Yakuza in the context of "Gangster"

Organized crime refers to transnational, national, or local groups of centralized enterprises that engage in illegal activities, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally considered a form of illegal business, some criminal organizations, such as terrorist groups, rebel groups, and separatists, are politically motivated. Many criminal organizations rely on fear or terror to achieve their goals and maintain control within their ranks. These groups may adopt tactics similar to those used by authoritarian regimes to maintain power. Some forms of organized crime exist simply to meet demand for illegal goods or to facilitate trade in products and services banned by the state, such as illegal drugs or firearms. In other cases, criminal organizations force people to do business with them, as when gangs extort protection money from shopkeepers. Street gangs may be classified as organized crime groups under broader definitions, or may develop sufficient discipline to be considered organized crime under stricter definitions.

A criminal organization can also be referred to as an outfit, a gangster/gang, thug, crime family, mafia, mobster/mob, (crime) ring, or syndicate; the network, subculture, and community of criminals involved in organized crime may be referred to as the underworld or gangland. Sociologists sometimes specifically distinguish a "mafia" as a type of organized crime group that specializes in the supply of extra-legal protection and quasi-law enforcement. Academic studies of the original "Mafia", the Sicilian Mafia, as well as its American counterpart, generated an economic study of organized crime groups and exerted great influence on studies of the Russian mafia, the Indonesian preman, the Chinese triads, the Hong Kong triads, the Indian thuggee, and the Japanese yakuza.

Informally or generally, a mafia is any of various criminal organizations that include, or bear a strong similarity to, the original Sicilian Mafia, the Italian-American Mafia, or other Italian organized crime groups. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of disputes between criminals, as well as the organization and enforcement of illicit agreements between criminals through violence. Mafias often engage in secondary activities such as gambling, loan sharking, drug trafficking, prostitution, and fraud.

The term Mafia was originally applied to the Sicilian Mafia. Since then, the term has expanded to encompass other organizations of similar practices and objectives, e.g. "the Russian mafia" or "the Japanese mafia". The term was coined by the press and is informal; the criminal organizations themselves have their own names (e.g. the Sicilian Mafia and the related Italian-American mafia refer to their organizations as "Cosa nostra"; the "Japanese mafia" calls itself Ninkyō dantai but is more commonly known as "Yakuza" by the public; and "Russian mafia" groups often call themselves "Bratva").

The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately 66 kilometres (41 mi) south-southeast of the centre of the state capital, Brisbane. It is Queensland's second-largest city after Brisbane, as well as Australia's sixth-largest city and the most populous non-capital city. The city's central business district is located roughly in the centre of the Gold Coast in the suburb of Southport. The urban area of the Gold Coast is concentrated along the coast, sprawling almost 60 kilometres, joining up with the Greater Brisbane metropolitan region to the north and to the state border with New South Wales to the south. Nicknames of the city include the ‘Glitter Strip’ and the ‘Goldy’. The demonym of a Gold Coast resident is Gold Coaster.

The area that became the Gold Coast was originally inhabited by the indigenous Yugambeh people. The city grew from a collection of small townships, the earliest being Nerang in 1865. From the 1920s onwards, tourism led to significant economic growth in the region, and by 1959 the Gold Coast was declared a city, with its first high-rise being built in 1960. The Gold Coast boomed from the 1980s onwards with skyscraper construction. This era was defined by the city's ‘white-shoe brigade’ developers, neon lights, and organised crime, particularly the yakuza and the Russian mafia. The late 20th century saw the city's tourism diversify with theme park openings, and in the early 21st century became an international destination for film production.

Yubitsume (指詰め; 'finger shortening') or otoshimae is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology and remorse to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger. In modern times, it is primarily performed by the yakuza, a collection of Japanese criminal organizations.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a group of assassins (Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Madsen) and their leader, Bill (David Carradine), after they try to kill her and her unborn child. Her journey takes her to Tokyo, where she battles the yakuza.

Kill Bill was inspired by 1970s exploitation films and martial arts films. It features an anime sequence by Production I.G and a black-and-white sequence. Volume 1 is the first of two Kill Bill films made in a single production; Volume 2 was released six months later. They were originally set for a single release, but the film, with a runtime of over four hours, was divided in two. This meant Tarantino did not have to cut scenes.