Robin Hood heroes, killer gangsters, bit of both.

The Japanese government calls them Boryokudan, meaning violence groups.

They call themselves Ninkyodontai, meaning chivalrous organizations, and the rest of the world knows them as the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia.

A quick glance, when you see them in public, you could easily mistake most of them for some successful businessmen.

Serious-looking dudes wearing designer shoes, tailored suits, stepping out of luxury vehicles.

At a closer glance, you might see some scars from innumerable fights on their faces or knuckles,

traditional Japanese tattoos just barely poking out from beneath their sleeves and collar,

and a left pinky finger that's a knuckle or two shorter than it's supposed to be. These men are generally

successful businessmen, but also they're some of the world's most ruthless and well-organized

gangsters, the Yakusa. These organized criminals have been terrorizing Japan for centuries.

They're the bane of Japan's national police agency, but also, over their long and storied

history, many Japanese have regarded them as champions of common everyday people, people

traditionally ignored by Japan's law enforcement, people marginalized in Japan's

highly stratified social hierarchy, working-class folks whose businesses would have been

harassed, their livelihoods destroyed were it not for the Yakuza's

protection. Influenced by the ancient honor code of the samurai, the early yakuza committed crimes against rivals

and government enemies but never the common people for most of their history joining the

yakuza meant joining an organization that requires loyalty until death where punishments are swift and

severe and rivalries frequently turn deadly.

Unlike the Italian mafia, the Yakuza operate out in the open.

They're even historically registered with the Japanese government as members of what everyone knows is a criminal enterprise.

While membership is not outlawed, a lot of what the Iguza do to make money definitely is.

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