
Osamu Kashiwagi (born 1948) was a Japanese yakuza crime boss, captain and later second patriarch of the Kazama-gumi family from 2005 to 2009, and interim chairman of the Tojo-kai clan from 2007 to 2009.
Biography[]

Kashiwagi in 1988
Osamu Kashiwagi was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1948, and he was one of the original members of the Tojo-kai yakuza clan, becoming Shintaro Kazama's right-hand man. During Shintaro's incarceration in the late 1980s, Kashiwagi became acting captain of the Kazama-gumi subsidiary of the Tojo-kai's Dojima-gumi family. In 1988, Kashiwagi was initially staunchly opposed to Kazuma Kiryu's plan to announce his retirement before Sohei Dojima in order to clear his and Kazama's name of culpability in the murder of Taichi Kurihara; Kashiwagi had advised Kiryu to instead do nothing (rather than take on the lieutenants and give them a reason to expel Kazama), and he punched Kiryu in the face when Kiryu said that he would still confront Dojima even if Kazama himself advised him not to. Kashiwagi would later lead the Kazama-gumi in a civil war with the Dojima-gumi, however, after Keiji Shibusawa of the Kenno-kai decided to lead the Dojima-gumi in a purge of Kazama loyalists from within the family. When Goro Majima came to the Kazama-gumi office to search for Akira Nishikiyama, Kashiwagi confronted Majima, who defeated him in a fistfight. Kashiwagi later aided Kiryu in his fight with Shibusawa.
Kashiwagi served as the Kazama-gumi's captain into the 1990s, continuing to serve as Kazama's deputy on Kazama's release and return to Kabukicho. He mentored Nishikiyama when he founded the Nishikiyama-gumi in 1996, although he vocally believed that Kiryu - who had been arrested after taking the fall for Nishikiyama for Sohei Dojima's murder - should have been the boss, especially after Nishikiyama attempted to steal ¥30 million from Kashiwagi's businesses to pay for a heart transplant for his sister (which ultimately never happened). After Kazama was murdered by Futoshi Shimano in 2005, Kashiwagi became the new patriarch of the Kazama-gumi. He also served as the Tojo-kai's second-in-command under Yukio Terada, as well as under Daigo Dojima, and he gathered 300 men from Kabukicho to help Daigo during his fight with the Goryu-kai in 2006. After Daigo was critically injured in a 2007 shooting, Kashiwagi took over as interim chairman, and he convinced Kiryu to return from Okinawa to serve as interim chairman, while warning him that Daigo was likely shot over an Okinawa resort deal. While talking to Kiryu in his office, the lights were shut off, and a CIA helicopter fired at the two men through the window, critically wounding Kashiwagi and causing Osamu's apparent death.
However, Osamu would recover from his near-fatal wounds and found the Honest Living Association to help yakuza leave their criminal lifestyles. Osamu moved to Isezakicho, Yokohama, where he founded the Survive Bar, becoming proficient in cooking and making both bouquets and Chinese medicine.