Kiyoshi Doi (died 16 October 1949) was a Japanese yakuza crime boss and the patriarch of the Doi-gumi family of Hiroshima during the 1940s. In 1949, he went to war with the rival Yamamori-gumi for control of Hiroshima, but he was assassinated by Yamamori-gumi hitman Shozo Hirono as he left a meeting with the Kaito-gumi family of Hiroshima City.
Biography[]
Kiyoshi Doi was born in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, and he became a yakuza boss before World War II and came to head the Doi-gumi family of Hiroshima. By 1946, Doi had local political connections such as municipal councilman Shoichi Kanamaru and was on good terms with fellow yakuza bosses Yoshio Yamamori and Kenichi Okubo.
Feud with Yamamori[]
Doi in 1949
However, this peace broke down in 1949 after Okubo introduced Yamamori to another corrupt councilman, Shigeto Nakahara, who promised Yamamori unlimited financial support if Yamamori would help to rig a vote against Kanamaru's rival faction in the Assembly. Yamamori succeeded in doing so, sending Tetsuya Sakai to kidnap one of Kanamaru's allies in the assembly, and this led to Doi seeking vengeance. He kidnapped, beat, and interrogated Yamamori's henchman Seiichi Kanbara, who revealed Yamamori's role in the plot, and Doi proceeded to storm into Yamamori's bar with the intent of murdering him. He found his own underling, Hiroshi Wakasugi, speaking with Yamamori and Yamamori's lieutenant Shozo Hirono, causing Doi to attempt to kill the three men in a fit of rage. Wakasugi foiled Doi's assassination attempt and threatened to kill him if he attempted to harm his sworn brother Hirono, and Doi stormed out of the bar. Ultimately, he agreed to temporarily trade Wakasugi for Kanbara in a "guest" arrangement for both families, but, over the next six months, he gradually muscled in on Wakasugi's turf in Hiroshima and made overtures to the Kaito-gumi with the objective of seizing Hiroshima for himself.
Assassination[]
Doi being carried off
On 16 October 1949, Doi was driven to the Kaito-gumi headquarters to meet with the patriarch and discuss an alliance. As he entered the building, he noticed that Shozo Hirono had been offered lodging there, but walked on without saying a word. Once his meeting with the patriarch was done, Doi proceeded to walk back to his car in the rain, but Hirono ran from a hiding spot, dropped his coat, and proceeded to shoot Doi several times with a pistol. A wounded Doi staggered onto the street in an attempt to escape, but Hirono emptied the rest of his magazine into Doi before throwing the empty gun at the Kaito-gumi guards. A mortally wounded Doi died at the hospital hours later.