The Last Yakuza

The Last Yakuza is a true account told about a yakuza like never before. Its part biography and part history book about the yakuza mainly told from the point of view of Makoto Saigo who has a Japanese American Mother and a Japanese Father. Saigo has two talents in his life which is being a hooligan and playing guitar. When Saigo fails to make it big in the music industry he turns to the yakuza and one wrong move could cost you your life. The book is part biography and part yakuza history book written by none other than the author of Tokyo Vice himself Jake Adelstein.

 Pros

I like how the book covers Saigo’s story and why someone like him would join the Yakuza. I almost forgot Jake hired him as a bodyguard in Tokyo Vice. It was interesting how the book covers Saigo’s story and it shows the history of the Yakuza and how it all began. I also liked how the book covers why some would join the yakuza, without making excuses for those very same men. While I don’t approve of Saigo’s choices I felt sorry for him especially towards the end. I really love the timeline in the beginning. I also liked how Shoko Asahara the doomsday cult leader of Aum Shrinkyo and the curry poisoning by Masumi Hayashi was briefly mentioned at points in the book

Cons

I don’t have too many criticisms of The Last Yakuza, except that it dragged in some spots.

Overall

Overall I did enjoy The Last Yakuza. It was a different book than Tokyo Vice. I wonder if this storyline will eventually appear in the television series of Tokyo Vice eventually down the road. If you don’t have an early physical or online copy of The Last Yakuza, preorder the book coming out on October 17^th of this year. Thank you Jake and to the publishers for this early copy.