Tokyo Boyz
The Tokyo Boys was a Japanese American gang founded in Manzanar Concentration camp during World War 2. They were split into three groups/ranks, The Kibei Boys (Japanese-Americans from Japan), Isei Boys (1st generation Japanese-Americans), and the Nisei Boys (2nd generation Japanese-Americans).
| Founded | 1942 |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Manzanar, California, United States |
| Years active | 1942 – 1996/Present |
| Territory | Manzanar, and in later years, San Francisco, California |
| Ethnicity | Japanese Americans |
| Membership | ~200 During Internment, over 500 post Internment |
| Criminal activities | murder, arms trafficking, extortion, loan sharking |
| Allies | Jackson-Side Wah Ching |
History
During World War 2, then current American president Franklin D. Roosevelt passed Executive Order 9066 which infamously criminalized the being of any Japanese person or person of Japanese ancestry, and forcefully relocated all Japanese and Japanese-Americans into concentration camps, and stripped them of American Constitutional Rights. The most infamous of these camps was Manzanar, where over 100,000 Japanese Americans were jailed. Due to the cruel, unfair, and harsh conditions, a group of rebellious Japanese youths and adults quickly formed a gang. At first there was a power struggle between other gangs in the camp, however, after the Manzanar Riots, almost all gangs united into the Tokyo Boys a.k.a. Manzanar Black Dragons.[1]
Throughout the lifetime of the camp, The Tokyo Boys were not involved in high-level crimes, but rather trivial offenses such as stealing extra rations and harassing non-Japanese prisoners.
Post-Manzanar History
After the Japanese-Americans were released from Manzanar, many went to California to work legally and reintegrate into American society. However, due to the time period (1940s-1950s), many Japanese Americans couldn't find work, and even if they could, it wouldn't be enough to support themselves and their families. This combined with the scars of internment and rampant racism has caused many Japanese-Americans to this day remain under the poverty line in places along the West Coast (California, Nevada, and Oregon). Due to their socio-economic position, many members of the Tokyo Boys continued their lifestyle of crime after their release, however, as time progressed, so did the severity of their crimes.[1]
The majority of Tokyo Boys moved to San Francisco where they adapted to become a modern street gang, and with the creation of Japan Town in 1968, cemented themselves into the Bay Area. The gang functioned in normal activities such as narcotic sales and prostitution, and in the 1970s expanded into other cities and created new factions such as Daly Nihon in Daly City, South Side Tokyo Boys in South San Francisco, and Sakura Tokyo Boys in Oakland.
In the late 1970s, The Tokyo Boys formed connections with Japanese Yakuza across the Pacific and was soon involved in both street level and highly sophisticated crime. At this time, Tokyo Boys was thought to have at least 500 members all across the Bay Area. Also at this time, Tokyo Boys made small alliances with members of the Wah Ching gang.
During the 1990s, when a faction of the Wah Ching gang returned to San Francisco, the Tokyo Boys welcomed them back warmly since the Wah Ching was now significantly more powerful and an alliance was both beneficial and profitable. The Wah Ching, though relatively small compared to the Tokyo Boys (The Wah Ching in SF had ~100 members compared to the Tokyo Boys ~750) they supplied the Tokyo Boys with most of their narcotics and weapons, and soon the Tokyo Boys relied on the Wah Ching for supplies, and the Wah Ching relied on the Tokyo Boys for manpower. This close criminal relationship eventually led to the Tokyo Boys assimilating into the Wah Ching to create the Jackson-Side Wah Ching, and thus in the present day, many members of Jackson Side Wah Ching (JS-23) will refer to themselves as Tokyo Boys and vice versa. After the Alliance, the newly founded Jackson-Side Wah Ching expanded even further across state lines into Reno, Nevada to gain control of the criminal side of legal casinos, which led to some conflicts with the American Mafia.
References
- Rachel Schreiber (May 10, 2012). "Online Exclusive: Gangs and the Internment". Hyphen Magazine. Retrieved April 16, 2019.