![]() Using an extremely sharp knife, or tantō, the person cuts off the portion of his left little finger above the top knuckle on the finger or the tip of the finger. To perform yubitsume, one lays down a small clean cloth and lays the hand onto the cloth facing down. The reason for this is that the Japanese sword cannot be held tightly, thus weakening the mafia's ability to fight in a war. It is also a sign of surrender by the defeated in a Mafia war. A little finger-amputee was therefore unable to grip his sword properly, weakening him in battle and making him more dependent on the protection of his boss. In Japanese swordsmanship ( kendo and iaido), the little finger's grip is the tightest on the hilt. Yubitsume was a form of credit and reputation score. If a person was unable to pay off a gambling debt, yubitsume was sometimes considered an alternative form of repayment. The ritual is thought to have originated with the bakuto, itinerant gamblers who were predecessors of the modern yakuza. In modern times, it is primarily performed by the yakuza, one of the most prominent Japanese criminal organizations. Yubitsume ( 指詰め, "finger shortening") or otoshimae is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology and remorse to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger. ![]() Post navigation ← Rest Room Pictures “Never say no when asked to hold a baby.Man's hand showing yubitsume, with the upper two portions of the little finger having been removed. This entry was posted in Customs, Initiations, Rituals, festivals, holidays on by Ryusuke Kondo. The folklore was told in one of Japanese restaurants in Gardena. Informer is a 45 year old car mechanic who used to be a member of Japanese mafia in Fukuoka prefecture in Japan. This is least Japanese mafia’s kindness so that mafia’s rituals do not affect individual’s personal life. Japanese people use four fingers except the pinky finger to eat food with chopsticks. This may be because if other fingers are cut, it is really hard to live in a daily life. It surely lessens the power to grip the Japanese sword but could be index or thumb fingers to be cut. It is interesting they only cut pinky fingers not others. However, fake fingers are sold, therefore it is no longer humiliation. ![]() Also lack of fingers humiliation in public, indicating he failed to do his task. By cutting one of fingers, it made them grip the sword less tighten. In the past, when yakuza people fight with others, they used Japanese swords. According to one member of yakuza family, this ritual is not common anymore because there is not benefit of getting fingers. The boss’s finger is sent to opposed family and they need to make a decision whether to stop a war with them or not. In this case, the boss of the family who wants to stop fight needs to cut his finger off to show how serious the boss is. ![]() Sometimes, cutting fingers ritual is done to stop the fighting between two opposing families. The one who receives the finger usually disposes it if the finger belongs to lower class members. The finger has to be folded in a sheet of Japanese paper carefully and sent to the one whom he needs to apologize. If he fails to do his task again, he needs to cut 2 nd knuckle joint of the pinky finger but usually he gets kicked out of family before cutting his 2 nd joint. When one of members in a family failed to do the task ordered by his boss, he has to cut off his first knuckle joint of pinky finger in order to show his apology. This is the ritual done by Japanese mafia called “Yakuza”. ![]()
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