drawing on testimonies from law enforcement, yakuza members and journalists, Martina's research challenges conventional narratives.
Her access to this secretive world led to a pivotal encounter with the boss of one of the largest yakuza families, Tanaka Jun'ichirō - a pseudonym under which Martina Baradel gathers the voices and lived experiences of multiple individuals.
Through a series of meetings, Tanaka recounts his life, marked by both triumphs and downfalls, allowing Martina to piece together the past 70 years of yakuza history - years that are also, inevitably, the history of Japan itself.
Yakuza Blues: Vita e morte nella mafia giapponese is now available to purchase in Italian, with Hungarian and Polish translations forthcoming.
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