List of Yakuza (franchise) characters

This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. Please help by spinning off or relocating any relevant information, and removing excessive detail that may be against Wikipedia's inclusion policy. (July 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Japanese video game developer Sega's Yakuza media franchise, known as Ryū ga Gotoku (龍が如く, lit. "Like a Dragon") in its native Japan and other Asian territories, features an extensive cast of characters. This article describes major characters who appear in the Yakuza main series video games, with characters sorted by organizations or groups according to the original works. The English-language adaptation equivalents are mentioned when available.

Many characters of the Yakuza series have had their faces modeled and mapped after their Japanese voice actors since the 2008 spinoff Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan!. Cyberware Inc.'s head & face color 3D scanner is used in Hollywood's film industry and was exploited to reduce 3D model production time.^[2] Yu Suzuki introduced 3D scanning technology back in 1998 for Project Berkeley / Shenmue.^[3]

In the first three installments, the playable protagonist is Kazuma Kiryu, a former yakuza who after ten years of imprisonment deals with chaos emerging from the Tojo clan. Yakuza 4 introduces three playable protagonists who aid Kiryu: Masayoshi Tanimura, Shun Akiyama, and Taiga Saejima.^[4] Yakuza 5 continued this trend and featured five playable protagonists: Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, Tatsuo Shinada, as well as the recurring supporting character, Haruka Sawamura.^[5] The prequel installment Yakuza 0 featured two protagonists, including recurring supporting character Goro Majima alongside Kiryu.^[6] Kiryu is the only playable character in Yakuza 6, while an additional story featuring a playable Majima was added to the remake of Yakuza 2, Yakuza Kiwami 2.^[7] The most recent mainline installment, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, features a new main character, Ichiban Kasuga.^[8]

Concept and design[]

Writer Hasei Seishu was in charge of conceiving the cast of Yakuza, mostly Kiryu and Date in order to make them fit into the narrative.^[9] By Yakuza 4, Kiryu was seen as "indestructible" by the staff, and as a result, he was made the last character playable in the game, following three new characters that stood out thanks to their different traits.^[10]

Since Yakuza 6: The Song of Life concludes the story arc of recurring series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, the franchise's developers Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio wanted to create a new lead character to continue the narrative of the fictional universe they have created, with chief producer and writer Masayoshi Yokoyama describing Ichiban Kasuga as a "catalyst" for change.^[11] Ichiban is described by Yokoyama as the opposite of Kiryu: "Ichiban is thoroughly uncomplicated, direct, cheerful, reckless. Well, he's a "fool", isn't he." As a result, he marks a major contrast with the game's dark setting. Auditions of the character started early in development to appreciate him sooner. Kazuhiro Nakaya was one of the multiple candidates to be seen. Yokoyama felt that Nakaya stood out to the character due to sharing a rebellious personality when the script was sent. After a discussion between Yokoyama and Nagoshi, Nakaya was chosen for the role. Nakaya described Ichiban as an energetic and vivid character when reading the script.^[12] The character's fascination with Dragon Quest serves as the reason for the series' change from action adventure to role-playing games.^[13] Tang describes him as a "whimsical" character who despite being the game's protagonist, he also serves the role of a supporting character due to how he often assists his allies.^[14]

Player characters[]

Kazuma Kiryu[]

Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda (Japanese); Darryl Kurylo (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Kazuma Kiryu (桐生 一馬, Kiryū Kazuma) is the main protagonist in the series. Born on June 17, 1968,^[15] he was raised during the 1970s in the Sunflower Orphanage with Akira "Nishiki" Nishikiyama, who became his best friend, the latter's sister Yuko and Yumi Sawamura who joined in 1980. When he was a child, his parents were killed by Shintaro Kazama, a Tojo Clan affiliate Dojima Family lieutenant, who brought him to the Sunflower orphanage which he himself financed. Later, Kazama introduced Kiryu and Nishiki in the Dojima Family. Kazama became a father figure for Kiryu who supported him within the Dojima Family and years later when he was released from prison. Kiryu rose through the Tojo hierarchy and earned the nickname "the Dragon of Dojima" (堂島の龍, Dōjima no Ryū) because of the dragon tattoo on his back but the main reason was because he gained the victory fight against Keiji Shibusawa who wanted to be called the Dragon of Dojima in Yakuza 0. He was planning on starting his own subsidiary group until he took the blame for the murder of his boss, Sohei Dojima, to protect his best friend, Nishiki, and was imprisoned for ten years. These events lead into the plot of the first game.

Haruka Sawamura[]

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Debi Derryberry (Yakuza) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Haruka Sawamura (Japanese: 澤村 遥, Hepburn: Sawamura Haruka) is a fictional character from Sega's action-adventure game series Yakuza. Introduced in the first Yakuza game, Haruka is a young child who is looking for her missing mother. After her mother's death in the end of the first game, Kiryu, who helps her throughout the journey, adopts her to protect her from multiple clans from the Tojo clan who are seeking her. Across the series, Haruka grows up alongside her adoptive father, debuting as a playable character in Yakuza 5 working as an idol and starting her own family in Yakuza 6.

Goro Majima[]

Voiced by: Hidenari Ugaki (Japanese); Mark Hamill (Yakuza), Matthew Mercer (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) (English)

Portrayed by: Goro Kishitani (Like a Dragon)

Introduced in: Yakuza

A lieutenant of the Shimano family and later head of the Majima Family, Goro Majima (真島 吾朗, Majima Gorō) is an acquaintance of Kiryu with a twisted sense of loyalty. His temper and lack of mercy earned him the nickname "the Mad Dog of Shimano". Majima holds a strong rivalry with Kiryu, believing himself the only one who has the right to kill him, but over time becomes one of Kiryu's most stalwart allies. He appears in every mainline Yakuza game and a majority of the spinoff entries. He becomes playable for the first time in Yakuza: Dead Souls, with his first canon playable entry in Yakuza 0 and again in Yakuza Kiwami 2's Majima Saga.

Shun Akiyama[]

Voiced by: Kōichi Yamadera

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Shun Akiyama (秋山 駿, Akiyama Shun) was born 24 July 1978 and is one of the playable characters introduced in Yakuza 4. A former homeless person, Akiyama owns Sky Finance, a loan company, as well as the hostess club Elise, which he started up using the money he gathered that fell from Millennium Tower in 2005. Once helped out by the yakuza Hiroaki Arai, he looked up to Arai as a potential new leader of Kamurocho who could eventually succeed Kazuma Kiryu.

Akiyama was portrayed to be an elite in his 20s, during which time he dated his coworker, Eri, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Yasuko Saejima (Lily). In 2005, he was framed for stealing from the bank and was fired. All of his remaining money was spent investigating who framed him, and his money eventually ran out without him finding an answer. He was then forced to sleep on the streets until one fateful night, when money appeared to fall from the sky. He gathered up a large amount of money, but it was stolen by a group of thugs. Arai retrieved the money for him, and he used it to set up a business. Akiyama meets a woman named Lily (later revealed to be Yasuka Saejima), who bears a striking resemblance to his ex-fiancée, Eri. Lily requests to borrow money from him. After a series of "tests" he agrees to lend her the money, though he knows he likely won't get it back. This angers Hana, his secretary, and she quits. Kido discovers the secret safe behind the bookcase in Akiyama's office, and steals 100 billion yen in cash.

Later in the game, Akiyama uses his own money to lure the men to the Millennium Tower roof, where he fights Arai. He is shot by Munakata at the end, but a thick padding of bills, his last money, stops the bullet and saves his life. Alongside Sky Finance, he runs a hostess club and is considered to be an entrepreneur of some sort.

Akiyama is considered to be quite lazy, often forgetting to clean his office and frequently neglects his duties. He also appears in Yakuza 5, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and during the events of the spinoff Dead Souls where he teams up with Kiryu, Majima and Ryuji Goda to stop the zombie plague.

Taiga Saejima[]

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese); Ron Yuan (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Taiga Saejima (冴島 大河, Saejima Taiga) is one of the four playable characters in Yakuza 4. A 45-year-old physically imposing former yakuza who was sentenced to death for having killed 18 members of the Ueno Seiwa Clan by himself in 1985. His tattoo is a tiger, a pun on his name. After serving 25 years, a few days before his scheduled execution, he is suddenly transferred to a secret prison off the coast of Okinawa, where he meets Goh Hamazaki, who persuades him to break out together. He agrees and, after falling into the sea, washes up on the beach where he is found by Haruka. Saejima gives his name as "Suzuki" to Haruka and Kiryu, and, after getting tickets and pocket money from Kiryu, heads to Kamurocho. Here he reunites briefly with Majima. Soon after he and Yasuko, his sister, are kidnapped by Katsuragi, where they see each other for the first time in 25 years. Here Katsuragi explains that Saejima didn't kill the men; the real culprit is Katsuragi himself. The rounds Saejima used were rubber bullets, and all the men were only knocked unconscious after being shot by Saejima. After Saejima left, Katsuragi returned and shot them all in the head, but framed Saejima. Kido shoots Katsuragi and Saejima warns Kiryu and Yasuko of the bulletproof vest he's wearing, but the warning comes too late and Yasuko is fatally shot protecting Taiga. Taiga later fights Kido on top of the Millennium Tower. After the game he officially becomes part of the Tojo again. Although he didn't make an appearance in Yakuza: Dead Souls, his name was mentioned by one of the Tojo Clan members stating that he was in China on business during the events that took place in Kamurocho.

When Saejima was younger, he and his sister decided to run away from their caretakers and live on their own, as they felt they were imposing on them. One day, however, Yasuko got sick, and the doctors told them that she needed a kidney transplant. Yasuko had a rare blood type, and since she and Saejima were step-siblings, their kidneys weren't compatible. Saejima had to look for Yasuko's biological father, who was actually a high-ranked Yakuza. Yasuko's father demanded compensation in exchange for his kidney, 30 million yen. With no way to easily obtain the money, Saejima took to street fights to scrape up whatever money he could. On one such occasion, he decided to pick a fight with a middle-aged man. The man easily defeated Saejima, then asked Saejima why he was sad. Saejima then poured his heart to the man, who turned out to be Hideki Sasai. Sasai agreed to pay the 30 million yen Saejima needed. In exchange, Saejima had to become a member of the Sasai Family.

Masayoshi Tanimura[]

Voiced by: Hiroki Narimiya (2010), Toshiki Masuda (2019)

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

A 29-year-old policeman of the Japanese National Police, Masayoshi Tanimura (谷村 正義, Tanimura Masayoshi) is one of the last playable characters introduced in Yakuza 4, known as "The Parasite of Kamurocho" for his corruption and love of gambling. At heart, however, he is actually just and caring, using the money he wins to finance the raising of orphaned Asian children. He is also fluent in Asian languages, speaking Chinese, Korean and Tagalog as well as his native Japanese, and it is revealed in a sub-story that his mother was half-Thai. In secrecy, he is also tracking Saejima's murder case 25 years ago, a case that his father, also an inspector, died following. He goes to meet Mishima, an Ueno Seiwa-kai member to give him protection, but Mishima is shot and killed by Junji Sugiuchi. After being cornered by Sudo, Sugiuchi flees to the water and attempts to escape by speedboat, but is pursued by Tanimura. Tanimura attempts to handcuff him but Sugiuchi escapes and the two fight. A defeated Sugiuchi reveals he knows what happened the day of the murder and that it was he who killed his father, though he was not a police officer, but really a yakuza. He is quickly shot by a mystery man on a speedboat (who turns out to be Hisai). Later, Tanimura defeats Munakata and his SWAT-uniformed squad (total 10 of them) on top of the Millennium Tower. After the events of the game he works with Date, who rejoins the force.

Tatsuo Shinada[]

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa

Introduced in: Yakuza 5

Tatsuo Shinada (品田 辰雄, Shinada Tatsuo) is one of the five playable characters in Yakuza 5. He had a promising career in the major leagues, but it was cut short when he received a lifetime ban for a baseball gambling/game fixing scandal. Since then, Shinada earns a meager living as an adult entertainment writer in the Nagoya region of Kineicho. But his life takes a turn when a mysterious masked man confronts Shinada and tells him to uncover the truth behind his ban.

Ichiban Kasuga[]

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakaya (Japanese); Kaiji Tang (English)

Introduced in: Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE

Ichiban Kasuga (春日 一番, Kasuga Ichiban) is the main protagonist of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The character first appears in the Japan-exclusive mobile game Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE^[a] (龍が如く ONLINE, lit. "Like A Dragon ONLINE"). Originally member of Tojo Clan's Arakawa Family , he is asked by the family's patriarch Masumi Arakawa to go to prison for a murder that he didn't commit, which he accepts as his way of repaying his patriarch's favor. In 2019, Kasuga is released from prison only to find that nobody remembers him; he goes to confront Arakawa, who shoots him in the chest. Several days later, Kasuga wakes up under a pile of trash and eventually finds out that he is in the Yokohama district of Isezaki Ijincho.

Ichiban was officially revealed in August 2017, with his intended role as the lead character in future games of the franchise, beginning with Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE.^[16] GameSpot compared him with Goro Majima based on similar traits they share "though a lot less deranged", while also noting that he is quite different from Kiryu despite sharing other traits in their backstories.^[17] GamesRadar enjoyed the game mechanics presented towards Ichiban and his allies, making their wait for the game's release worthwhile.^[18] Eurogamer describes him as a kind character due to how Ichiban aims to become a hero regardless of not being as intelligent as other Yakuza main characters.^[19]

Tojo Clan[]

The Tojo Clan or "Tojo Association" (東城会, Tōjō-kai) is Kanto's largest yakuza organization within the franchise's universe. Founded by Makoto Tojo, it is headed by its 6th Chairman Daigo Dojima of the Dojima Family as of the events of Yakuza 2.

Chairmen generations

	Character name
1st	Makoto Tojo
2nd (Acting Chairman)	Takashi Nihara
3rd	Masaru Sera
4th	Kazuma Kiryu (Dojima Family)
5th	Yukio Terada (Omi Alliance)
6th	Daigo Dojima (Dojima Family)

Masaru Sera[]

Voiced by: (Japanese); Alan Dale (Yakuza) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Masaru Sera (世良 勝) is the third chairman of the Tojo Clan. He headed up all the affiliate families that made up the Tojo Clan. He was regarded as a legend for achieving the position in his 40s and under his leadership, the Clan prospered. In the first Yakuza, Nishiki calls an emergency meeting of all the captains of the Tojo Clan where he revealed that the 10 billion yen that the Clan had gained over the years had been stolen. Sera went to investigate what had happened to the money only to be assassinated when he found out what happened. The chairmanship was left open as a result, and the top captains Kazama, Shimano, and Nishiki all vying for the position.

Sera also appears in Yakuza 0 as a supporting character, which details his eventual rise as a dominant figure within the Tojo Clan.

Dojima Family[]

Sohei Dojima[]

Voiced by: Hisao Egawa

Introduced in: Yakuza

Portrayed by: Harumi Sone (Like a Dragon: Prologue)

Sohei Dojima (堂島 宗兵, Dōjima Sōhei) is the cunning but violent head of the Dojima Family. Dojima was known for getting his way by any means necessary. He is Daigo's father, and Yayoi's husband. His death caused discord among the men of his family, and forced them to choose a new patriarch to follow. Nishiki was responsible for his death, but Kiryu took the blame.

It is revealed in a flashback during the second game by Kashiwagi that he was behind the Jingweon mafia massacre, ordering his lieutenants Shintaro Kazama and Futoshi Shimano to kill all 46 members of the mafia. He appears again in Yakuza 0.

Yayoi Dojima[]

Voiced by: Orine Fukushima

Introduced in: Yakuza

Yayoi Dojima (堂島 弥生, Dōjima Yayoi) is the wife of Sohei. By the events of Yakuza 2, she has taken interim chairmanship of the Tojo Clan and asks Kiryu to negotiate with the leader of the Omi Alliance. Later, she is taken prisoner by Koji Shindo, the Second Chairman of the Nishikiyama family, who wants to take her as his lover. However, she defies him and is saved by Kiryu.

Daigo Dojima[]

Voiced by: Satoshi Tokushige (Japanese); Roger Craig Smith (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza 2

Daigo Dojima (堂島 大吾, Dōjima Daigo) is Sohei's son. He holds a deep respect for Kiryu, and in Yakuza 2, accompanies him to Kansai to settle a score with Ryuji Goda, the chairman of the Go-Ryu clan and the man who sent him to prison 5 years ago as part of a set-up. He is kidnapped, but eventually recovered. He then takes on a leadership role and brings the fragments of the Tojo Clan together, to lead them into Kamurocho to stop the Jingweon mafia from destroying the city.

Prior to the events of Yakuza 3, Daigo becomes the 6th Chairman of the Tojo Clan. At the start of the third game, he is shot by a man who is the spitting image of Shintaro Kazama. His fate is left uncertain until Kashiwagi reveals that he has stashed him in a hospital to recover, but has not told anyone of Daigo's whereabouts. Mine Yoshitaka eventually finds his way to the hospital (as does Kiryu), and prepares to kill him out of compassion as he holds too deep a respect to see him living from a hospital machine. Daigo awakens after Mine's defeat and saves the two from Richardson momentarily.

During Yakuza 4, Daigo made an emergency meeting with the Ueno Seiwa Clan following Ihara's death. Isao Katsuragi, lieutenant of the Ueno Seiwa, demanded from Daigo that, to make up for Ihara's murder, the life of Arai or control of the business Majima runs, but Daigo refused. He was then asked by Katsuragi to use Majima instead since he is the "only one to measure up Ihara's murder."

Katsuragi then leaves and tells Daigo to decide what he should do. It was later revealed by Majima that he told Kiryu that Daigo set him up by giving him away to the police. Later Daigo is fought and defeated by Kiryu on top of the Millennium Tower.

Daigo also appears in Yakuza 0, Yakuza 5, Yakuza: Dead Souls, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Kazama Family[]

Shintaro Kazama/Fuma[]

Voiced by: Tetsuya Watari (Japanese); Roger L. Jackson (Yakuza) (English)

Portrayed by: Hirotaro Honda (Like a Dragon: Prologue), Sansei Shiomi (Like a Dragon)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Shintaro Kazama (風間 新太郎, Kazama Shintarō) (known as Fuma in the English versions of the first three games and by his original name Shintaro Kazama in Yakuza 4) 178 cm, 75 kg had provided funding for the Sunflower Orphanage that Kazuma Kiryu, Akira "Nishiki" Nishikiyama, and Yumi Sawamura grew up in. Later, as lieutenant of the Dojima Family, Kazama inducted both Kiryu and Nishiki in the family as his protégés. Kazama remained a father-figure to both of them. Kazama always tried to be a kind and honourable man.

First captain of the Kazama Family he founded after Sohei Dojima's death, Shintaro absorbing the remains of the Dojima Family, thus making this new family the most powerful in the Tojo Clan. This advantage helped keep the other affiliate captains in check. However, five years after the murder, a rift was created in the Kazama Family when Nishiki, a supposed lieutenant, broke away and declared his own family. This caused many of Kazama's men to desert him and join the rival family. Kazama helped inform Kiryu about the current state of affairs when he was released from prison. At Masaru Sera's funeral, Kiryu meets with Kazama but the latter is shot by Nishiki. Shinji Tanaka, Nishiki's lieutenant, takes Kazama to a hospital to recover. At some point, Shinji turns Kazama over to Yukio Terada, a lieutenant of the Omi Family who is indebted to the latter. Kazama is kept on Terada's yacht until Kiryu can meet him. Futoshi Shimano then attacks the yacht, but is defeated by the Kazama Family's reinforcements. Kazama is killed while protecting Haruka Sawamura from a grenade thrown by Shimano Shimano. Shortly before he dies, Kazama admits that he was the one who killed Kiryu's parents and that the Sunflower Orphanage is where he sends the children of the people he kills, making them into orphans. Despite this, Kiryu forgives Kazama and calls him the only parent he ever had.

20 years before the events of Yakuza 2, that Kazama participated in the slaughter of the Jingweon mafia. This is later revealed to be an action carried out at Sohei Dojima's behest, which he agreed to after much reluctance. Unlike his partner in this operation, Futo Shimano, Kazama actually showed mercy to a few Jingeweon operatives. During a flashback sequence, it is shown that Kazama, unwilling to kill the Jingweon boss, attempted to strike a deal and told them that if they would leave town, he would spare their lives. However, a young Kazuma Kiryu, thinking Kazama was in danger, ran into the room with a pipe. Thinking he had been double-crossed, the boss attempted to shoot Kiryu, prompting Kazama to shoot. This began the massacre.

In Yakuza 3, Kazama seemingly returns and is involved in a situation where Daigo Dojima is shot. This is later revealed to be his younger brother, Joji Kazama. Shintaro never mentioned his younger brother to anyone including those close to him. Because of this, Kiryu believed Joji to be the late Shintaro Kazama himself due to the striking resemblance.

Osamu Kashiwagi[]

Voiced by: Shunsuke Sakuya (Japanese); John DiMaggio (Yakuza), David Hayter (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Osamu Kashiwagi (柏木 修, Kashiwagi Osamu) is the second in command of the Kazama family; he holds a deep respect for his oyabun Shintaro Kazama. He is seen at the beginning of Yakuza trying to tell a tale about his boss, but is silenced. Kashiwagi is not seen again until end of Chapter 12, when he arrives with backup to the final confrontation against Futoshi Shimano, ending with the deaths of both Shimano and Kazama.

Prior to Yakuza 2, Kashiwagi takes over the chairmanship of the Kazama family following its patriarch's death. He is also the interim second-in-command of the Tojo Clan. He appears throughout the game, cooperating with Kiryu to solve the problems of the Tojo Clan.

In Yakuza 3 Kiryu visits Kashiwagi at the Kazama family's offices in Millennium Tower, but Kashiwagi is fatally gunned down by a helicopter. His dying wish is that Kiryu finds the man in the picture, who is the spitting image of Kazama (later revealed to be his brother, Joji Kazama).

Kishiwagi appears again in Yakuza 0 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Nishikiyama Family[]

Akira Nishikiyama[]

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakaya (Japanese); Michael Rosenbaum (Yakuza) (English)

Portrayed by: Mikio Ohosawa (Like a Dragon: Prologue), Claude Maki (Like a Dragon)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Akira "Nishiki" Nishkiyama (錦山 彰, Nishikiyama Akira) was born on October 8, 1968, known as simply "Akira Nishiki" in English versions of the first two games and by his original name in Yakuza 4. He is the former best friend and sworn brother of Kiryu, and one of the main antagonists of the first game. He leads the Nishikiyama Family as its inaugural chairman. Along with his sister Yuko, Kiryu and Yumi Sawamura, Nishiki grew up in Shintaro Kazama's Sunflower Orphanage. Nishiki was the one actually responsible for the death of Sohei Dojima, but reluctantly allowed Kiryu to take the fall for it so he could tend to his ill sister near her death. When Kiryu returns to Kamurocho, he finds that Nishiki has not only started his own subsidiary group, but he has changed into a cold and cunning villain. Eventually Nishiki faces his former best friend Kiryu final showdown, both removing their shirts to display their yakuza tattoos on their backs - the dragon and the koi. They fight to the bitter end but Kiryu eventually wins. After Jingu shoots Yumi while trying to kill Kiryu, Nishiki redeems himself by stabbing Jingu with a knife to save Kiryu, only to blow up himself along with the 10 billion yen and Jingu.

Yuko Nishikiyama[]

Introduced in: Yakuza

Yuko (錦山 優子, Nishikiyama Yūko) was Nishiki's younger sister raised with him, Kazuma Kiryu and Yumi Sawamura in Shintaro Kazama's Sunflower Orphanage. She suffered from a disease which had her periodically going to the hospital since 1984. In 1996, her final possible surgery and reliance on her elder brother is the reason Kazuma Kiryu takes the fall for Sohei Dojima's murder. She died shortly after, and her death coupled with Nishiki's inferiority complex spiraled his descent into darkness.

Shinji Tanaka[]

Voiced by: (Yakuza), Tomokazu Sugita (Yakuza Kiwami) (Japanese); (Yakuza) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Kazuma Kiryu's friend, Shinji (田中 シンジ, Tanaka Shinji) looks up to Kiryu and helps him out when he can. He is Nishiki's lieutenant, but his true loyalties lie with Kiryu and Shintaro Kazama. While many of Kiryu's old friends forgot about him while he was in prison, Shinji did not. He is part of the Dojima family. He dies from wounds inflicted by Arase's subordinate Mochizuki. He appears again in Yakuza 0.

Koji Shindo[]

Voiced by: Tomoyuki Dan

Introduced in: Yakuza

Initially a lieutenant of the Nishikiyama family in the first game, Koji Shindo (新藤 浩二, Shindō Kōji) serves as a boss in Chapter 7.

In Yakuza 2, he eventually becomes the second chairman of the Nishikiyama family. Shindo then betrays the Tojo Clan and holds members hostage, wanting Yayoi Dojima as his lover. When Kiryu defeats Shindo in combat, Shindo attempts to kill Yayoi. Her son, Daigo, intervenes and kills Shindo.

Kazuto Arase[]

Voiced by:

Introduced in: Yakuza

A cold-hearted Yakuza officer who is renowned for his brutality and his high marksmanship, Kazuto Arase (荒瀬 和人, Arase Kazuto) kills Reina and Shinji in the first game on the orders of Nishki before being defeated by Kiryu.

In Yakuza 3, it is revealed that he was disowned from the Nishikiyama family by Shindo for his failure to kill Kiryu. He forms the Yakuza assassin group the "Avengers", made up of disowned Yakuza, with his ultimate goal to take his revenge on Kiryu and kill him. He fails and disbands the Avengers, but swears to have one final showdown with Kiryu in the future.

Tsuyoshi Kanda[]

Voiced by: Hiroyuki Miyasako

Introduced in: Yakuza 3

Tsuyoshi Kanda (神田 強, Kanda Tsuyoshi) is 49 years old, and the third chairman of the Nishikiyama Family in the events of the third game. He is defeated by Kiryu at a love hotel before being killed by Mine.

Hasebe[]

Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai

Introduced in: Yakuza 3

Hasebe (長谷部) is Kanda's lieutenant. He is noticeable for his dreadlocks and his blue suit with a yellow shirt. He goes to Stardust along with his men to take over the bar. He is defeated by Kazuma Kiryu, and reveals that Osamu Kashiwagi will be assassinated. He most likely became the fourth chairman of the clan following Kanda's death.

Shimano Family[]

Futoshi Shimano[]

Voiced by: Naomi Kusumi (Japanese); Michael Madsen (Yakuza) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Futoshi Shimano (嶋野 太, Shimano Futoshi) is 193 cm,120 kg, the head of the Shimano Family, and an affiliate of the Tojo Clan, known as Futo Shimano in the overseas versions. Much like Sohei Dojima, he has a reputation for his ruthless, violent nature, and has a brutal grudge against Kiryu for Dojima's death. At Masaru Sera's funeral, Shimano fights Kiryu after the latter is discovered. After Shinji leaves Kazama on Terada's boat, the Shimano family attacks. After being defeated by Kiryu and the Kazama Family reinforcements, Shimano throws a grenade towards Haruka, which kills Kazama when he saves Haruka's life, shortly before being shot and killed by Terada. He has a tattoo of a tiger on his back.

In the events of Yakuza 0, he was the Patriarch of Goro Majima. Infuriated with his failure to participate in the raid, he orders Majima to be tortured in his private chambers where he endured a year of pain and suffering by Shimano's personal hands. Exiling him to Sotenbori, he entrusts Majima with the custody of Sagawa who offers him to a chance to escape if he kills Makimura Makoto. Shimano does not reappear until later in the game after Majima and Sagawa finds and supposedly kills Sera and reveals they wanted Makoto alive so she would willingly give Shimano the deed to the land she owned due to her feelings for Majima. After Sera secured his position as the new Chairman of the Tojo, Majima was tasked with killing Shimano for his secret alliance with the Omi but Shimano demonstrates his loyalty by killing the envoy of the Omi present for negotiations which spares him of his involvement in the plot to betray the Tojo.

Majima Family[]

Daisaku Minami[]

Voiced by: Hideo Ishikawa

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Minami (南 大作, Minami Daisaku) is the Junior Leader of the Majima Family. In Yakuza 4 he is first seen arriving at a dance club owned by Akiyama looking for Lily. After trading insults and refusing to leave, he and Akiyama fight in which he is defeated. He then attempts to continue fighting until he is stopped by Majima, who then reveals that he is looking for Lily in order to protect her. He later appears in the Millennium Tower when Taiga Saejima arrives looking for Goro Majima. He then orders members of the Majima Family to attack the intruder and fights Taiga personally after they are defeated in which he is defeated himself. He uses "drunken style" while fighting in which he attacks opponents while intoxicated, which makes him more agile and nimble than he is normally.

Hakuho Clan[]

Yoshitaka Mine[]

Voiced by: Nakamura Shidō II

Introduced in: Yakuza 3

Mine (峯 義孝, Mine Yoshitaka) is 34 years old, the President of the Hakuho Clan (白峯会, Hakuhō-kai), a Tojo Clan affiliate, and serves as one of the main antagonists (as well as the final boss) in Yakuza 3. He has a golden kirin tattoo on his back. Bilingual, he speaks both Japanese and English.

Mine as a child grew up in a poor environment, shunned by other children because of his poor background. He was solely raised by his father (uncle in the EU & US localization) who later died of an unknown illness. Before his father died, on his deathbed he advised Mine that because of his high intelligence he should make something of himself and that he was sorry to leave him alone. He grew up as an orphan and studied hard to make something of himself whilst shunning people from ever getting close to him.

In adulthood, he became a very successful Japanese businessman; he had all the money he wanted and could have any woman he desired. However, this life led him to the realization that it was all a lie and that people only used him for his money. Human bonds, to Mine, were non-existent as humans are all self-serving hypocrites.

To find a society where human bonds were absolute, he took an interest in the yakuza. He bribed the Nishikiyama Family's Third Chairman, Tsuyoshi Kanda, to gain access to the Tojo Clan, making it appear as though Kanda was the one who scouted him. There he met with the Sixth Chairman, Daigo Dojima, and took an interest in him. Daigo, to Mine, was someone for the first time in ages he genuinely respected and cared for; he loved him like he was his best friend and brother. With Daigo's support, he rose to the top ranks and became the Chairman of the Hakuho Clan through his clear thinking and financial prowess.

After Daigo was shot, Kashiwagi, acting as interim chairman, calls a meeting with the current Tojo Clan executive members over Kazuma Kiryu, the Fourth Chairman, returning to help mend this current crisis. Mine sides with Kashiwagi while Kanda and Hamazaki, due to their own personal ambitions, express their disapproval.

When Mine meets with Kiryu for the first time at Kage's office in Purgatory, he apologizes profusely for Kanda's actions and says that it was he who funded the Nishikiyama Family to stage a coup against the other families. As a peace offering, he places a large metal box on Kage's desk containing Kanda's head. A flashback in Mine's office reveals how Kanda is angry over his defeat against Kiryu, destroying antiques in the process. Mine calmly tells him to refrain from destroying any more expensive antiques as he doesn't comprehend their value. Kanda lunges at Mine in animosity while Mine effortlessly counters him with a blow to his abdomen. After further consecutive blows, Kanda helplessly falls to the floor, pleading mercy. Mine confesses to him that while he may not look it, his physical strength surpasses Kanda's. Mine also reveals to the petulant Kanda how he has outlived his usefulness and orders his subordinates to execute him away from his office. In the present, Mine addresses that the matter is closed and that they have nothing to worry about with regards to Hamazaki, now that he has gone into hiding. Kiryu expresses his disapproval over Mine's actions, asking if this is what Daigo would have wanted. Mine responds to Kiryu how his reluctance to give up the orphanage caused Daigo to be shot and that his idealism is nothing more than hypocrisy. Mine then gives a final warning to Kiryu and his allies before he leaves.

Mine travels to Downtown Ryukyu in Okinawa by plane. With the employ of the Tamashiro Family he destroys the orphanage to further the resort development project. Mine orders the family to stall Kiryu in Okinawa before he travels back to Tokyo to find Daigo in Toto Hospital. During the plane journey, his subordinates discuss how Mine becoming the Seventh Chairman is something worth celebrating. Mine overhears their conversation and stabs a subordinate's hand with a dinner knife for insulting Daigo.

At Toto Hospital, he sits beside Daigo, lamenting how things come to this. He receives a phone call from the enigmatic Andre Richardson, head of Black Monday. Mine assures him in English that everything is going according to schedule and that there will be no changes in the plan. During the final battle on top of Toto University Hospital, he reveals to Kiryu that he is an orphan just like him, as well his true (albeit misguided) motives behind his betrayal of the Tojo Clan. Unable to cope with Daigo being in a coma after being shot, even if it was a lie to him, he wanted the power to do anything. Collaborating with Black Monday, he wanted to become the Seventh Chairman of the Tojo Clan to give him a new reason to live to render his grief non-existent. To fulfill that ambition, he has two obstacles: 1) To compassionately kill Daigo in his vegetative state and 2) To kill the person whom Daigo Dojima thought of the most highly - Kazuma Kiryu. Kiryu sees the futility in Mine's actions, and that his isolation was a result of his self-centeredness. This prompts Mine to shoot at him out of rage while Kiryu remains unfazed by his opponent's anger. To get through to Mine, Kiryu challenges him to a duel to prove him wrong, which Mine accepts gladly and mentions how he won't be easily beaten. After a grueling fight, Mine is defeated.

After Mine's defeat, he lies down on the rooftop exhausted. He receives an urgent phone call from his secretary whom he thought he mattered to. When it turns out she was discussing business, Mine laments how it goes back to money, yet the yearning desire for bonds of friendship and love is in all of us, before cutting off the call. Mine asks Kiryu whether his clear state of mind means that his life has ended. The equally exhausted Kiryu responds that as long as we're still alive, we can start anew. The CIA Agent appears with five of his subordinates. Mine confirms that they are not CIA and that it was just a cover for the Black Monday organization. The agent Kiryu had defeated was Andre Richardson, the leader of Black Monday and the mastermind behind the resort project. Andre casually responds how their roles have come to end and that Mine is easily a replaceable pawn. Before Andre executes both of them with his handgun, Daigo recovers from his coma and shoots him and his five men with a pistol. Andre, near death, rises once more to kill everyone now that his plans are ruined. Mine grabs Andre and throws himself off the hospital rooftop along with his former collaborator to make amends to both Kiryu and Daigo, ending Richardson and his ambitions for good.

Hamazaki Family[]

Goh Hamazaki[]

Voiced by:

Introduced in: Yakuza 3

Goh (浜崎 豪, Hamazaki Gō) is the tough leader of the Hamazaki Family (浜崎組, Hamazaki-gumi). A major antagonist in Yakuza 3, he earned the nickname "Emperor of Hama" (ハマの帝王, Hama no Teiō); "Hama" being short for Yokohama, the family's hometown. Although tall and strong, Hamazaki is more tactful and cunning than Kanda, using intimidation, manipulation and business connections to further his ambitions.

With only 10 members in his family, Hamazaki rose to the top ranks of the Tojo Clan after taking over Yokohama from the Japanese branch of the Snake Flower Triad 4 years ago. It is shown that Hamazaki was secretly working with the Snake Flower Triad leader Lau Ka Long, who survived the events of Yakuza 1, in order to accomplish this.

Interested in the land resort deal, he works with the Land Minister Suzuki in order to remove the orphanage. With the land in his possession, he plans to create a secret casino for the Triad group.

To stop Kiryu from interfering in his plans to take over the Tojo Clan and claim the Okinawa resort land in his possession, he blackmails Goro Majima to use his family to stop him. When that doesn't go to plan, he convinces his partner Lau Ka Long and his Triad to invade Kamurocho, though Lau is more than obliged out of revenge against Kiryu. After Lau Ka Long is killed, the Snake Flower Triad HQ in China destroys Goh's Hamazaki Family for allowing their Japanese branch leader to be killed. He then goes into hiding.

In Yakuza 3's ending, he appears again in Theater Square confronting Kazuma. Devoid of the power he once had as a yakuza chairman, Goh tells Kiryu that he is a wanted man and that he would be better off dead than to live in personal shame. Kiryu convinces Goh that it's not too late to mend his ways as long as he is alive, stretching his hand out as a sign of trust. Goh walks towards Kiryu, stabbing him in his abdomen with a knife. With Kiryu dying, Goh mockingly states to Kazuma that his idealism will not amount to anything now that he's near death, and Kiryu responds that he still believes in people and his ideals even if he's dying, as the now-deceased Mine taught him this lesson. Bemused by Kiryu's resolve, he is tackled by Kazuki and Yuya, and forced to the ground as the police sirens wail in the background.

Goh Hamazaki appears again in Yakuza 4, now as a 51-year-old prisoner at the same facility Taiga Saejima is transferred to. After Saejima is beaten, Hamazaki manages to get in to see him and convinces him to join his escape effort. With weapon expert Kamiyama's help, who is also an inmate at the prison, the two manage to get past the guards. While sneaking out, Hamazaki obtains confidential documents pertaining to the Tojo Clan. After a final showdown with prison guard Saito, Hamazaki is shot multiple times. Before he and Saito fall into the sea, he tells Saejima to find a man named Kiryu. Hamazaki washes up on the Sunshine Orphanage's beach in Okinawa some time later. Haruka, remembering the events of the previous year, refuses to let him near the other children. Kiryu and Hamazaki head into town only to meet up with Yasuko, Saejima's half-sister. The group meets at Tamashiro's abandoned office, but are ambushed by Saito and the other guards. Although Saito is defeated, Hamazaki sustains a fatal back wound and dies in hospital. Haruka keeps his body at the orphanage until Kiryu returns so he can be buried.

Shibata Family[]

Kazuo Shibata[]

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Kazuo Shibata (柴田 和夫, Shibata Kazuo) is a chairman of the Tojo Clan-affiliated Shibata Family (柴田組, Shibata-gumi) in Yakuza 4. Carries out yubitsume at Arai's behest. After kidnapping Yasuko Saejima in order to question her about killing his men, he is killed by Arai on Katsuragi's orders. 25 years earlier, he and Katsuragi used each other in conjunction with the Ueno Seiwa Clan shooting incident. He is indirectly responsible for Majima losing his left eye after kidnapping him on Chairman Dojima's orders in order to prevent him from participating in the Ueno raid.

Kanemura Enterprises[]

Kanemura Enterprises (金村興業, "Kanemura Kōgyō") is a part of the Tojo Clan, under the Shibata Family's umbrella.

Hiroshi Kanemura[]

Voiced by: Yasuhiko Kawazu

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Hiroshi Kanemura (金村 大, Kanemura Hiroshi) is the owner Kanemura Enterprises, and has a passive personality. Stabbed to death by Yasuko Saejima by order of Katsuragi, Kanemura's body is discovered with lipstick marks on it by Kido.

Hiroaki Arai[]

Voiced by: Ikki Sawamura

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Hiroaki Arai (新井 弘明, Arai Hiroaki) is Akiyama's friend and Kido's superior. In Yakuza 4, he is secretly working undercover for Munakata. He is shot during the incident at Elnard. He later appears as Akiyama's final boss on top of the Millennium Tower, where he stops Tanimura from shooting Munakata. It is Arai's gun that Munakata uses to kill himself with.

Takeshi Kido[]

Voiced by: Kenta Kiritani

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Takeshi Kido (城戸 武, Kido Takeshi) looks up to Arai in Yakuza 4. He is abducted by Midorikawa and Hatsushiba Clan men before Akiyama rescues him. His strength impresses Akiyama. Discovers Kanemura's body. He finds Akiyama's secret safe containing 100 billion yen, which he steals to help Arai. He takes the money to Katsuragi, where he is shot (purposely non-fatally) in the stomach by Arai. Saejima's final boss.

Hatsushiba Clan[]

The Hatsushiba Clan is a group with its offices located under Theater Square. After it is cleared out by Akiyama, it is used as a hideout.

Hatsushiba[]

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Hatsushiba (初芝) is the Shibata Family-derived Hatsushiba Clan (初芝会) chairman. In Yakuza 4, he orders Shibata's underling, Midorikawa, to attack Sky Finance, stealing the client list and abducting Kido, who is rescued by Akiyama.

Takumi Midorikawa[]

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Takumi Midorikawa (緑川 琢己, Midorikawa Takumi) is a Hatsushiba Clan lieutenant. He attacks Sky Finance and abducts Kido. He fights using a chainsaw, but is defeated by Akiyama.

Sasai Family[]

The Sasai Family (笹井組, Sasai-gumi) was a former group under the Tojo Clan in the 1980s.

Hideki Sasai[]

Hideki Sasai (笹井 英樹, Sasai Hideki) is the former boss of the Sasai Family. He disbanded the family immediately after the Yoshiharu Ueno shooting in 1985 and vanished. He was planning on using the assassination to quickly defuse the conflict as a mediator in the conflict but Shibata and Katsuragi found out and this opportunity to annihilate the clan as well as allow Katsuragi certain hopes of succeeding as their Chairnan. He was found by Majima, half-dead, and was taken to Purgatory, but was incapacitated. After Saejima escapes from prison he is reunited with Sasai, who says Saejima's name, which are his first words he spoke in 25 years. Before his descent into dementia, Sasai was an adherent to using the threat of force over wealth to establish a clan's authority. Such values are passed on to Saejima in his substories.

Omi Alliance[]

The "Omi Alliance" (近江連合, Ōmi Rengō) is a powerful yakuza association based in Osaka.

Ryuji Goda[]

Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki

Introduced in: Yakuza 2

Ryuji Goda (郷田 龍司, Gōda Ryūji) is the adopted son of Jin Goda, second chairman of the Go-Ryu, and is known as the "Dragon of Kansai". He dislikes this nickname, because he believes that there should only be one true dragon in Japan; to this end he seeks to defeat Kiryu Kazuma, who appears as his rival in Yakuza 2. Goda stages a coup while Kiryu is in Osaka attempting to broker a peace deal, and kidnaps Jin and Daigo, wanting to start a war between the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance. It is later revealed that Goda is the son of the Jingweon boss and his wife Suyeon, and that Kaoru is his half-sister. Due to the massacre of the Jingweon 25 years before by the Tojo Clan, Goda wants to destroy the town and the Tojo. To do this he works with the Jingweon, though later states he hated doing so. At the climax of the story, the two fight on the top of Kamurocho Hills. After his defeat, and the killing of Jin and Terada, he gets up and charges Takashima with a gun. Goda is shot multiple times before finally shooting Takashima in the head. He and Kiryu then have a final showdown, explaining to the protesting Sayama that both he and Kiryu are going to die anyway (either by succumbing to their wounds or the bomb exploding), which ends with a scene in homage to the "Cross Counter" technique of Ashita no Joe ("Tomorrow Joe"). He then dies in Kaoru's arms.

Ryuji Goda appears as a playable character in the zombie spinoff Yakuza: Dead Souls, which follows an alternate story. Ryuji has been expelled from the Omi after losing his fight with Kiryu, and drifts around before making his name at a takoyaki shop. He was set to succeed the owner, before he returned to Kamurocho during the zombie outbreak. Goda is also featured as the protagonist of a prequel story arc in Ryu ga Gotoku ONLINE^[b] (龍が如く ONLINE, lit. "Like A Dragon ONLINE"), released in March 2020.

Jin Goda[]

Voiced by: Masuo Amada

Introduced in: Yakuza 2

Jin Goda (郷田 仁, Gōda Jin)is the elderly 5th chairman of the Omi Alliance, and adoptive father of Ryuji Goda. However, he has difficulty controlling the organization since it has become too big for him to handle. He is kidnapped by Ryuji in a coup d'état, along with Daigo Dojima, after Kazuma Kiryu attempts to create a peace deal between the Tojo and the Omi. In the final chapter of the game, Jin explains the truth about Ryuji's original family. He took Ryuji in at the request of his real mother Suyeon, wife of the Jingweon boss, and mother of Kaoru Sayama. In the end, he is shot and killed by Ryo Takashima.

Yukio Terada[]

Voiced by: Kenji Nomura (Yakuza), Go Shinomiya (Yakuza 2) (Japanese); Gregg Berger (Yakuza) (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Yukio Terada (寺田 行雄, Terada Yukio)is the 5th Chairman of the Tojo Clan, succeeding Kazuma Kiryu. Prior to this he was a friend of Shintaro Kazama, before his death, and a member of the Kansai-based Omi Alliance. His assassination in December 2006 started a war between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance, his last wish being peace between the two organizations. In the final chapter of the game, it is revealed that he is a Korean whose real name is Daejin Kim, a survivor of the Jingweon massacre 20 years ago, and that he faked his death in order to start a war between the Tojo and Omi. He did this in order to avenge the murders of the Jingweon members. He also conspired with Ryo Takashima, but is betrayed by him. After Takashima shoots Kaoru and Jin Goda, he reveals that he doesn't need Terada anymore and shoots him. Terada tells Takashima that he never really trusted him, and that he'll never let him get what he wants. His last words to Kiyru are "Trust me:. He then activates the bomb, but the bomb's fuse falls from Terada's body, revealing that he had no intention of detonating it. In the epilogue Haruka can be seen praying at his grave, saying, "Thank you for everything."

Ryo Takashima[]

Voiced by: Hiroshi Tachi

Introduced in: Yakuza 2

Ryo Takashima (高島 遼, Takashima Ryō) is the Chief Director of the Omi Alliance. He took over when Yukio Terada had left the organization to become fifth chairman of the Tojo Clan, though he was actually working as Terada's mole in the alliance. Takashima, however, betrays him, intending to take both the Omi and the Jingweon to spread throughout mainland Asia. However, he is killed by Ryuji Goda before his plans can be realized.

Toranosuke Sengoku[]

Voiced by: Tadahisa Saizen

Introduced in: Yakuza 2

A flashy and brash lieutenant of the Omi Alliance, Toranosuke Sengoku (千石 虎之介, Sengoku Toranosuke) is one of the Omi's "Four Kings". He sends men into Kamurocho to destroy the Tojo Clan, but they are all defeated single-handedly by Goro Majima. He then kidnaps Haruka to lure Kiryu to him. After Kiryu defeats him, he is killed by Ryuji Goda who is disgusted that he put a child in danger for a shot at killing Kiryu. He is arrogant and incredibly wealthy, owning a castle in Osaka which can split in two, revealing a second castle made of gold filled with samurai and ninjas. Also inside are two tigers, which he uses in attempt to kill Kiryu (in reference to his given name; the first character, "Tora", means "tiger").

Hiroshi Hayashi

Voiced by: Shun Sugata

Introduced in: Yakuza

Hiroshi Hayashi (林 弘, Hayashi Hiroshi) is a member of the Omi Family working for Akira Nishikiyama to kidnap Haruka Sawamura during the events of the first game. Hayashi and his men meet Kazuma Kiryu at Mizuki's bar, Ares, on top of the Millennium Tower. Hayashi corner Kiryu and demands Haruka be handed over. Kiryu resists, defeating them.

In Yakuza 2, he has left the Omi Family and started working for Ryuji Goda and Go-Ryu Clan. Hayashi and seven men are sent to attack the transformer room that serves Kage's new surveillance point in the Millennium Tower. He is once again defeated by Kazuma Kiryu.

Kunieda[]

Introduced in: Yakuza 2

Kuneida (国枝) is Toranosuke Sengoku's right-hand man. He set an ambush for Kazuma Kiryu but it failed and he was defeated.

Tsubasa Kurosawa[]

Voiced by: Eiji Okuda

Introduced in: Yakuza 5

Tsubasa Kurosawa (黒澤 翼) is the seventh chairman of the Omi Alliance, and the main antagonist of Yakuza 5. With most of the characters believing he is an invalid on his deathbed, he is in truth manipulating both the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance, along with Kiryu Kazama, to destruction.

Masaru Watase[]

Voiced by: Rintarō Nishi (Japanese); James C. Burns (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza 5

A hot-headed and vicious yakuza, but with a strong sense of honor, Masaru Watase (渡瀬 勝) is one of the leading candidates as the eighth chairman of the Omi Alliance.

Naoki Katsuya[]

Voiced by: Mitsuru Fukikoshi

Introduced in: Yakuza 5

Naoki Katsuya (勝矢 直樹) is the head of Osaka Talent, a major entertainment corporation, and Osaka Enterprises, a major front for the Omi Alliance. He is one of the main candidates for becoming eighth chairman.

Ueno Seiwa Clan[]

Debuting in Yakuza 4, the Ueno Seiwa Clan (上野誠和会) is an organization that was in the midst of a power-struggle with the Tojo Clan in 1985. 18 of its men were gunned down by a single man. Soon after the incident, the organization reconciled with the Tojo Clan.

Yoshiharu Ueno[]

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Yoshiharu Ueno (上野 吉春, Ueno Yoshiharu) is a former chairman of the Ueno Seiwa Clan. After 18 of his men were shot by Saejima, he was the only man other than Katsuragi left alive. Shortly after the incident he promoted Katsuragi to lieutenant for his brave actions that spared Ueno's life, though unbeknownst to Ueno it was Katsuragi who really killed the men. Now elderly and confined to his bed, he puts Katsuragi in charge.

Isao Katsuragi[]

Voiced by: Fumihiko Tachiki

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Isao Katsuragi (葛城 勲, Katsuragi Isao) is a main antagonist for most of Yakuza 4. He is a Ueno Seiwa Clan lieutenant, and one of few survivors of the shooting in 1985. After Ihara, another member of the organization, is killed by Arai of Kanemura Enterprises, Katsuragi complains to Daigo Dojima, 6th chairman of the Tojo Clan. He asks for the rights to Kamurocho Hills as compensation, but is refused. Katsuragi is later revealed to be the true culprit in the shooting 25 years before, having conspired with Shibata. Using Taiga Saejima's discarded gun he shot the men, before instructing Sugiuchi to shoot him in the shoulder, so as not to look suspicious. The incident was covered up with help from Sugiuchi and Munakata, who helped to frame Saejima. He kidnaps Yasuko, Saejima's sister, in an attempt to lure Taiga to him. When he arrives Taiga is also tied up, and when Kazuma Kiryu catches up Kido appears with the 100 billion yen in cases. Kiryu gives him the file containing information about the stolen money and Kido returns Yasuko to him. Katsuragi then orders Kido to shoot her, but he turns and shoots Katsuragi in the chest instead. Kiryu frees Saejima, who warns them that Katsuragi is wearing a bulletproof vest, as on the night of the shooting. Katsuragi shoots at Taiga, hitting him in the arm, before shooting once more; this time Yasuko takes the bullet fatally in the back. Before dying, she takes the gun given to her by Tanimura and shoots Katsuragi in the head, killing him instantly.

Junji Sugiuchi[]

Voiced by: Kenichi Endou

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Junji Sugiuchi (杉内 順次, Sugiuchi Junji) is a detective of the criminal investigation division, and a 30-year veteran who appears in the fourth game who hates yakuza. 25 years before the events of Yakuza 4, he had been investigating the shooting of Yoshiharu Ueno, submitting a false report to Munakata to the director of the criminal investigations department which implicating Saejima as the perpetrator. After being cornered by Sudo and subsequently defeated by Tanmiura following a speedboat chase, he admits that it was he who killed Tanimura's father. He also revealed that he himself had been a member of the Ueno family with Katsuragi, and not a police officer. He is then shot by an unknown man and dies in Tanimura's arms.

Masaru Ihara[]

Voiced by: Yoshihiro Kanemitsu

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Masaru Ihara (伊原 勝, Ihara Masaru) is a former member of the Ueno Seiwa Clan. After causing a disturbance at hostess club Elnard, directed by Katsuragi, he ends up fighting Akiyama, and is defeated. Upon shooting Arai, he escapes to the alley behind New Serena. Akiyama later discovers Arai with Ihara's dead body, which is slumped against the vending machine with a bullet hole in his forehead. Katsuragi later reveals that, on the day he was killed, he was due to be promoted to assistant lieutenant.

Yutaka Mishima[]

Voiced by: Takahiro Fujimoto

Introduced in: Yakuza 4

Yutaka Mishima (三島 豊, Mishima Yutaka) is Ihara's underling, with whom he created a disturbance in club Elnard. When Akiyama arrives at the club, Mishima attempts to attack Akiyama after ignoring his warnings, but he is knocked out, and Ihara is forced to fight alone. After his defeat, Mishima is in a room adjacent to the Seiwa Clan's main office and by chance, overhears the phone call announcing Ihara's death. Realizing his life is in danger, Mishima goes into hiding. Tanimura offers to take him into police protection, planning to root out the traitor within the police force. Tanimura meets him in a warehouse near the dock, and as he promises him protection Mishima is shot and killed by Sugiuchi.

Snake Flower[]

A Chinese Mafia triad headed by Lau.

Lau Ka Long[]

Voiced by: Shinichi Takizawa (Japanese); James Horan (English)

Introduced in: Yakuza

Lau Ka Long (ラウ・カーロン, 劉家龍) is a Chinese martial arts master and the President (総統, sōtō) of the Chinese mafia triad called Snake Flower (蛇華, Jaka). Lau and Kiryu were enemies for twelve years and Lau sought for his revenge. Lau, working for Futoshi Shimano, has Haruka kidnapped. Kazuma confronts Lau and defeats him, but is then caught and blamed for Haruka's abduction.

Though he doesn't appear physically in Yakuza 2, it is revealed that Granny White was his former martial arts master.

Lau Ka Long returns in Yakuza 3 when the Snake Flower Triad invades Kamurocho at Hamazaki's behest. He kidnaps Rikiya as bait to lure Kazuma out and take revenge for his defeat 4 years ago. He is ultimately killed by Joji Kazama when he shoots Lau in the head.

Even though Lau does not make any future appearances, his brother Chau Ka Long, a black market weapons dealer, appears in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. He assists Ichiban Kasuga by selling him weapons for him and his comrades.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department[]

Junichi Sudo (須藤 純一, Sudō Jun'ichi)

Voiced by: Mitsutaka Tanaka

Chief superintendent of the criminal investigation division. He asks Date to investigate the money-laundering during the missing 10 billion yen case.

During the second game, Sudo helps with the investigation of the Jingweon mafia. He pilots a helicopter to evacuate Kiryu and Sayama from the bomb at the end of the game, but due to the lack of time he is forced to retreat from the area.

Sudo only appears at the start of the third game, where he reveals to Date that the people involved in the Jingweon incident were promoted to keep their mouths shut about Kurahashi infiltrating the police force.

He reappears twice in the fourth installment. He aids in the cornering of Sugiuchi at the docks but is hesitant to use force to stop him knowing the kind of immunity Sugiuchi possessed. He again flies a helicopter above the Millennium tower after the final battle with Seishiro Munakata, while Date distributes copies of newspapers all over town telling the truth about Munakata.

Jiro Kawara (瓦 次郎, Kawara Jirō)

Voiced by: Susumu Terajima

A hard-boiled veteran detective known as "Killer Kawara", who is on the trail of a Korean crime gang, which is later revealed to be the secretive Jingweon mafia. He was present at the massacre of the Jingweon 25 years ago, and saved the boss's wife and son. After taking care of the woman, called Suyeon, he later married and had a child with her. The child is later revealed to be Kaoru Sayama, and this is revealed by Kurahashi, a Jingweon survivor, mere moments before Kawara's death in Kaoru's arms.

Wataru Kurahashi (倉橋 渉, Kurahashi Wataru)

Voiced by: Shun Sugata

Wataru Kurahashi is a 42-year-old chief superintendent. Secretly, he was a Korean named Yeongmin Ji and a survivor of the Jingweon mafia massacre 25 years before by the Tojo Clan. Kurahashi took Japanese citizenship and joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Unbeknownst to him, Kawara was watching him the entire time. He, Yukio Terada, and Ryo Takashima plotted to destroy the Tojo. Kurahashi and his men kidnapped Makoto Date to set a trap for Kiryu. Kurahashi reveals to Kaoru Sayama that Kawara is her father after shooting him. Kazuma and Kurahashi fight and Kurahashi is defeated, but manages to pick up a gun. He tries to shoot Kaoru, but Kawara uses his body to shield her and takes the bullet before shooting Kurahashi and killing him.

Satoshi Hisai (久井 聡, Hisai Satoshi)

Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka

A member of the community safety division in the fourth game, who is kind towards Tanimura. He was sent by Munakata to "dipose of" Sugiuchi and Tanimura, but spares Tanimura. After writing a false report to Munakata, lying about having killed both men, and holding Tanimura's adoptive family hostage at their restaurant, he commits suicide.

Seishiro Munakata (宗像 征四郎, Munakata Seishirō)

Voiced by: Kinya Kitaōji

Assistant commissioner in the fourth game. He and Sugiuchi covered up the true perpetrator of the case 25 years before, Katsuragi, in which 18 yakuza were killed, letting Taiga Saejima take the blame. He was involved in the missing 10 billion yen incident five years before, and had many secret funds which he used to build illegal prisons and control criminals. Using his influence he sends Arai undercover as a member of the Tojo Clan. In an attempt to get the 100 billion yen from Kiryu he orders Arai to take the children at Sunshine Orphanage hostage. Rejecting him, Arai shoots Munakata, though the bullet is only plastic. He later appears with the three other men (Arai, Kido and Daigo) on top of the Millennium Tower to claim the money. Tanimura takes him on as the final battle and, after his defeat and Date outing the truth about Munakata, he commits suicide with Arai's discarded gun.

Osaka Prefectural Police Department[]

Kaoru Sayama (狭山 薫, Sayama Kaoru)

Voiced by: Yū Daiki (Yakuza 2 – 3); Aya Hisakawa (Yakuza Kiwami 2)

25-year-old Sayama is a lead detective of the Osakan police. Sayama's work within Division 4 earned her the nickname "the Yakuza Eater". She originally studied programming at college as a way of getting into the police force (as part of their hi-tech crimes division), but requested a transfer as soon as she was established and rose through the ranks quickly, promoted to division lieutenant after only four years in the police. She is initially ordered to take Kiryu into protective custody, during which she can follow the Tojo Clan's activities. During this time she begins to fall for Kiryu. She believes she may be a Jingweon survivor, but eventually discovers she is really the child of the Jingweon boss's wife and Jiro Kawara, also making her Ryuji's half-sister.

At the start of the third game, Kaoru Sayama meets Kiryu at the graveyard and tells him that she's leaving Japan to receive training in the United States. While she plays no further role in the game, completing special tasks will prompt a text message from Sayama to come through on Kiryu's phone.

Tsutomu Bessho (別所 勉, Bessho Tsutomu)

Voiced by: Hidekazu Akai

An investigator for Division 4 of the Osakan police in Yakuza 2, nicknamed "Viper Bessho". Before being transferred to Osaka he was a member of the Tokyo police, and 26 years prior had investigated the Jingweon massacre.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)[]

Joji Kazama (風間 譲二, Kazama Jōji)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Watari

60 years old. He is the younger brother of Shintaro Kazama, founder of the Kazama Family and father figure to Kazuma Kiryu. 30 years ago, Joji was an elite member of the National Police Agency within the Secretariat of the Minister of State's international section. He received persecution because his brother Shintaro was a known yakuza of the Tojo Clan, so Joji had to resign and he eventually joined the CIA, and became a close friend of Tamiya. Due to his near identical looks to those of his dead brother, and Shintaro never having told people of Joji, he is initially presumed to be Shintaro after shooting Daigo and Nakahara. He shoots and kills both Lau Ka Long and Tamashiro.

Andre Richardson (アンドレ・リチャードソン)

Voiced by: (Yakuza 3)

51 years old. Andre Richardson, a.k.a. the "Man in Black", is first thought to be a CIA agent, but it is later revealed by Mine that he is really the leader of Black Monday, a powerful illegal arms dealing organisation. He dies when Mine jumps off the roof of the hospital holding on to him, after being shot.

Politicians[]

Kyohei Jingu (神宮 京平, Jingu Kyōhei)

Voiced by: Hiroaki Yoshida (Japanese); Robin Atkin Downes (English)

The mastermind behind the Tojo Clan robbery. He is Haruka's father. He and Yumi met after she lost her memory, following the murder of Sohei Dojima, and the two conceived Haruka. Jingu left Yumi and Haruka when he received a marriage proposal from the Prime Minister's daughter, desperate for power and riches. He ordered the death of a reporter who was threatening to reveal the truth about Yumi and Haruka. He then requested that Sera, then Tojo Clan chairman, hire an assassin to kill Yumi and Haruka. Before the assassin could kill them, Shintaro Kazama arrived and shot the assassin. As a result of this incident, Yumi regained her memory. When Kiryu and Haruka go to Ares to meet Yumi, Jingu and his men are waiting for them. He then shoots Haruka, but Kiryu takes the bullet, shocked that Haruka's own father would shoot her. Jingu explains that Yumi and Haruka are nothing more than a problem for him. Then Yukio Terada, the lieutenant of the Omi Family, arrives and holds Jingu at gunpoint. Jingu laughs and, as the Omi soldiers grab Terada, reveals the Omi Family work for him. Makoto Date appears in a helicopter and orders Jingu's arrest. Jingu's men shot Date's helicopter and order every witnesses to be killed. After Kiryu defeats Jingu, Yumi revealed the safe containing the money. Jingu shot Kiryu twice, but Yumi takes the second (and fatal) bullet. Nishiki then charges Jingu with a knife and stabs him, before setting off the bomb.

Democratic Party of Japan[]

Ryuzo Tamiya (田宮 隆造, Tamiya Ryūzo)

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka

A member of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the Minister of Defense. Tamiya launches a plan to expand an airbase in Okinawa for the purpose of testing a new Ballistic Missile Defense system. Minister Suzuki opposes this plan, submitting a resort proposal instead. The B.M.D. project is actually fake, and is part of an anti-criminal plot in conjunction with the CIA against a now Okinawa-based American weapon smuggling organisation called Black Monday. Concerned about the threat to his Private Secretary, now the CIA is after him for disclosing the plot, Tamiya sends Kiryu back to Ryukyu to save the lives of both Toma and his long-time friend, Joji Kazama.

Yoshinobu Suzuki (鈴木 善伸, Suzuki Yoshinobu)

Suzuki is the Minister of Land (DPJ) who opposes Tamiya's B.M.D. project, promoting his own Okinawan resort development. In order to force the land purchase for his resort plan, Suzuki connects with the Tojo Clan through its affiliated Hakuho Clan, headed by Mine, and the local Tamashiro Family. However, the resort proposal is regarded as a threat by the CIA, for it would cancel the whole Black Monday operation.

Shoyo Toma (當眞 昌洋, Tōma Shōyō)

Toma is the private secretary of Minister Tamiya (DPJ). He lets out the truth behind Tamiya's proposal to thwart the plan, which he believes will harm his beloved Okinawa, not knowing the real reason for the proposal. When the CIA learn Toma betrayed Minister Tamiya for his rival Suzuki, thus threatening the Black Monday project, Joji Kazama is sent to Ryukyu's Canal Grande hostess club to assassinate him. He is stopped by Kiryu.

Kamurocho inhabitants[]

Kiryu's allies[]

Makoto Date (伊達 真, Date Makoto)

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji (Japanese); Bill Farmer (English)

Portrayed by: Yutaka Matsushige (Like a Dragon)

Introduced in Yakuza, Detective Makoto Date often frequents Kiryu in regards to conflicts happening in the narrative. After Dojima's murder, 41-year-old Detective Date was the only one not fully convinced of Kiryu's guilt. He continued to investigate the case even after Kiryu's incarceration, which earned him an unwanted transfer to the Organized Crime Unit. He is the father of Saya Date. After Kiryu is arrested, he chooses to forsake his career in the police (justifying it by saying that his time was limited anyway) to spring him from jail. He helps Kiryu throughout the game, becoming one of his closest friends. At the end of the game he appears with Sudo in a helicopter, trying to arrest Jingu. Eventually they are shot down, but it is later discovered that both Date and Sudo survived the crash. In the end, it is his words that encourage Kiryu to keep going after the deaths of Yumi and Nishiki.

After the events of the first game he chose to retire from the police to live with Saya. However, during the second game, he is recruited, along with his old mentor Kawara, by Sudo in a secret mission to uncover the truth behind the Jingweon mafia. During a shoot-out with a fake Kazuki, an illegal immigrant who is shot and killed, he is falsely accused as the killer.

Prior to Yakuza 3 Date becomes a reporter, and continues to assist Kiryu with information about the Tojo Clan and the incidents. He is shown to have a crush on Mariko, the owner of New Serena, and when she is kidnapped by the same man who killed her first husband, a detective, years before he saves her. Due to the memories of this incident she refuses to enter into a relationship with Date, but by the end of the game suggest that someday she might change her mind.

During Yakuza 4 Date takes care of New Serena for Mariko while she is at home, due to a bereavement in her family, though he continues his activities as a reporter. He also meets Saya's boyfriend, though at first he disapproves of him. After the fight with Munakata, Date distributes copies of a newspaper article he has written detailing the truth about Munakata from a helicopter above the Millennium Tower. In the epilogue he is shown to have been reinstated to the police force, working with Sudo and Tanimura.

During Yakuza 6 Date plays a minor role as he helps Kiryu to secure Haruka's safety. He is also forced to keep the secret of Onomichi after the politician bribed Kiryu and unwillingly help Kiryu to fake his death.

Date also makes his return in Yakuza: Like a Dragon as a minor character.

Kid (若造, wakazō)

Date's boss at the newspaper during Yakuza 3. He reopens the case of the murder at Cafe Alps and, with Kiryu's help, uncovers the true culprit.

Tsumura (津村)

Tsumura is a Jingweon man working for Daejin Kim and Wataru Kurahashi. He is also an employee that works in Kage's office. Tsumura is first seen talking to Ryuji Goda about activating one of the bombs in the Millennium Tower. After Hiroshi Hayashi and his men invade the transformer room, Tsumura attempts to stop Kage finding out Daigo Dojima's location by hacking the computers, but Kaoru Sayama beats him. Tsumura was later seen with Kurahashi and attempted to shoot Kiryu when he grabbed Kurahashi, but he was shot in the arm and fled. When Yukio Terada revealed himself as Jingweon survivor Daejin Kim, Tsumura was one of his men that attempted to kill Kiryu. At the end, Tsumura is killed along with all of Terada's remaining henchmen.

New Serena's Mama (ニューセレナのママ, Nyū Serena no Mama)

Named Mariko in overseas versions of Yakuza 3, Mama bought Serena and reopened it after refurbishing the bar. When Date confesses his feelings towards her she rejects him, fearing that an incident in which her former husband, a police officer, was killed would happen again. After Date saves her from the man again, however, she appears to reconsider.

Yuya (ユウヤ, Yūya)

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake

Yuya is the manager of host club Stardust and owner Kazuki's right-hand man. He is outspoken, proud, and more than willing to fight for both Kazuki and Stardust. His girlfriend, Miyu, is the main attraction at Kamurocho's Asia strip club. It is revealed that he has a deep hatred for the Yakuza when Yuya mistakes Kiryu for a yakuza before getting beaten by him. He holds a deep respect for Kiryu. He used to belong to a biker gang called Black Thunder, which he co-founded, before joining Stardust and cleaning himself up.

Kazuki (一輝)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Tsuchida

Portrayed by: Haruhiko Kato (Like a Dragon)

Kazuki is the young owner of Stardust, a popular host club located directly opposite Serena. Kind and charismatic, he is indebted to Kazama and helps Kiryu at his request.

During the second game, Kazuki is pursued by Kawara and Date, when Kawara reveals that Kazuki is not actually Japanese, but a Korean and part of the Jingweon Mafia. It is revealed that the Kazuki seen at the start of the game is actually a Korean doppelgänger, and the real Kazuki has been held captive for approximately six months. In the ensuing struggle between Kiryu and the impostor, Kazuki is shot and is hospitalized for the rest of the game. After the Jingweon invade Emoto's clinic, where Kazuki is recovering, mistaking him for the fake, Kazuki reveals that the Jingweon have hidden bombs all over the town.

Emoto (柄本)

Emoto is the only doctor in Kamurocho, and heads Kamurocho's Emoto Clinic, which is funded by Shintaro Kazama. He is a former head of surgery at Toto Hospital. He saves a boy with appendicitis in the original game, and makes numerous appearances later in the series.

During the events of Yakuza 2 he helps Kazuki and Kawara after they are shot, and later Majima.

Emoto provides Tatsuya in Kurohyou with medical treatment for a cheap payment as he was working for the Kuki family who have relations to the Tojo.

Kage the Florist (サイの花屋, Sai no Hanaya)

Voiced by: Yoshiaki Fujiwara (Japanese); Dwight Schultz (Yakuza) (English)

The mastermind behind a self-sufficient underground world called Purgatory and a district-wide surveillance system, Kage the Florist (Sai no Hanaya in the Japanese version) is a notorious professional informant, and can provide any information for a price. Kage, whose real name is a mystery, once worked for the police until he was busted by fellow detective Makoto Date for selling information on the black market. He abandoned his family when he went underground, but still watches over them. His Japanese name is taken from "Sai no Kawara" (the Japanese name for Purgatory) and "Hanaya", the Japanese word for florist, since he provides his information using cards attached to flower bouquets.

During the first game, Kage is based in Purgatory. In Yakuza 2 he has moved to the Millennium Tower's 50th floor, before returning to Purgatory. During Yakuza 3 and 4, he borrows the space from Majima, who now owns the area to build Kamurocho Hills.

His son, Takashi, is involved with a girl called Kyoko, who happens to be the daughter of the head of the Atobe Family. Kage repeatedly helps his son out, although Takashi doesn't know who Kage really is, and says someday he would like to meet Takashi as a father rather than as an informant. In the fourth game Takashi requests that Kage tells him who his real father is and Kage sends him a bouquet telling him his father is dead; Takashi, however, recognises the flowers and makes the connection.

Other characters[]

Yumi Sawamura (澤村 由美, Sawamura Yumi)

Voiced by: (Yakuza), Maaya Sakamoto (Yakuza Kiwami) (Japanese); Eliza Dushku (Yakuza) (English)

Portrayed by: Ayaka Maeda (Like a Dragon: Prologue), Saki Takaoka (Like a Dragon)

Born June 30, 1971, Yumi grew up with Kiryu and Nishiki, and worked as a hostess at Serena. She was abducted by Sohei Dojima, and the trauma of the event caused her to lose her memory; shortly after, she checked herself out of the hospital and disappeared. She meets the corrupt politician Kyohei Jingu while amnesiac, with whom she conceives Haruka. She is later taken in by Kazama, who attempts to help her regain her memory. She eventually recalls the traumatic events she witnessed when Nishiki shot Dojima. She creates a cover identity of a fictional younger sister and calls herself Mizuki Sawamura (澤村 美月, Sawamura Mizuki); she raises Haruka at the Sunflower orphanage to keep her safe from Jingu, and manages her own bar, called Ares, located on top of the Millennium Tower. She later steals 10 billion yen from the Tojo Clan along with Kazama and Sera, as it is in fact Jingu's money, who has been using the Tojo Clan to make money for him for years. Kiryu and Yumi are eventually reunited in the final chapter of the first Yakuza, but she is ultimately killed when she sacrifices herself to save Kiryu and Haruka from a shot fired by Jingu.

Reina (麗奈)

Voiced by: Junko Mihara (Yakuza), Hiromi Tsuru (Yakuza 0), Atsuko Tanaka (Yakuza Kiwami) (Japanese); Rachael Leigh Cook (Yakuza) (English)

165 cm, 43 kg. A woman who runs Serena during the first game. A long-time friend of Kiryu and Nishiki who were regulars at her bar before Dojima's murder. Reina helps Kiryu by letting him use Serena as a hideout and takes care of Haruka whenever Kiryu has to go somewhere. In chapter 9, it is revealed that she betrayed Kiryu out of love for Nishiki and became his informant. After attempting to kill Nishiki herself, she is rescued by Shinji from Nishiki's agents, but both ultimately met their demise.

Gary Buster Holmes (ゲーリー・バスター・ホームズ)

Voiced by: Yasuhiro Mamiya (Japanese); Gary Anthony Williams (Yakuza), Isaac C. Singleton Jr. (Yakuza: Like a Dragon) (English)

Gary Buster Holmes is the African-American Underground Coliseum 2003–2005 champion, undefeated until he fights Kiryu. He also works as a bodyguard for Kage within the Purgatory area. He speaks fluent Japanese, but points out to Kiryu that he doesn't actually understand the words.

During the second game, he works as a builder at the Kamurocho Hills construction site. He is still working there during Yakuza 4, and decides to challenge Kiryu to one last fight.

Tobe (戸部)
Tobe is the manager of bar Bantam. Like Emoto, he only appears in a substory in the first game. In Yakuza 2, due to financial worries and pressure from Sengoku, he and his group attack Kiryu.

Akemi (アケミ)
The No.1 employee at Shangri-La, a soapland. Shinji's fiancée.

Hirata (平田)
The owner of Peace Finance in the first game. He is part of the first mission of the series, when Kiryu is sent to collect money he owes. When Kiryu returns 10 years later, after being let out of prison, the building is empty.

In Yakuza 3 he appears in a substory, when a copy of a magazine photo, from the night of the Millennium Tower explosion in 2005, shows Hirata about to stab Kiryu. Kiryu then stops his Hirata's son from stabbing him and the two reconcile.

Hirata's son (平田の息子)
A character appearing in the third episode. When Kiryu realises that he is going to stab his father he stops him, and the two make up.

Yanai (柳井)
A character appearing in the first episode.

Ibuki (伊吹)
Ibuki is the Kamuro Castle owner who contracts Kiryu Kazuma to find and arrest Kamurocho criminals during Yakuza 3. These specific substories are called Hitman missions. Ibuki, a former member of the Dojima family, uses his own restaurant to rehabilitate the men into an honest life, as Kashiwagi wanted.

Shota (翔太, Shōta)
Shota (short for Shotaro) is a host at Stardust and Saya Date's boyfriend in chapter 6 of the first game. Later in the chapter, it is revealed he was merely using Saya for money when him and some yakuza beat up Date. He is not seen again after being defeated by Kiryu.

Mai (マイ)

Voiced by: Mihiro (Japanese); Kim Mai Guest (English)

Mai is the sexy girl appearing in the special sub-scenario "Price of an F-Cup". She uses to be an entraineuse, within a Kamurocho bar called Paradise, pushing male customers to drink and spend all money in this place. Her voice actor Mihiro Taniguchi is a Japanese AV idol. Mai is the cover girl of Kamutai Magazine December 2005 issue; a pre-order limited book bundled with Ryū ga Gotoku.

Amon brothers (亜門, Amon)
The Amons are secret bosses in each game that appear only after all other side missions are cleared. They appear as a family in both Yakuza 2 and Yakuza 4. The brothers are: Jo (丈, Jō), Kazuya (一也), Jiro (次朗, Jirō) and Sango (三吾).

Utabori (二代目歌彫, Nidaime Utabori)
The tattoo artist who did Kiryu and Nishiki's tattoos. He also appears during a substory in Yakuza 3, finishing Rikiya's tattoo.

Manpuku Chaser (満腹チェイサー)
A character appearing in the third and fourth episodes.

Saya Date (伊達 沙耶, Date Saya)

Voiced by: Akina Okada (Yakuza), Ryoko Shiraishi (Yakuza Kiwami) (Japanese); Nan McNamara (Yakuza) (English)

The rebellious only daughter of Detective Makoto Date, she often goes looking for trouble in the streets of Kamurocho. In Yakuza 2, she decides to become a hairdresser. In Yakuza 4 she is shown to have become successful, and wants her father to meet her new boyfriend. Although she now lives with her mother, she and Makoto still have a good relationship.

Sotaro Komaki (古牧 宗太郎, Komaki Sōtarō)

Komaki is an old, legendary martial arts master and former homeless man who teaches fighting techniques to Kazuma Kiryu in his dojo. He deems Kiryu the successor to his school. Throughout the series he only communicates with Kiryu via messengers or letters, but in Yakuza 4 he is in possession of a phone and sends Kiryu an email.

Mack Shinozuka (マック・シノヅカ)

Mack is an African-American Japanese who is travelling the world in search of the "perfect shot". He trains Kiryu to improve his running performance on the Kamurocho Hills site, and introduces Kiryu and later Akiyama to Revelations.

Renji Kamiyama (上山 連次, Kamiyama Renji)

Renji is Kamurocho's Works Kamiyama (ワークス上山) owner. He tunes up and repairs weapons; he also sells DVDs to Kiryu that allow weapon modification. He is Renta Kamiyama's younger brother and is himself a fighter, using a pair of kali sticks in Kamurocho's "Weapon Master GP" underground fighting tournament under the nickname "The Weaponmaster".

Yasuko Saejima (冴島 靖子, Saejima Yasuko)

Voiced by: Majyu Ozawa

A mysterious woman who requests to borrow 100 million yen from Akiyama, using the pseudonym Lily. She murdered Kanemura and the owner of Daijoyū at the behest of Katsuragi. Taiga Saejima's younger sister. She encounters each of the main characters on her search for her brother. When the two are finally reunited, Katsuragi shoots her and having spoken to her brother one last time and killed Katsuragi, she dies in Taiga's arms.

Hana (花)

Voiced by: Aya Hirano

Akiyama's secretary and the only employee at Sky Finance, who appears in Yakuza 4. She craves the kalbi at Korean yakiniku restaurant Kanrai, and is surprisingly strong, even able to defend herself against a troupe of yakuza. She formerly worked with Akiyama at the same bank he was employed at. After Akiyama lends Yasuko the 100 million yen she asks for, even though he knows he likely won't get it back, Hana becomes enraged and runs away. After being caught by Akiyama, she quits. She returns in the epilogue, now thin. The two almost kiss, but Akiyama quickly beings to talk about Hana's favourite kalbi, for which she admonishes him, asking if he's trying to make her fat again. Hana (EP version) can be called to sing karaoke with Akiyama on a Premium New Game, as well as her standard version.

In the zombie spinoff Dead Souls, she appears as her former self, having returned to her old body type after going back to her old diet.

Saito (斉藤, Saitō)

Voiced by:

A guard at the prison Hamazaki is at and Saejima transfers to. He has a violent and ruthless nature and is known to have killed prisoners during punishment beatings. After multiple encounters with Saejima and Hamazaki while the two try to escape, he shoots Hamazaki before the two fall into the sea together. He then reappears with his fellow guards at Tamashiro's old office in Okinawa, attempting to kidnap Yasuko. He is defeated and is not seen again, though Hamazaki is wounded in the process and dies.

Ayaka Tsubaki (椿姫 彩夏, Tsubaki Ayaka)

Voiced by: Ayana Tsubaki

Ayaka Tsubaki is modeled after the Japanese TV personality and Koakuma Ageha magazine fashion model Ayana Tsubaki. Ayaka performs sexy massages in Kamurocho's Love in Heart in Yakuza 3. Ayaka is patterned after Tsubaki who is a transwoman, and reveals her gender identity to Kiryu in a substory.

Mari (マリ)

Voiced by: Mari Yaguchi

Mari is the massage girl for Yakuza 4. She is modelled on Mari Yaguchi, a Japanese tarento and former member of Morning Musume.

Arena ring announcer (闘技場リング・アナウンサー)

Voiced by: Kei Grant

The arena ring announcer presents the Kamurocho underground fighting tournaments. Kei Grant, a.k.a. DJ K. Grant, is a famous Japanese radio DJ^[20] and presenter of Tedman's Radio Show as DJ Teddy Kei.

Fukuoka inhabitants[]

Mayumi (まゆみ, マユミ)

Voiced by: Nana Katase

Mayumi is a woman who lives with protagonist Kazuma Kiryuu in the beginning events of Yakuza 5, and secretly falls in love with him.

Sōtenbori & Shinseicho inhabitants[]

Tamiyo Sayama (狭山 民世, Sayama Tamiyo)

Voiced by: Yōko Fujimoto

A character appearing in the second episode. Owner of bar "Aoi". She became Kaoru's foster mother after Kaoru was left in her care by her mother, Suyeon. Tamiyo seems to have been in love with Jiro Kawara, Kaoru's father, whose remains she takes care of after his death.

Esaki (江崎) A regular at the Mahjong parlour, and an informant who is known to charge massive prices. He is ordered to kill Kiryu but fails and, scared for his life, asks Kiryu to protect him. After he is refused he is never seen again.

Murai (村井) A man at Shinseicho's Keima shogi parlour. He is really a survivor of the Jingweon massacre 26 years before, a Korean named Park Hwejong. He betrayed the Jingweon creed and continued to live on normally after the incident, and always regretted what happened. During the conversation with Kiryu and Sayama, Jingweon men attack and Murai is killed.

Kazabori (四代目風彫, Yondaime Kazabori) An Osakan tattoo artist, master to Satoshi and Akina. Kiryu meets him by the river when he is about to destroy the Kazabori signature design, and he explains that it would stop the problems between his two apprentices.

Okinawa inhabitants[]

Sunshine Orphanage[]

Sunshine Orphanage (アサガオ, Asagao, Morning Glory in Japanese) is located on Naha's coast opposite a beach. The institution hosts eight local children plus Haruka Sawamura and is managed by Kazuma Kiryu, though the land belongs to Shigeru Nakahara. Kiryu was himself raised in a similar institution called Sunflower Orphanage during the 1970s and 1980s, so when was asked if he knew anyone to take on the job he volunteered himself.

Taichi (太一, Ta'ichi) 10 years old. A tough boy, he acts as the orphanage children's natural leader. He dreams about becoming a professional wrestler. He appears in the fourth game as an 11-year-old.

Ayako (綾子) 11 years old. Being the orphanage's second-eldest she carries the "mother" role as her duty, often at her own expense. She appears in the fourth game as a 12-year-old.

Koji (宏次,Kōji) 10 years old. Koji is into sports and often plays with the other orphanage boys on the orphanage's beach. He appears in the fourth game as an 11-year-old.

Eri (エリ) 9 years old. She is a withdrawn girl who has difficulties getting along with the other children.

Mitsuo (三雄) 9 years old. Mitsuo is the son of an African-American father and a Japanese mother. His mother raised him alone in Japan as his father returned to America without knowing he has a child. He joined the orphanage after the death of his mother. His closest friend is Taichi. He has a crush on Riona.

Riona (理緒奈) 9 years old. She always wears long-sleeved clothes to hide the scars on her arms, caused by the fire that killed her parents.

Shiro (志郎, Shirō) 8 years old. He is shy but smart and wants to become a doctor. Shiro has trouble at school with the teacher's son bullying him.

Izumi (泉) 8 years old. As the orphanage's youngest and smallest, she tends to be selfish and somewhat of a loner. She takes care of and trains Mame, the orphanage dog, which reminds her of a dog she used to own.

Ryudo Family[]

The Ryudo Family (琉道一家, Ryūdō Ikka) is a small Okinawan bōryokudan headed by Nakahara, featured in Yakuza 3.

Shigeru Nakahara (名嘉原 茂, Nakahara Shigeru)

Voiced by: Shigeru Izumiya

Nakahara is the owner of the Sunshine Orphanage's land. He is the old yet tough leader of the Ryudo yakuza family and has a shisa dog tattoo on his back. He is a father figure for Saki, just like Kiryu is to Haruka.

Rikiya Shimabukuro (島袋 力也, Shimabukuro Rikiya)

Voiced by: Tatsuya Fujiwara

Rikiya, 25, is Nakahara's senior henchman, who has a fierce love of Okinawa. His self-proclaimed nickname, "Bare-Handed Viper" (ステゴロのハブ, Sutegoro no Habu) comes from the habu pitviper tattoo on his back. Initially hostile towards Kiryu, he gradually came to respect him and refer to him as "brother". Rikiya was kidnapped by Lau Ka Long's men and almost killed, but was saved by Joji Kazama. After returning to Okinawa, and after the orphanage was destroyed, he took a bullet meant for Kiryu while rescuing Nakahara. He then died in tearful Kiryu's arms.

Mikio Aragaki (新垣 幹夫, Aragaki Mikio)

Voiced by: Daisuke Miyakawa

Mikio is Rikiya's friend and fellow Ryudo family member, but still a rookie. He has blonde hair and a purple shirt. He built a doghouse for Rex. The locals are fond of him and refer to him as "Mikio-chan". He was hit on the head with a sledgehammer while trying to protect the orphanage, but survived. He then built a new doghouse.

Saki (咲) 12 years old. Saki is a young girl that became mute after being abused by her mother and witnessing her father's suicide, and can only communicate by drawing pictures in her sketchbook. She was raised by Nakahara. It is Saki who first alerts Kiryu to Kazama having shot Nakahara. She first speaks again to warn Nakahara to get out of the way of a charging bull.

Tamashiro Family[]

The Tamashiro Family (玉城組, Tamashiro-gumi) is a powerful Okinawan yakuza group and a rival to Nakahara's Ryudo family during the events of Yakuza 3.

Tetsuo Tamashiro (玉城 鉄生, Tamashiro Tetsuo)
54 years old, who wears sunglasses and a red suit with a black shirt. Tamashiro is the head of the Tamashiro Family of Ryukyu. His fighting style includes local brass knuckles, tekko. After he is defeated by Kiryu he shoots at him, but Rikiya takes the bullet and dies. Joji Kazama arrives just after Rikiya is shot and kills Tamashiro.

In Yakuza 4, Tamashiro's vacant office is used as a meeting place by Kiryu, Hamazaki and Yasuko.

Reception[]

The cast of Yakuza has been well received. Juan Castro from IGN praised Kiryu Kazuma as an appealing character noting, both his violent traits as well as his kindness. They further noted that while being a "badass", he stands out thanks to his kindness.^[21] On a more critical view, Greg Kasavin from GameSpot stated that while Kiryu often resorts to profanity "he's your prototypical hero taking on your prototypical villains."^[22] Eurogamer noted that in the cast there was a notable contrast between Kiryu's kindness and Nishiki's brooding during the first game.^[23] The same site praised the additions of the cutscenes involving Nishiki in the remake due to the new depths Sega brought in the way Kiryu is seen becoming his nemesis.^[24]

In a popularity poll from 2018, Majima was voted as the most popular Yakuza character.^[25] GameSpot highly praised Majima's character arc in that game due to how he changes into the narrative, as well as how many allies and enemies he makes.^[26] However, Game Informer had similar comments as to how through his longer screen time despite not being playable, Majima manages to aid the player to make Kiryu a stronger fighter. However, they were highly critical to his different personality in Kiwami, calling it "jarring", and added that Yakuza 0 failed to close this character arc.^[27]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• (in Japanese) Franchise's official website