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learn about the yakuza series

the yakuza series, now known by its japanese name "like a dragon", is
an open world fighting game, filled with countless scenes of happiness and
tragedy. it mostly follows the story of kazuma kiryu, a former
yakuza trying to live a normal civilian life, yet due to his legendary
status in the yakuza, he always finds himself in the middle of
their problems.

kiryu in yakuza 6: the song of life

setting

yakuza is mostly set in the fictional tokyo city of kamurocho, based
off the real life kabukicho, japan's most popular red-light district.
kamurocho is filled with yakuza and delinquents, meaning kiryu usually
finds himself fighting random people on the streets. the city's landmark
is the millennium tower, a tall skyscraper built in 2001 in the very centre
of kamurocho. it serves as a constant scene of action throughout the series,
with many pivotal points happening either on or in it. however, yakuza isnt
only confined to the setting of kamurocho, with kiryu travelling to other japanese
cities such as osaka, okinawa, fukuoka, onomichi, yokohama, and even going as
far as hawaii throughout the games.

the kamurocho gate at tenkaichi street

the yakuza

in tokyo, the leading yakuza group is the tojo clan, the largest yakuza
organisation in japan with over 30,000 members. its current sixth chairman
is daigo dojima, the son of kiryu's former patriarch sohei dojima. to
daigo, kiryu is a secondary father figure due to his involvement in
yakuza (kiwami) 2. kiryu himself is also a former tojo clan chairman,
being the former fourth chairman. other notable tojo chairmen include third
chairman masaru sera and fifth chairman yukio terada.

in osaka, the leading yakuza group is the omi alliance, and is considered the
enemy of the tojo throughout the series. its current eight chairman is masaru
watase. other notable omi charimen include fifth chairman jin goda, adoptive
father of yakuza (kiwami) 2 antagonist ryuji goda, and seventh
chairman tsubasa kurosawa.

the crests of the tojo clan and omi alliance

the plot, part 1 (spoilers!!!!!!)

kiryu is an orphan who grew up in sunflower orphanage, with him and his two
closest friends being raised by a yakuza expert hitman. in 1988, he was framed
for a murder while doing collections, and left the yakuza to atone. he was taken
in by a highly rich and targeted real estate owner, who battled against the yakuza
to claim a plot of land in kamurocho which was vital to an extremely important
and profitable development plan. together, they aimed to expose the truth
behind the murder, and claim the plot for themselves.

after gaining the legendary title of "dragon of dojima" in 1988, kiryu lost
all chances of having a normal life. in 1995, he took the blame for a
murder his closest friend committed, and after being released from prison in 2005,
he found and adopted a young girl unknowingly caught up in a massive
yakuza scandal. while taking care of the girl, who's actually his love's daughter,
kiryu needs to figure out the truth behind the tojo chairman's murder, his
sworn brother's betrayal, his love's disappearance, and the girl's involvement
in the tojo's missing 10 billion yen.

in 2006, kiryu's title of "dragon of dojima" was threatened by a top omi
alliance patriarch after the fifth tojo chairman was suddenly shot.
after meeting a policewoman named "the yakuza huntress", they
team up with the future tojo chairman to prevent a violent war between the tojo
and omi. while protecting kamurocho, kiryu has to simulatenously discover the past
of his adoptive father and the sudden reappearance of the korean mafia.

the plot, part 2 (spoilers!!!!!!)

in 2007, after stopping the yakuza war and preventing a bomb from exploding
on the millennium tower, kiryu and his daughter move to okinawa, where
they start a new life taking care of an orphanage. despite starting anew, they're
almost instantly targeted by a local yakuza family, who try to get them
evicted due to a proposed okinawan resort and military base project. when the tojo clan
chairman and patriarch of the ryudo family are shot in 2009, kiryu travels back
to kamurocho to discover the true nature of the shootings and prevent his
orphanage from being destroyed.

after saving his orphanage and returning to a peaceful life, kiryu suddenly
saves a washed up death row escapee in 2010, who he helps get to kamurocho.
shortly after, he again saves another washed up inmate, who turns out to be kiryu's
attempted murderer from the year before. however, having found mutual trust
and respect for each other, the inmate exposes a hidden truth to the previous
10 billion yen incident. after meeting a mysterious woman, who turns out to
be the first inmate's sister, she and kiryu travel back to kamurocho. meeting
three new allies, the four men team up to figure out the true events of the
1985 ueno seiwa hit and the mastermind behind it.

to protect his kids, kiryu changes identities and moves to fukuoka in 2012, where he
finds out the tojo chairman has suddenly gone missing while creating alliances
with yakuza groups around japan. with the help of a local yakuza family, kiryu
fights off a hoard of omi undermen attempting to take over the area, and returns
to japan in light of a tojo betrayal. meeting with three allies, all betrayed
by friends secretly conspiring with the omi alliance, kiryu has to find the man
behind a top tojo patriarch's death, and discuss the successor of the dying
seventh omi chairman.