Confessions of a Yakuza is a compelling memoir of one of the last traditional members of the Yakuza, a Japanese version of the Mafia, written by Junichi Saga. John Bester is the one who penned the translation into English.

Saga apparently was a doctor treating Ijichi Eiji, who had been a leader in the criminal syndicate known as the Yakuza. Eiji decides to reveal his life story to this doctor, who apparently decided to record the account and write it up for publication.

The story moves along quite well and provides some insight into some aspects of Japanese culture in the early twentieth century through the end of the Second World War. Eiji gives his account from a turbulent childhood through his rise to be one of the bosses in the criminal organization, and it is laid out quite plainly.

Saga is not too bad when it comes to bringing the reader to the “present day” scenes. It was prudent to give a reminder of how these confessions unfolded and who was recording these reminiscences.

I think much of the credit is due to John Bester’s translation which opened the window for those not terribly familiar with Japanese culture.

Sometimes the exposition can seem to slow things a little, but it wasn’t too egregious. Although there are many works that detail criminal organizations, this one did feel like a unique reading experience in many ways.

Saga seems to be a pretty efficient storyteller, and I would have likely found the company of Eiji to be absolutely fascinating as well.

A friend finds this to be a good campfire read, and I think I know what he means. It was a good recommendation that I am more than pleased to pass on.

Next up, I have decided to check into Cate Quinn’s The Clinic.