Kazuo Taoka
Kazuo Taoka (ç"°å²¡ 一雄
Taoka Kazuo;
March 28,
1913 -
July 23,
1981) was the most prominent
yakuza Godfather of the 20th Century.
Known as the "Godfather of Godfathers", Taoka was third
kumicho of the
Yamaguchi-gumi,
Japan's largest yakuza organization, from
1946 to
1981.
Taoka, an
orphan, grew up as a young street fighter in
Kobe under the guidance of
Noboru Yamaguchi, the Yamaguchi-gumi's boss. He earned his lifelong nickname
"Kuma" ("the Bear") due to his signature attack of clawing at an opponent's eyes. He was
imprisoned for murder from
1937 to
1943, and assumed the role of
kumicho three years later at the age of 33.
He led the Yamaguchi-gumi until his death from a
heart attack in 1981. (He had survived a
1978 assassination attempt in a
Kyoto nightclub). His wife, Kumiko, briefly filled the gang's leadership role until a new
kumicho,
Masahisa Takenaka, was chosen in 1984.
From 1983 until 1990 his daughter, Yuki, was married to
Kitaro, a noted Japanese musician.
