The Empty Lot dispute was a major yakuza conflict which occurred in December 1988 at the culmination of a power struggle within the Tojo-kai yakuza clan's largest subsidiary family, the Dojima-gumi. The conflict centered around a valuable "empty lot" in the Kabukicho nightlife district of Tokyo, the last piece of land not yet acquired by the Dojima-gumi ahead of the major "Kabukicho 21st Century Redevelopment Plan". The Dojima-gumi, its rebellious Kazama-gumi subsidiary, and the Tojo-kai's traditional rivals, the Omi Alliance, each sought to acquire the Empty Lot for themselves, each for different reasons: Sohei Dojima sought to acquire the lot in order to allow for the highly profitable Kabukicho 21st Century Redevelopment Plan to move ahead; Shintaro Kazama sought to ensure that the empty lot was acquired by his ally, Nikkyo Consortium patriarch Masaru Sera, to ensure that Dojima's ambitions were dashed and his rising power checked, and that Sera would inherit the Tojo-kai instead of Dojima; and the Omi Alliance backed the treacherous Tojo-kai lieutenant Futoshi Shimano's efforts to acquire the empty lot with the understanding that Shimano would sell the lot to them, allow for them to expand into Tokyo, and split Tokyo between the Omi Alliance and the Tojo-kai, which he sought to rule as an Omi ally. After a series of intrigues, imprisonments, assassinations, betrayals, shootings, and other fast-moving developments, the Nikkyo Consortium succeeded in taking the Empty Lot's owner, Makoto Makimura, under their protection, and Sera persuaded Makimura to sell the Empty Lot to him before any of the other contenders could harm her. By 19 December, the Empty Lot was in Sera's hands, all three of Dojima's lieutenants were either in prison or dead, and Shimano was forced to cut his ties to the Omi Alliance, clearing the way for Sera to become the Tojo-kai's next chairman in 1993, and ruining Dojima's ambitions. The dispute left dozens of yakuza and a handful of civilians dead, with most of the deaths occurring during a violent car chase on an Osaka freeway on the night of 17 December and a massive shootout at the Shibaura wharf on 19 December.
Background[]
The Tojo Clan[]
By the late 1980s, the Tojo-kai was the most powerful yakuza clan in eastern Japan, and it raked in massive profits from its various businesses amid Japan's "bubble economy" period; its most prosperous rackets were located in its home city of Tokyo, particularly its yakuza-run nightlife district, Kabukicho. At the time, the Tojo-kai was led by Acting Second Chairman Takashi Nihara, who had succeeded the clan's founder, Makoto Tojo, on his death in the late 1970s. By 1989, the elderly Nihara was nearing retirement, and the most productive subsidiary of the Tojo-kai at the time, the Dojima-gumi, seemed poised to inherit the chairmanship on Nihara's inevitable abdication. That same year, the Japanese government announced the "Kabukicho 21st Century Redevelopment Plan" to redevelop the slums of Kabukicho and build new, modern buildings to attract more tourism and foreign investment. Dojima boss Sohei Dojima quickly spent ¥3 billion to buy up the majority of Kabukicho, and, by December 1989, the only remaining piece of unpurchased land in Kabukicho was an empty lot located on Shichifuku Street and Taihei Boulevard.
Dojima family infighting[]
Dojima sought to acquire the lot for his family so that he could sell the entirety of Kabukicho to the government for an exorbitant price, thought to be in the multi-billion yen range. The profits from the sale of Kabukicho would be enough to make Dojima the highest earner in the family and almost certainly catapult him into the chairmanship of the Tojo-kai on acting chairman Takashi Nihara's retirement. However, Dojima's lieutenant Shintaro Kazama, captain of the Dojima-gumi and the head of the Dojima-gumi's Kazama-gumi subsidiary, sought to sabotage Dojima's efforts to acquire the lot, as he knew Dojima to be a power-hungry, murderous, and despotic leader, and he believed that the Tojo-kai would decline under Dojima's misrule.
Shintaro Kazama with his adoptive sons Kazuma Kiryu and Akira Nishikiyama
Kazama orchestrated a conspiracy against Dojima with the goal of keeping him from power, masterminding the formation of the semi-legitimate Tachibana Real Estate company to fight against the Dojima-gumi's real estate acquisitions and locate the owner of the Empty Lot, as well as grooming the Nikkyo Consortium patriarch Masaru Sera to acquire the Empty Lot for himself and emerge as the Tojo-kai's next chairman rather than Dojima. Tachibana Real Estate's founder, Tetsu Tachibana, utilized his Chinese heritage to build up a massive information network based among the Chinese community in Japan. However, it was not until the final days of the Empty Lot dispute that he found out that the owner of the Empty Lot was his own sister, Makoto Makimura; their grandfather, a Japanese man, had willed the lot to his grandchildren, having kept onto the previously wothless lot so that relatives coming to Japan from China might be able to locate him.
The Omi's plot[]
The other most powerful yakuza clan in Japan was the Omi Alliance, which dominated the Kansai region of central Honshu, and was based from Osaka. The Omi Alliance and Tojo-kai were longtime rivals, and, when the Empty Lot drew the attention of several Tojo-kai lieutenants looking to make a name for themselves, the Omi Alliance found an opportunity to destroy its rival. This opportuniy came in the form of Futoshi Shimano, the patriarch of the Shimano-gumi subsidiary of the Tojo-kai; Shimano approached the Omi Alliance through his sworn brother, Omi lieutenant and Sagawa-gumi patriarch Tsukasa Sagawa, with a deal. He planned to acquire the Empty Lot, sell it to the Omi Alliance, allow for the Omi Alliance to invade the Tojo-kai's turf in Kabukicho, and use the Omi's ground troops to crush his opponents and become the new Chairman of the Tojo-kai. Sagawa was supportive of the plan, as he anticipated that he would receive the Omi half of Tokyo in exchange for overseeing Shimano's success.
History[]
Dojima's conspiracy[]
Kazama in prison
Dojima eventually grew suspicious of Kazama - who had been sabotaging him for years - and tipped off the police about Kazama's gambling operations, which regularly changed its location to avoid detection. Kazama was arrested in June 1988, but he continued to pull on strings from prison, dismaying Dojima, and forcing Dojima to get creative. In December 1988, Dojima announced that he would award the captaincy of the Dojima-clan (essentially naming an heir) to the Dojima-gumi lieutenant who obtained the Empty Lot for him. This motivated his lieutenants Daisaku Kuze of the Kenno-kai, Hiroki Awano of the Taihei Association, and Keiji Shibusawa of the Shibusawa-gumi to work hard to impress their boss, and to take part in any conspiracy he hatched.
Framing Kiryu[]
Taichi Kurihara being beaten down by Kazuma Kiryu
For this purpose, Dojima hired the most expensive hitman in Asia, Lao Gui, for a special task, while his lieutenant Kuze also made his own preparations. On 9 December 1988, Kuze arranged for the President of Toko Credit, the loan shark Gennosuke Kawada, to send his collector Kazuma Kiryu - the foster son and protege of Kazama - to collect a debt from Taichi Kurihara at the Empty Lot. That night, Kiryu severely beat Kurihara in the vacant lot and took the money in his wallet, upon which he left a badly beaten Kurihara by himself. It was then that Dojima sent Lao Gui to execute Kurihara in a manner which made his killing appear to be done by an amateur, shooting him in the head and leaving no trace of his presence at the scene. Early on the morning of 10 December, Kurihara's death was reported on the news, implicating Kiryu (the man's only known assailant) in the murder.
Kazuma Kiryu being brought before the lieutenants
That same day, Kiryu was summoned before the Dojima-gumi's three lieutenants to answer for what he had supposedly done, and the lieutenants put up a facade of thinking that Kazama had sent Kiryu to kill Kurihara in the Empty Lot in order to cause trouble for the Dojima-gumi. Kiryu professed his and Kazama's innocence, and Shibusawa said that he would question the President of Toko Credit to see if Kiryu had been set up, while Kuze suggested that Kiryu should turn himself in to the police to prevent further trouble.
Kiryu's investigation[]
Kiryu confronting Daisaku Kuze and Gennosuke Kawada at the Toko Credit office
If Kiryu turned himself in to the police, the Dojima lieutenants hoped that this would remove their scapegoat from contention, and the Dojima family would be able to expel Kazama from the family; as yakuza were ostracized from society, ex-yakuza were often known to become remembered as homeless suicides. However, Kiryu decided to conduct his own investigation, suspecting that he had been set up, and he personally visited the Toko Credit offices and confronted Kawada, who revealed that he had been ordered to send Kiryu to collect the debt at the Empty Lot for an unknown reason. Before Kawada could reveal who had pulled his strings, Kuze entered the room, and he had Kawada leave before giving Kiryu an ultimatum: spy on Kazama for him and have a bright future in the family, or suffer the consequences. Kiryu refused to betray his adoptive father, and he instead went to the Kazama-gumi offices that night, where the Kazama-gumi captain Osamu Kashiwagi deduced that the three Dojima lieutenants were jockeying for Kazama's position, and that one of them had set up Kiryu. Despite Kashiwagi's staunch opposition, Kiryu decided that he would leave the Tojo-kai to conduct his own independent investigation of the matter without having to worry about Kazama suffering repurcussions.
Kiryu brawling with the Dojima guards
On the night of 11 December, Kiryu's foster brother and Kashiwagi's right-hand man, Akira Nishikiyama, drove Kiryu to the Dojima-gumi offices, where Kiryu intended to formally leave the yakuza. However, after Kiryu refused Kuze's invitation to become his spy against Kazama a second time, Kuze insisted on killing Kiryu before he could meet Dojima, having been ordered to do so by Dojima to tie up loose ends. However, Kiryu fought his way through Kuze's many guards and even defeated Kuze himself in Dojima's dojo. Dojima was then brought to the scene of the fight by his lieutenants, and Dojima - infuriated at Kuze's failure to kill Kiryu - had Kuze commit yubitsume, ostensibly because he agreed to let Kiryu leave the family without first consulting him. While Kiryu showed deference to Dojima and asked that he not let Kazama take the blame for the situation, Dojima refused to guarantee Kazama's safety.
Tachibana Real Estate[]
Kiryu and Jun Oda looking over the defeated yakuza
It was then that Tetsu Tachibana first made contact with a dejected Kiryu as Kiryu roamed the rainy streets without a sense of purpose. Tachibana recruited Kiryu as an agent for Tachibana Real Estate (using his connections to delay the police's search for Kiryu), and Kiryu partnered with Tachibana's lieutenant Jun Oda to help grow the business and blunt the Dojima-gumi's momentum. However, one of their confrontations brought them up against the Taihei Association's thugs, and the Taihei Association retaliated by tracking down and beating up Oda. Hiroki Awano then tracked down Kiryu to the Serena Executive Lounge, where he offered him clemency if he betrayed Tachibana; he then warned him that, if he did not call him back by midnight, the Dojima family would initiate a manhunt for him. Kiryu once again refused to betray his friends, and, at dawn on 15 December 1988, the Dojima family initiated a city-wide manhunt for Kiryu.
Kiryu confronting a defeated Daisaku Kuze
Kiryu succeeded in fighting his way through the army of Dojima-gumi henchmen who scoured the city for him, escaping through the sewers after defeating Daisaku Kuze in a fistfight. Nishikiyama drove him out of the neighborhood and to a forest on the outskirts of Tokyo, where he revealed to Kiryu that he planned to kill him in order to spare him the torture that the Dojima-gumi would inevitably subject him to. However, he was ultimately unable to bring himself to kill Kiryu, and Kiryu decided to sever his ties to Nishikiyama to protect Nishikiyama from the clan's retaliation. He then returned to Kabukicho, where he intended to meet with Tachibana to continue their partnership, and, along the way, he was cornered and attacked by Kuze and his men in the street. However, Tachibana arrived in a red sports car and rescued Kiryu, bringing him to his safehouse in Little Asia for sanctuary.
Jun Oda presenting Nihara with Tachibana's gift
Little Asia's community leader Elder Chen insisted that a yakuza like Kiryu not be allowed to take refuge among his community, which had long suffered at the hands of the Tojo-kai, so, on 17 December 1988, Tachibana decided to have Oda take Tachibana to the Tojo headquarters, where he planned to negotiate with Nihara to call off the manhunt for Kiryu and ensure that Kiryu would be protected by a higher power. Nihara agreed to take Kiryu under his protection and halt the manhunt in exchange for ¥1 billion and 30% of Tachibana Real Estate's profits, impeding the Dojima-gumi's efforts to regain control of the situation. At the same time, Tachibana had also identified Makoto Makimura as the owner of the Empty Lot, and had located her in Dotonbori, Osaka.
Developments in Osaka[]
At the same time, the Omi Alliance had begun to make moves of its own. Futoshi Shimano concocted a conspiracy of his own: he would have his disgraced underling Goro Majima (by then a popular nightlife impresario) be sent on a mission to murder Makoto Makimura, supervised by Sagawa, knowing that Majima would refuse to kill her and earn her trust in the process. Shimano believed that he could use this trust to persuade Makimura to sell the Empty Lot to him rather than to the Tojo-kai. Sagawa was only told to have Majima kill Makimura, and Shimano did not reveal his true intentions to him. Meanwhile, another faction of the Omi Alliance, the Kijin-kai (led by Homare Nishitani), was hired by Shibusawa to take Makimura alive, causing them to compete with the Sagawa-gumi to locate Makoto.
Sera taking Makoto
In accordance to Shimano's plan, Majima shirked from his task to kill Makimura after discovering that she was a young, blind woman, and he fought off the Kijin-kai kidnappers sent to abduct her from the massage parlor where he worked. He later attempted to help her escape Osaka with help from Wen Hai Lee on 16 December, only for Sagawa to kill Lee with a car bomb and attempt to kill Majima and Makimura as well. However, before Sagawa could do so, Masaru Sera - who had discovered Makimura's location from Tachibana - arrived and shot Sagawa in the hand before knocking out Majima and taking Makimura to his safehouse at the Benten Inn.
Kiryu and Oda arriving at the Benten Inn
Majima tracked down Sera with the help of Nishitani, whom he visited in prison on the afternoon of 17 December; shortly after Nishitani revealed Sera's location to Majima, he was shot dead by a prison guard who had been bribed by Shibusawa to punish Nishitani for his failure, and to tie up loose ends. That same afternoon, however, Tachibana had sent Kiryu and Tachibana to Osaka to pick up Makimura from the Benten Inn, taking her to safety in Kabukicho. Eight hours later, Majima and Sagawa arrived at the Benten Inn and fought their way through dozens of Nikkyo Consortium guards before Majima proved himself to Sera by defeating him in combat. An impressed Sera, convinced that Majima was only seeking to protect Makimura, told him that she had been taken to Kabukicho. However, Sagawa shot Sera in the back as he talked to Majima, and Sagawa deduced from a business card in Sera's coat pocket that the man who had taken Makimura was Kazuma Kiryu.
Oda driving Kiryu and Tachibana away from the exploding helicopter
That same night, Oda, Kiryu, and Makoto drove out of Osaka, planning on accessing a train station so that they could flee to a hideout in the countryside. However, Oda had secretly been leaking information to Shibusawa, as he was afraid that, if Tachibana discovered from Makimura that he was secretly the man whose sale of Makimura into sexual slavery years earlier had caused Makimura to acquire psychologically-induced blindness, Tachibana would kill him. Shibusawa's men attempted to intercept their car on the freeway, but Kiryu used Oda's gun to kill dozens of Shibusawa henchmen, and also shot down an attack helicopter sent to destroy the car. Oda later stopped at a construction site, ostensibly for rest, but he then turned his gun on Kiryu and Makimura and revealed his desire to prevent Makimura from reaching Tachibana. While he held Makimura at gunpoint, Makimura used a knife hidden in her walking stick to stab Oda in the leg, wounding him and forcing him to reveal his motives. He then decided to redeem himself by holding off the Shibusawa-gumi henchmen who arrived at the construction site to abduct Makimura, and Kiryu and Makimura escaped to Kabukicho, while Shibusawa executed Oda for turning on him.
Shift to Kabukicho[]
Tachibana's death
On 18 December, Kiryu returned to Tachibana in Little Asia (where he received his dialysis treatments) and informed him that his sister was waiting for him at West Park, where she had been hiding among the homeless. However, Shibusawa's men had discovered Tachibana's hideout from Oda's previous information, and the assassin Lao Gui wounded Kiryu with a silenced pistol. Tachibana agreed to hand himself over to Lao Gui, as Lao Gui had been ordered to take Tachibana alive, and Tachibana did not wish for Kiryu to be gunned down in a futile attempt to resist Lao Gui. Tachibana was then taken to the basement of the Crescendo Building, where he was subjected to extreme torture by Kuze's henchmen. Elder Chen tended to Kiryu's wounds and then ordered him to repay the debt by rescuing Tachibana, and Kiryu was then rejoined by Nishikiyama, who had realized that continuing to help the Dojima-gumi would only lead to the dooming of both his foster father and his foster brother. Kiryu and Nishikiyama located Tachibana in the basement of the Crescendo Building and beat down Kuze and his guards, but they found that Tachibana had already been mortally wounded by Kuze's torturer Gengyo Yoneda against Kuze's orders; Kuze had killed Yoneda in retribution. A dying Tachibana revealed to Kiryu that Dojima himself had been the man who had framed Kiryu, and that Lao Gui was the assassin who had killed Kurihara. A distraught Kiryu then took Tachibana's body to the Empty Lot, where Nishikiyama had brought Makimura to meet her brother. Makimura broke down in tears upon feeling her dead brother's body, but she began to regain her sight as the result of the closure the experience had brought her.
Majima confronting Osamu Kashiwagi at his office
That same evening, Majima and Sagawa arrived in Kabukicho to search for Makimura, and they were both brought in to meet Shimano, who revealed the true nature of his plans to them, and told Majima that he was no longer tasked with killing Makimura, but with locating her and bringing her to negotiate with Shimano. Shimano told Majima that, if he could locate Kiryu's sworn brother Nishikiyama, he could find out Kiryu's location and, thus, locate Makimura. Majima went to the Kazama-gumi offices, where he was confronted by Kashiwagi, who insisted on fighting the famed Majima rather than give up Nishikiyama's location. Majima beat down Kashiwagi and forced one of Kashiwagi's henchmen to reveal Nishikiyama's location after threatening to kill the unconscious Kashiwagi. Majima found out that Nishikiyama was a regular at the Serena Executive Lounge, and he travelled there later that night, defeating Nishikiyama in a bar fight after Nishikiyama refused to give up the location of his sworn brother. Nishikiyama was beaten down, but he ultimately grew convinced that Majima also sought to protect Makimura, and he revealed that Makimura had given him and Kiryu the slip after regaining partial vision, and that neither of them knew where she was.
Majima meeting with Makoto at thte Empty Lot
Majima correctly guessed that she was at the Empty Lot, and he found her atop a rooftop. There, Makimura asked Majima to help her avenge her brother's death, offering him ¥1 billion to kill Dojima's three lieutenants for her. Majima refused, as he warned her against the consequences of revenge, and he insisted that she instead go out to eat with him, hoping that it would calm her down. Makimura agreed, only to sneak away from him as he bought her a second round of takoyaki. She left him a note to meet her at the Empty Lot at 5:00 PM the next night, that of 19 December; meanwhile, she planned to visit Dojima herself and negotiate with him.
Finale[]
Majima facing off against the Shibusawa-gumi men
At 5:00 PM on 19 December, Majima returned to the Empty Lot, where he was instead greeted by a force of Shibusawa-gumi thugs who revealed that Makimura had told them of her planned meeting with Majima in order to keep Majima from interfering with her plans. Majima proceeded to beat them down and interrogate them, and he learned that Makimura was meeting with Dojima at the Sebastian Building in Roppongi at the same time. Majima then set out for the Sebastian Building, hoping to rescue Makimura.
The Dojima brass standing over Makimura's body
By that point, however, Dojima had entered into discussions with the bureaucrats in charge of the revitalization project, and they agreed to accomodate for Dojima's inability to acquire the lot from its owner: they decided to let the revitalization project go ahead as long as the empty lot's owner did not object, thereby allowing for Dojima to kill Makimura rather than negotiate with her for the deed. Dojima also promoted Shibusawa to Captain of the Dojima-gumi as a reward for his success in bringing Makimura to him. Majima hurried to the building, with a convalesced Sera secretly following him. Dojima declined Makimura's offer to sell the Empty Lot in exchange for the heads of his three lieutenants, and he instead had Lao Gui shoot her. Majima arrived just as Makimura was shot in the abdomen, and Dojima, Lao Gui, and Dojima's lieutenants escaped aboard a helicopter as Dojima left 20 of his men to deal with Majima. Majima beat down all of Dojima's thugs before rushing over to Makimura, who was barely conscious. Sera and his men then arrived and took custody of Makimura, taking her to the hospital, where she was also joined by Majima. Makimura underwent emergency surgery, but it was feared that she might not regain consciousness.
Kiryu bidding farewell to Kuze for the last time
That same night, Captain Shibusawa decided to organize a purge of the Dojima-gumi's opponents, starting with an attack on the Kazama-gumi offices led by Daisaku Kuze; meanwhile, he personally tracked down Makimura's Nikkyo rescuers to the Ocean Serenade yacht at Shibaura wharf, where he discovered that Sera had set up a secret headquarters. Nishikiyama found Kiryu searching for Makimura and told him that the Kazama headquarters was under attack, and Kiryu fought his way back to the headquarters, where he found that a lone Kuze was waiting to have a final showdown with him (Kuze said that sucha n important task could not be delegated to his henchmen). Kiryu defeated Kuze in a final street fight, saving the Kazama-gumi from destruction. Kuze acquired a new respect for Kiryu, saying that he had become a real yakuza, but warning him that Shibusawa was also attempting to become a real yakuza, and was leading an attack on the Nikkyo at Shibaura wharf. Kiryu and Nishikiyama then hurried off to Shibaura wharf, where Sera had moved Makimura and her doctor in order to keep her in a more safe and secure location.
The Shibusawa-gumi hitmen arriving at Shibaura wharf
After Makimura was moved from the hospital to Sera's ship, a devastated Majima decided to carry out Makimura's revenge on her behalf, and he travelled to the Dojima-gumi headquarters by himself with the goal of crushing the Dojima family. The stage was then set for two consequent final showdowns between the rival factions of the dispute: one at Shibaura wharf, and another at the Dojima-gumi headquarters in Kabukicho.
Shibaura wharf[]
The Shibusawa-gumi hitmen storming the Ocean Serenade
The army of Shibusawa-gumi hitmen, led by Shibusawa himself, was ordered to storm the ship and finish off the Nikkyo Consortium. The Shibusawa-gumi hitmen were distracted, however, by the arrival of Kiryu and Nishikiyama, who had taken a taxi from Showa Boulevard to the wharf to confront Shibusawa. Before the Shibusawa-gumi men could overwhelm the two Kazama-gumi loyalists, Nikkyo Consortium gunmen emerged from cover on the side of the ship and began to open fire on the Shibusawa-gumi hitmen with small arms, initiating a shootout. The Shibusawa-gumi hitmen were forced to charge aboard the ship, where some used knives and katanas to stab the Nikkyo guards, while others engaged the Nikkyo guards in a shootout.
The fire attack at the Shibaura wharf
However, reinforcements arrived to aid the Nikkyo Consortium. Kashiwagi arrived with three truckloads of Kazama-gumi hitmen, and several of them threw flaming tires at the fleet of Shibusawa-gumi cars to sow confusion and burn several of the attackers. This enabled Kiryu and Nishikiyama to press forward, fight their way through the Shibusawa-gumi hitmen on board the ship, and, as Nishikiyama held off the Shibusawa hitmen with his handgun, Kiryu confronted Shibusawa on the top deck.
Kiryu confronting a wounded Shibusawa
There, Shibusawa agreed to let the nurse take Makimura to a safe location as he prepared to engage in a final battle with Kiryu, showing off his dragon tattoo and saying that there could only be one "Dragon of Dojima". The two men proceeded to engage in a hate-filled fight to the death, and, while Kiryu overcame Shibusawa, he was prevented from killing Shibusawa by Nishikiyama, who tackled him and promised him that, if he ever had to cross the grave line of becoming a murderer, Nishikiyama would cross it with him.
The aftermath of the Shibaura Wharf shootout
With Shibusawa beaten to a bloody pulp, his army of hitmen defeated, and the Shibusawa-gumi's fleet of cars reduced to smoldering wrecks, the confrontation at the wharf was at an end. Sera had departed from his yacht to confront Dojima at his headquarters, where he would later find that Majima had single-handedly crushed the Dojima family. After Sera, the Nikkyo men, Nishikiyama, and Kiryu left the scene, the police arrived and took Shibusawa into custody, just as they had done with the defeated Kuze back in Kabukicho, eliminating two of Dojima's lieutenants.
Dojima headquarters[]
Majima confronting the thugs at the Dojima family office
While Shibusawa and his army of hitmen were taking on the Nikkyo Consortium at the Shibaura wharf, Majima travelled to the Dojima headquarters. There, he single-handedly took down dozens of Dojima guards who stood between him and Dojima's office, and he was then confronted by the last Dojima lieutenant, Awano, outside of Dojima's office. Majima defeated Awano and criticized him for prioritizing his hedonistic lifestyle over honor, and Awano underwent a change of heart about his life. Just then, Lao Gui emerged from Dojima's office to shoot Majima dead, but Awano stood and absorbed the bullets, telling Lao Gui that he and Majima were having an important conversation. He then charged at Lao Gui, who proceeded to use his throwing needles to impale and kill Awano, the only of Dojima's three lieutenants to be killed. Dojima then emerged from his office and ordered Lao Gui to kill Majima, warning him not to get careless.
Sera taking custody of Lao Gui
Majima proceeded to fight Lao Gui in a close-fought battle, and he defeated Lao Gui and threw him into Dojima's office. Dojima was utterly shocked that the most expensive hitman in Asia had been defeated by Majima, and he was too scared to lift his pistol and shoot Majima. Before Majima could stab Lao Gui dead with a knife, Sera arrived and aimed a gun at Dojima; he then told Majima to leave Lao Gui alive, as he had plans for him. Sera told Majima that Lao Gui had carried out several murders for Dojima, and that his testimony would be damning in a court of law; he decided to take custody of Lao Gui, keep him imprisoned in "the Hole", and keep Dojima in check by using Lao Gui's potential testimony as leverage. Sera then revealed to Dojima that Makimura had recovered from her coma and had signed over the Empty Lot to him, and that his asking price was ¥100 billion. This ruined Dojima's dreams of becoming the next chairman of the Tojo-kai, and Sera told him that the age of the Dojima family was at an end. Sera then sent Majima (with a gun) to Shimano's office to demand that Shimano take responsibility for his treachery, and, when Majima told Shimano that Sera had tasked him with rooting out the traitor in the Tojo-kai (hinting at giving Shimano a last chance), Shimano used Majima's gun and executed the chief of Omi headquarters, Kenkichi Ogami, with whom he had been discussing the next step in their conspiracy. Shimano then had Majima tell Sera that the head of Omi headquarters had nothing to do with him, disavowing the Omi Alliance.
Aftermath[]
Resolution[]
Nihara addressing the Tojo-kai lieutenants
In January 1989, Nihara assembled the heads of the Tojo-kai's direct subsidiaries at the Tojo-kai headquarters, and he announced that Sera would oversee the Kabukicho Revitalization Project that Dojima had been forced to step back from, and that he was making Sera the captain of the Tojo-kai, as he held the approval of the direct patriarchs. Nihara also announced that his time as chairman was nearly over, and he decided to appoint Dojima as Sera's guardian to ensure Sera's smooth transition to power. Meanwhile, Kiryu decided to rejoin the Dojima-gumi (despite Kazama's opposition), as he believed that doing so would help him find the right path in life. In addition, the Omi Alliance headquarters had Sagawa executed in an alleyway shortly after he bade farewell to a now-hedonistic Majima (who had been inspired by Awano to change his lifestyle) for the last time, punishing him for his failure to obtain the Empty Lot for them.
Long-term impact[]
Kiryu visiting Kazama in prison
Dojima family patriarch Sohei Dojima became guardian of the Third Tojo-kai Chairman Masaru Sera on his accession in 1993, but soon fell from grace. His captain, Shintaro Kazama, assumed de facto control of the family, leaving Dojima to languish in his glorious past. On a stormy night in 1995, a gunshot rang out from the Dojima-gumi office that would reverberate throughout Tojo-kai history. Sera would enjoy a long and stable reign over eastern Japan's yakuza from 1993 to 2005. His political connections earned a great deal of money for the Tojo-kai coffers, but, in 2005, his actions sent the clan into another chaotic upheaval. Futoshi Shimano and the Shimano-gumi became a pillar of the Tojo-kai in the wake of Dojima's decline; he continued to form alliances, including those with the Omi Alliance of Kansai and the Snake Flower Triad. In 2005, as the clan was thrown into turmoil, Shimano stepped from the shadows in a new gambit to rise to the top.
Kiryu meeting Majima for the first time
Shintaro Kazama became a stalwart ally of Sera with significant influence in the clan. In 1995, as events began to shake the foundation of the Tojo-kai, Kazama rose to a direct patriarch. In this position of power, Kazama began to guide the Tojo-kai's fate with all the finesse of the legendary tactician that he was. Akira Nishikiyama's role in the Empty Lot incidents earned him standing, and he climbed the Dojima ranks with Kiryu. Sworn brothers since their days at Sunflower Orphanage, he stayed Kiryu's confidant, but 1995 was a dark year. In the events that followed, while Kiryu served time in jail, Nishikiyama became a changed man; his ambition to climb the ranks of the Tojo-kai steered his fate. Under the aegis of Sera and the Tojo-kai, the area around the Empty Lot underwent a dramatic revitalization. By the 21st century, a new emblem of Kabukicho stood proudly atop the storied lot: the Millennium Tower. Goro Majima rejoined the Shimano-gumi as its Captain, where his ferocity earned him the title the "Mad Dog of Shimano". Feared and uncontrollable, his legends rivalled those of the "Dragon of Dojima". He continued to play a wild card role in the events that shaped the yakuza, and, alongside his sworn brother Taiga Saejima, he eventually became an unpredictable pillar of the Tojo-kai. Kazuma Kiryu rose to Lieutenant Advisor of the Dojima-gumi, known and feared as the "Dragon of Dojima". In December 1995, an incident that would change his life forever occurred, and Kiryu served ten years in prison. In one massive struggle after another, Kiryu was drawn back into the raging conflicts of the yakuza.