9/04/2007

A dying breed?

A friend wrote last week to recommend the new book
Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter, by former gangster daughter Shoko Tendo. The article posted on Reuters, here, says it all.

The Yakuza are a mixed lot, at times praised for their Samurai values of loyalty and honor, while on the otherhand dealing in violence, drugs, prostitution and other not-so-savory trades.

Though the numbers of gang members seem to be declining (not sure how they are counted...a Yakuza census?) those who remain in the lifestyle seem to becoming harder-core criminals.

Once of the most interesting parts of the Reuters article was this bit, with the ramifications of globalization and its implied implications for English teaching:

"As the world becomes more borderless, they'll need experts who can deal with this too, speaking Chinese and English."the world becomes more borderless, they'll need experts who can deal with this too, speaking Chinese and English."

Maybe some entreprenureal spirit could tap this niche, with a tattoo/English salon, or a new classes at the neighborhood Eikaiwa school: "Fuggedaboutit: How to Speak like a Mobster." Or "Illegal contracts and customer service" although that niche may already be adequately covered by our friends at NOVA.

While I haven't read Ms. Tendo's book yet, I plan to. Not only is she beautiful (if that really is her on the cover), I imagine she has had a few tales to tell, and a few insights even into the future of her country. An excellent chance to see "the underside" of an already sometimes-hard-to-fathom society. In hardcover now, below.