The nature of violence in Fukasaku Kinji's Jingi naki tatakai (War without a code of honor)

Abstract

This article focuses on the role of violence in Fukasaku Jinji's Jingi naki tatakai(War without a code of honor) series (1973–4). It reviews the formalistic way in which violence was presented in pre-1973 yakuza films and contrasts this with Fukasaku's cinematic style, which broke all the rules of the genre. Fukasaku opted for a highly realistic, documentary approach. This documentary style is examined by considering the prison memoirs of a yakuza gang member and other sources upon which the films were based and then by providing examples of the manner in which Fukasaku translated these written materials into cinematic images. It is argued that, for Fukasaku, the world of the yakuza is only a microcosm of the broader society and international order of the post-war period, in which violence lacks moral significance and exists without heroes. The continued relevance of these films in the light of current events is noted.