The yakuza (sometimes Yakuza or gokudo) is often regarded in Natherican media as a singular organized crime group, but actually it is an umbrella term for the 'violent groups' of the Ponniese criminal underground world. While it is virtually nonexistant outside of Ponni except for very few exceptions, it is by far the largest crime organization in Ponni, but while it is comparable to the Elarian Triad or the Cecilian Triad (Natherican Mafia), it differs from them mainly due to the cultural beliefs embedded in the Ponniese consciousness for thousands of years. According to the Imperial Public Security Intelligence Agency (IPSIA), there are approximately 75,000 yakuza members within the country. Like many native Ponniese, they are generally xenophobic, despite a good number of them publically making deals with foreign businesses in the open port city of Mesaki. One of the primary differences between them and most foriegn criminal organizations is that they are not as covert. Many of their offices publicy display their group name or crest, and even their habits of wearing sunglasses and their style of walking are marked by the Ponniese as specifically yakuza-oriented. Their activites range broadly from extortion and smuggling to prostitution and racketeering, and much of their profit comes from legal businesses making payments to them in exchange for protection and even tribute due to blackmail, and sometimes they even make large investments in legal corporations.
Another primary aspect of the yakuza's uniqueness are their rituals, deeply rooted in culture. A ritual for bonding between fellow yakuza members and families consist of sharing a cup of sake in a formal ceremony, and the ceremony can also be used to develop an oyabun-kobun relationship, as in the kobun (foster child) swearing allegience to the oyabun (foster parent). Many members brand tattoos to their bodies, although they rarely show them in public, and some anti-yakuza businesses takes advantage by banishing any customer or guest with tattoos. Then there is the act of yubitsume, in which someone is punished or paying a penance to the leaders by cutting off the tip of the pinkie finger down to the first joint (recurring acts will result of the rest of the pinkie finger cut, and then the tip of the adjacent finger, and so forth until the middle finger... if the middle finger is gone from one hand, then the act can be repeated on the other hand).
Yakuza families follow a strict structure. Each are led by a single Oyabun (or more commonly called, a Kumicho, which literally means 'family head'), and below them on the pyramid are the kobun or 'subordinates'. These generally consist of senior advisors, lieutenants (to reference a comparable military rank), and high supervisors. They in turn control their own turf and organizations containing lower ranked bosses and underlings, depending on the size of the family. While there are dozens of yakuza organizations in Ponni, three families dominate the entire yakuza scene.
Kokuryukai
The current Kumicho is Susumu Ishima, and the organization is headquartered in Eyo, the Ponni capital. It reportedly has an estimated 24,000 members, most of them residing in the capital. The family is influencial in Ponniese politics, with some of them being lords of provinces (or prefectures). They are against the idea of the Ponniese borders opening, and generally discourage contact with outsiders. As a result, their presence in Mesaki generally lies on the Ponniese side of the city, separated by a wall from the areas of the port open to foreigners. While the Kokuryukai is not the most numberous of the yakuza, they are powerful in government, with rumors of at least one of them having the prestige of having direct access to the Shogun himself.
Matsubakai
Led by Hiroshi Fukaba, the Matsubakai is the main face of the yakuza in the eyes of outsiders, due to their absolute dominance of the Mesaki-based black market, and it is the only one of the three major families to have any holdings outside of Ponni. It is also the largest of the yakuza, with 40,000 estimated members, and is the most widespread, with strong holdings even in Eyo, which is traditionally Kokuryukai turf. Due to expansionist interests, they openly encourage the government to consider opening the Ponniese borders for wider trade with the rest of Corneria and so that they can pioneer in the prospects of controlling the tourism economy (if the borders open up). They also have major investments in Ponni's energy corporations.
Takamura-gumi
Kiyoshi Takamura is the Kumicho of this Kibe City-based yakuza organization, with close to only 5,000 members. Unlike most other yakuza, the Takamura-gumi functions more in the sense of a federation with a more laxed leadership, despite having a central leadership. While its political influence and power in numbers pale in comparison to the two bigger families, the Takamura-gumi has a literal iron griphold over the highly profitable gambling industry, which is illegal in Ponni, and a strong hold over the sex industries, having offices in almost every city's red district. While they have no holdings outside of Ponni, they often hire people to go overseas to countries such as Saharia and Elaria in order to lure women back to Ponni with promises of better lives and money only to enslave them.