Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo Search Amazon for other books by or about Shoko Tendo. Rating: Reviewed by: John Walsh

Shoko Tendo's tattooed back and arms adorn the cover of this often painful and shocking memoir. Having her body tattooed thus not only marked her out as a member of Japan's mafia--the yakuza--but also seems to have been an empowering event for her. It is as if by marking her body voluntarily she is taking control or possession of it, perhaps for the first time in her adult life. As the daughter of a yakuza, albeit apparently not a very successful one, Shoko Tendo was identified as being different from the other kids at school and suffered from bullying, which intensified the misery she felt from being fat and further feeling excluded from the mainstream. She soon found it a better lifestyle to rebel against her situation by refusing to go to school, hang around with gangs and take drugs. Paint thinner was seemingly the gateway drug for her and many of her friends and acquaintances and this soon led to injections of speed (amphetamines), which she took for a number of years with predictably disastrous results. In common with many young women who are introduced to illegal drugs, it is not long before she is expected to pay with her body for her various fixes. However, this is only one part of a lengthy series of loveless sexual encounters on which she is obliged to embark. The line between loveless sex and rape is crossed and she suffers all kinds of degradations in the years that follow. The only way she can make money is to work in a hostess bar, although she is nevertheless required to sponsor a series of useless relatives and friends. That she makes it to the other end, with a young daughter to take care of and sufficient clarity of mind to complete this book is testament to a certain strength of character which is in itself somewhat admirable.

This is not a very skillfully written book and the prose is at best functional. The author admits to her limitations at the beginning and it appears that the book has been edited to make it follow a functional form. The result is that there are no really deep psychological or sociological insights, nor any large-scale condemnation of the social forces that have brought her to where she is. Instead, there is just the culpability of venal but rather small-minded individuals. It is possible to deal with these individuals in an appropriate way but that would involve simply dealing with symptoms rather than causes. It is necessary to look elsewhere to understand why the yakuza act as they do and how people, women especially, can be drawn into the demi-monde of Japan's society. Of course, Shoko Tendo never set out to accomplish any such thing and it would be wrong to criticize her for not writing a completely different book.

This is a fascinating account of a little-known part of modern life which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies in Japan and is now becoming successful around the world. It is recommended reading for anyone interested in the lives of women in modern Japan and, indeed, for the curious reader of any sort.