Four largest syndicates

Although yakuza membership has declined following an anti-gang law aimed specifically at yakuza and passed by the Japanese government in 1992, there are thought to be about 25,900 active yakuza members in Japan today.^[1]

More information Principal families, Description ...

Principal families	Description	Mon (crest)
Yamaguchi-gumi (六代目山口組, Rokudaime Yamaguchi-gumi)	The Yamaguchi-gumi is the largest yakuza family, with about 8,200 members.	"Yamabishi" (山菱)
Sumiyoshi-kai (住吉会)	The Sumiyoshi-kai is the second-largest yakuza family, with 4,200 members. Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller yakuza groups. Its current head (会長 oyabun) is Isao Seki.
Inagawa-kai (稲川会)	The Inagawa-kai is the third-largest yakuza family in Japan, with roughly 3,300 members. It is based in the Tokyo-Yokohama area and was one of the first yakuza families to expand its operations outside of Japan.
Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi (神戸山口組, Kōbe-Yamaguchi-gumi)	The Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi is the fourth-largest yakuza family, with 3,000 members. They are a splinter group who broke away from the Yamaguchi-gumi family in 2015.

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Designated bōryokudan

A designated boryokudan (指定暴力団, Shitei Bōryokudan)^[2] is a "particularly harmful" yakuza group^[3] registered by the Prefectural Public Safety Commissions under the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law (暴力団対策法, Bōryokudan Taisaku Hō) enacted in 1991.^[4]

The numbers that follow the names of bōryokudan groups refer to the group's leadership. For example, Yoshinori Watanabe headed the Yamaguchi-gumi fifth; on his retirement, Shinobu Tsukasa became head of the Yamaguchi-gumi sixth, and "Yamaguchi-gumi VI" is the group's formal name.

More information Name, Japanese Name ...

Name	Japanese Name	Headquarters	Reg. in	Notes
Yamaguchi-gumi VI	六代目山口組	Kobe, Hyogo	1992	It was founded in 1915 and split from the Oshima-gumi in 1932. Yamaguchi is the surname of the founder and first boss and kumi or gumi means group.
Inagawa-kai	稲川会	Minato, Tokyo	1992	Inagawa is the surname of the founder and first boss and kai means organization or society. It is a member of the Kantō-Shinboku-kai (Kanto social gathering).
Sumiyoshi-kai	住吉会	Minato, Tokyo	1992	Sumiyoshi means the name of place. It is a member of the Kantō-Shinboku-kai.
Kudō-kai V	五代目工藤會	Kitakyushu, Fukuoka	1992	It was renamed from Kudō-rengō-Kusano-ikka in 1999. Kudō is the surname of the founder and first boss. It is a member of the Yonsha-kai (Four social gathering).
Kyokuryū-kai	旭琉會	Okinawa, Okinawa	1992	It was renamed from Okinawa-Kyokuryū-kai in 2011.
Aizu-Kotetsu-kai VII	七代目会津小鉄会	Kyoto, Kyoto	1992	This was established in the Edo period. It was renamed from Aizu-Kotetsu in 1998. Aizu Kotetsu means the nickname of the first boss Senkichi Kosaka and Aizu means the name of place.
Kyōsei-kai VI	六代目共政会	Hiroshima, Hiroshima	1992	It is a member of the Gosha-kai (Five social gathering).
Gōda-ikka VII	七代目合田一家	Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi	1992	Gōda is the surname of the founder and first boss and ikka means family. It is a member of the Gosha-kai.
Kozakura-ikka IV	四代目小桜一家	Kagoshima, Kagoshima	1992
Asano-gumi V	五代目浅野組	Kasaoka, Okayama	1992	Asano is the surname of the boss. It is a member of the Gosha-kai.
Dōjin-kai	道仁会	Kurume, Fukuoka	1992	It is a member of the Yonsha-kai.
Shinwa-kai II	二代目親和会	Takamatsu, Kagawa	1992	It is a member of the Gosha-kai.
Sōai-kai	双愛会	Ichihara, Chiba	1992	It is a member of the Kantō-Shinboku-kai.
Kyōdō-kai III	三代目俠道会	Onomichi, Hiroshima	1993	It is a member of the Gosha-kai.
Taishū-kai	太州会	Tagawa, Fukuoka	1993	Taishū means the nickname of the first boss. It is a member of the Yonsha-kai.
Sakaume-gumi X	十代目酒梅組	Osaka, Osaka	1993
Kyokutō-kai	極東会	Toshima, Tokyo	1993	Kyokutō means Far East. It is a member of the Kantō-Shinnō-Doushi-kai (Kanto Shennong Association). It is a tekiya group.
Azuma-gumi II	二代目東組	Osaka, Osaka	1993	Azuma is the surname of the boss.
Matsuba-kai	松葉会	Taito, Tokyo	1994	Matsuba means pine needle, is kamon of the boss of predecessor syndicate Sekine-gumi. It is a member of the Kantō-Shinboku-kai.
Fukuhaku-kai IV	四代目福博会	Fukuoka, Fukuoka	2000	Fukuhaku means the name of place, Hakata Fukuoka.
Namikawa-kai	浪川会	Omuta, Fukuoka	2008	It was formed from split from Dojin-kai in 2006 and remained active until on June 11, 2013, when the senior members of the Kyushu Seido-kai said that the gang was disbanding to rejoin the Dojin-kai after resolving the problems the dispute had caused. On October 7, 2013 was formed the Namikawa-mutsumi-kai by upper members of the former Kyushu-Seido-kai when they visited a shrine in Kumamoto Prefecture when one member read aloud an oath announcing the formation of the new yakuza group, based in Omuta City, Fukuoka. Namikawa is the surname of the boss. It was renamed to Namikawa-kai in 2015.
Kōbe-Yamaguchi-gumi	神戸山口組	Kobe, Hyogo	2016	It was split of Yamaguchi-gumi VI in 2015.
Kizuna-kai	絆會	Amagasaki, Hyogo	2018	It was split of Kōbe-Yamaguchi-gumi as Ninkyo-dantai-Yamaguchi-gumi in 2017. It was renamed to Ninkyo-Yamaguchi-gumi in 2017. It was renamed to Kizuna-kai in 2020.
Kantō-Sekine-gumi	関東関根組	Tsuchiura, Ibaraki	2018	It was split of Matsuba-kai as Matsubakai-Sekine-gumi in 2014. It renamed to Kanto-Sekine-gumi in 2017.

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Designated bōryokudan in the past

Other notable bōryokudan

Other prominent bōryokudan