How to Use yakuza in a Sentence

yakuza

noun
  • Did Adelstein, for instance, really use aikido skills to beat up a huge yakuza bouncer?
    — Gavin J Blair, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Apr. 2022
  • The firm’s leader promises to help clear his name and help his mentor win a power struggle within his Tokyo yakuza clan.
    — Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2017
  • Ishii’s tactic, in these situations, is to apply a temporary tattoo to his neck and dress like a yakuza.
    — Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2018
  • Sold to a yakuza clan to work off her ne’er-do-well father’s debts, she’s been locked away and forced into drug addiction and prostitution.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2019
  • Their mission pairs them with an eccentric yakuza boss (Kitano) who leads them deep into the underworld.
    — Sara Aridi, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2020
  • Like a yakuza, a police officer, or the Japan Self-Defense Force.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2025
  • But after Kikuo’s father, a yakuza crime boss, is murdered, Hanjiro takes the grieving teen under his wing.
    — Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Meanwhile, a deviant killer operating in the yakuza underworld seems to be shadowing their moves.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 1 Jan. 2026
  • Nick is so readily accepted into the yakuza's ranks that there's little dramatic tension.
    — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2018
  • In the 1964 Olympics, Tokyo shooed away its organized criminals, or yakuza.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, 13 June 2018
  • The yakuza, in particular, are rarely presented in any realistic way.
    — Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Feb. 2024
  • This is because the yakuza, or the mob, is known for amputating fingers (although usually pinkies) as punishment.
    — Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Washington Post, 14 May 2023
  • Love Hotel chronicles the encounter of a call girl and a married man with a debt to the yakuza who have a violent rendezvous in a cheap love hotel.
    — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2025
  • Rick has made enemies of a different yakuza clan, and by interfering with their hit on him, Pearl might just have ignited a deadly gang war.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Actually, Sato is not always safe in his yakuza family, Chihara-Kai.
    — Demetrius Patterson, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Apr. 2024
  • There is one hint of the bloodbath to come, as the film opens in Osaka, where a yakuza boss insists that three of his men chop off a digit of their hands in order to prove their loyalty.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Despite his outsider status, the taciturn Nick quickly fits in well with the yakuza and their highly formal, albeit deadly, customs.
    — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2018
  • After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
  • After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor.
    — Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 1 Oct. 2025
  • As hotels and bars stock up on alcohol, some hot-spring resorts have been prodded to relax their rules on tattoos, which in Japan are associated with yakuza mobsters.
    — The Economist, 19 Sep. 2019
  • In this case, a noble yakuza whose careful character development over nearly two decades has earned him, and his game series, a steadily growing base of fans — and endless meme potential.
    — Gene Park, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024
  • The Movie follows the adventures of Denji (Kikunosuke Toya), a teenager and demon hunter who is killed by his overlords, the yakuza.
    — Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
  • As in many plotlines from past Like a Dragon games, the fading yakuza depicted in Infinite Wealth are inspired by real-world events.
    — Reid McCarter, WIRED, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Taiza Kujo is an attorney who specializes in cases the establishment won't touch, including those involving the yakuza.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
  • The film begins in 1964 Nagasaki where 14-year-old Kikuo has witnessed the murder of his father, a yakuza gang leader.
    — Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 17 Feb. 2026
  • But such treatment is more appropriate for a yakuza mobster than an international CEO with no previous record of fraud or self-dealing.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 26 Nov. 2018
  • The reason for this hardline stance against tattoos in public places is that, because in Japan, tattoos are associated with yakuza — or members the Japanese mafia.
    — Fox News, 31 May 2017
  • The filmmaker is renowned for his movies’ singular violence and transgressive content, often exploring horror, samurai and yakuza genres.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 6 Feb. 2026
  • In lieu of payment, the yakuza becomes his apprentice, incidentally forming a friendship with the master’s son, a talented rakugoka who only wants to design clothes.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023
  • That means, Ulysses is up against the entire population — which is a lot less than 1,890 when the film is over — while the yakuza take a 10-hour private jet over to settle the score.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'yakuza.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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