The missing little finger strongly suggests that this man was once a member of the yakuza, and his current predicament may also suggest that the reason for losing said digit eventually resulted in him losing an awful lot more.
Photographs from a small group of islands
The missing little finger strongly suggests that this man was once a member of the yakuza, and his current predicament may also suggest that the reason for losing said digit eventually resulted in him losing an awful lot more.
Coli says
Wow that’s rough.
Lee says
Yeah, a very grim sight. Hard to see how, but hopefully things will get better for him.
Al says
Bad guy or not that’s really really sad……. 🙁
Lee says
It is. Nobody should have to live like that.
cdilla says
A very striking photograph.
So may possible pasts. Maybe he was dismayed at his chosen “career”, disobeyed his boss and was punished and expelled. Or was he just inept at crime and later in life too.
Lee says
Yes. That’s what struck me about the sight of him. So many possibilities, and at the same time so many unknowns…
d.minnis says
Exactly, a book could probably be written about this one picture. Amazing and very sad photo but one that keeps us all coming back in here for more.
Lee says
Thanks. That’s very encouraging to hear. A truly horrible situation, but one that sadly isn’t uncommon at all.
ex says
I wonder if he’d be happy about this picture of himself being on the internet? I can’t imagine he would…..
Lee says
No, that’s a fair point. And in all honesty, I dare say he wouldn’t. Hence the reason I chose not to photograph his face.
It’s a tricky one. I try and document what I see around me. And sadly I see a lot of people in the predicament above. To not have photographed him would have probably been the decent thing to do, and yet at the same time, not photographing him would have been dishonest in my documentation of Japan.
ex says
You rate your blog above his privacy? Sure your documentation of Japan is really that important?
Lee says
It’s important to me. Do I rate it above someone’s personal well being? Of course not. But how can this photograph — with his face not visible — make his plight any worse? In fact, aside from acute illness, is there anything that would make his plight any worse?
And in regards privacy, where does that end? No pictures of anybody, anywhere, ever?
I know some people feel that way, and that’s fair enough. But personally I don’t. Not everyone is the same.
That aside, arguably the more important question is surely, ‘why do people have to live like this in a rich country?’, rather than why was the photograph taken in the first place.
Squidpuppy says
I was just explaining to some friends about “Chimpira” Yak types, and I wondered what happened to them if they didn’t rise in the ranks as they got older. Maybe this.
Looks like he had to atone with a Yubitsume finger-shortening at some point.
Lee says
That’s very true. Potentially very tough life for those that don’t rise up in the ranks.
He did. I noticed his missing finger straight away. Came as quite a surprise.
Squidpuppy says
I used to see guys with missing little fingers every once in a while on the trains – of course, that was ages ago. I wonder if it’s less prevalent now. Maybe only old school, from a different era?
Lee says
Still see them now and again, so it clearly still goes on. But how common it is compared to days gone by, I have no idea.