Christopher Ross
‘Like Goldman Sachs – With Guns’
I love yakuza movies. Robert Mitchum and Takakura Ken, the man who never smiles, in the 1974 flick The Yakuza; ‘Beat’ Takeshi Kitano’s deadpan outings, from Violent Cop to Hana-bi; anything by Takashi Miike. But before we go any further, let’s get the word right, shall we? Ya-ku-za, not ya-koo-za or any other mis-stressed, vowel-stretched, English version of it. Ya-ku-za, with equal stress on three short syllables, no inflection. Trust me: saying ya-koo-za to a yakuza is not a good idea.
The official term for yakuza is boryokudan, or ‘violent groups’, but Japanese gangsters themselves prefer another term: gokudo, or someone on the Path of Extremes, someone willing to go the whole way. It is a samurai value: ‘when facing a choice between life and death, it’s easy –
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
My latest children's round up for @Lit_Review feat. @LissaKEvans WISHED, @MissDePlume SMALL!, @skyemc_kenna's HEDGWITCH, @emmac2603 ESCAPE... @PhilipPullman's IMAGINATION...
https://literaryreview.co.uk/there-be-giants
Very happy to make my @Lit_Review debut with a review of @WillWiles "The Last Blade Priest" a fast-paced story set in an immersive world with nuanced inter-group dynamics and humane characters
https://literaryreview.co.uk/mountain-duel
I have a review of Hugh Brody’s powerful memoir Landscapes of Silence in the latest @Lit_Review https://literaryreview.co.uk/cold-comforts-3