Isao Katsuragi (1963-13 March 2010) was a Japanese criminal who served as the captain of the Uenoseiwa-kai yakuza clan from 1985 until his death in 2010. The scheming Katsuragi partnered with the Tojo-kai's Kazuo Shibata to stage the "Ueno Seiwa hit" of 1985 in order for the two men to rise in the ranks of their families, while TMPD deputy commissioner Seishiro Munakata blackmailed the two men into becoming his pawns in the Tokyo underworld. Katsuragi's 2010 attempt to break free from Munakata's control through having Yasuko Saejima kill the Shibata-gumi officers who knew about his and Shibata's 1985 plot resulted in Munakata having Katsuragi and Shibata provoke a new round of gang warfare that would allow Munakata's protege Hiroaki Arai to seize power in the Tojo Clan and destroy the Ueno Seiwa. Katsuragi was betrayed by Arai at a pivotal moment in the conspiracy and was killed by a vengeful Yasuko, but not before he fatally wounded her.
Biography[]
Isao Katsuragi was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1963, and he became a member of the Uenoseiwa-kai yakuza clan in Kabukicho during the 1980s; he also became oath brothers with Junji Sugiuchi, who was later sent to infiltrate the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. In 1985, the two men conspired with Kazuo Shibata of the Tojo-kai to set up a plot that would raise his and Shibata's statuses in their respective organizations. The Tojo-kai sent Taiga Saejima to kill Yoshiharu Ueno and all of his officers as they ate at a noodle shop to celebrate Ueno's release from prison, but Sugiuchi had Shibata supply Saejima with guns containing police-issue rubber bullets. This enabled Katsuragi to feign a self-sacrificial attempt to protect Ueno from Saejima before Saejima knocked both of them unconscious (Saejima believing that he had killed them), after which Katsuragi shot all of the unconscious Ueno Seiwa officers before having Sugiuchi shoot him in the shoulder. When Ueno awoke to a wounded Katsuragi defending him, a grateful Ueno promoted Katsuragi to captain, and, as Ueno reached an advanced age in the 2000s, Katsuragi became the clan's de facto leader. However, TMPD officer Seishiro Munakata discovered inconsistencies in Sugiuchi's report of the hit, and he forced Sugiuchi to put him in contact with Katusragi, whom he proceeded to blackmail into becoming one of his pawns in the criminal underworld.
Katsuragi sitting over Daigo's money
In 2009, Katsuragi made contact with Taiga's sister Yasuko Saejima, claiming to be a detective from Tokyo before revealing his true identity and claiming that he could prove Saejima's innocence if she would pay him ¥100 million or murder the Shibata-gumi officers who knew of his and Shibata's 1985 conspiracy; this would remove Munakata's leverage over Katsuragi. Katsuragi also made his own move to increase his clan's power, having the Tojo Clan triple agent Hiroaki Arai (secretly an undercover policeman) kill his own clan's newly-minted lieutenant Masaru Ihara on 1 March 2010 to provoke a crisis in the underworld. Katsuragi then demanded that Tojo Chairman Daigo Dojima hand over Arai, a Tojo officer of similar rank to Ihara (namely Goro Majima), or the lucrative Kabukicho Hills construction project. Dojima decided to hand over Majima to the police as recompense, as Arai could not be found, as was according to Katsuragi's plan. On 8 March, Katsuragi had Arai kill Shibata, who had become useless to him, but he was soon contacted by the policeman Masayoshi Tanimura, who offered to give him Yasuko's ¥100 million if they agreed to meet and discuss the Ueno Seiwa hit. On 9 March 2010, the two men met, and Katsuragi told Tanimura the truth about how he had been the killer. However, he then called in his hitmen to murder Tanimura and take the money. Tanimura survived with Sugiuchi's help and also escaped with the money.
Katsuragi's death
In response, Katsuragi unleashed an attack on Sai no Kawara on 13 March to capture Taiga Saejima with the help of Takeshi Kido, a quadruple agent for Shun Akiyama and Saejima, Daigo Dojima, Katsuragi, and Arai. Kazuma Kiryu later contacted Katsuragi and offered him Munakata's incriminating ledger in exchange for the return of Taiga and Yasuko Saejima and Akiyama's ¥100 billion, stolen by Kido. Katsuragi agreed, and, at 10 PM on 13 March, Kiryu met Katsuragi atop the Kabukicho Hills construction site after defeating his entire clan. Katsuragi agreed to make the deal, but Kido betrayed him and shot him six times, his bulletproof vest saving his life. Arai also shot Kido and took the ledger, abandoning the money, a wounded Katsuragi, Kiryu, and the freed Saejima siblings. Katsuragi then recovered and mocked Saejima's inability to kill in 1985, and, when Saejima decided that Katsuragi was not worth killing and turned his back to him, Katsuragi attempted to shoot him. While Taiga was hit in the arm, Yasuko took another bullet while shielding her brother. Determined to not let her brother become a murderer, she executed Katsuragi with her own gun, given to her by Tanimura.
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