Director Hideo Gosha took journalist Shōko Ieda’s 1986 book Gokudō no Tsuma-tachi, packed with interviews with the wives and girlfriends of real yakuza, and turned it into this film. It stars Shima Iwashita as Tamaki, a woman who takes over the Awazu Family, which is part of the Domoto syndicate, while her husband is imprisoned. As a result, some family members leave the family and form their own group, the Awasu family and war is declared.
Makoto Ike (Rino Katase), her sister, finds herself in a relationship with a rival criminal who abuses her. This leads to a fight between the sisters — Makoto was promised in an arranged marriage — but by the end, she tells her to become a yakuza wife, even as she cuts her off from the family.
A women-targeted film despite all of the bloodshed — don’t get too attached to any of the yakuza husbands — this shows us how the better half views the world of Japanese crime. I may have an issue with a raped woman falling for her captor, but how many times has that trope showed up in exploitation? I’ll never understand it, but here it is again.
The 88 Films Blu-ray release of Yakuza Wives has extras including an introduction by Mark Schilling, an interview with tattoo artist Seiji Mouri, a stills gallery, trailers and new artwork by Sean Longmore. You can get it from MVD.
