Masahisa Takenaka

Masahisa Takenaka (竹中 正久, Takenaka Masahisa; d. 1985) was the fourth-generation boss of Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's largest yakuza gang.^[1][2] The New York Times called him "Japan's Godfather".^[2]

Takenaka took the role of kumichō in 1984, in a televised investiture ceremony in which Fumiko, the widow of former Yamaguchi-gumi leader Kazuo Taoka, handed him a dagger.^[2] However, Takenaka was assassinated at a girlfriend's home in Osaka early the following year by a rival group, the Ichiwa-kai, led by Hiroshi Yamamoto, who had seceded from the clan.^[1]

Takenaka's Buddhist funeral service was televised, with more than 1,000 gangsters attending in person to mourn the death of their leader.^[2] The killing sparked the Yama–Ichi War.