Yakuza Tattoo Tier List (2K Sub Special) 

Since I discuss the correlations between the irezumi and the characters that bear them (which includes massive spoilers), here are the timestamps for the entries I covered so you can avoid any endgame spoilers for the games you've yet to play: Yakuza 1/Kiwami - 2:44 Yakuza 2/Kiwami 2 - 6:34 Yakuza 3 - 9:55 Yakuza 4 - 13:54 Yakuza 5 - 16:07 Yakuza 0 - 20:01 Yakuza 6 - 25:56 Yakuza 7/Yakuza: Like a Dragon - 26:52 Link to the tier list: tiermaker.com/create/yakuza-series-tattoos-638936 Cheers!

Ichiban’s tattoo is also a sneaky meta joke as the dragonfish is literally Like a Dragon.

"You can't just go to an artist and threaten them into giving you a dragon" Meanwhile Ryuji Goda: 🧍‍♂

The fact that you can't just have a dragon on your back without doing anything special is explained in Yakuza 7, where Ichiban tells Nanba that he would've loved to have a dragon but he had to have a koi dragon because he was not worthy of a dragon

Tendo's dragon tattoo is a reference to blue dragon boss from first Dragon Quest game, where dragon, who's the last boss, is also a blue coloured one. The whole Yakuza: Like a Dragon has tons of references and easter eggs to Dragon Quest games, and making Tendo being the last boss as a dragon makes sense.

I like sajimas tattoo, the faded tiger seems fitting for his character after 4

I love the escalation from 1-3. Firstly a creature meant to become a dragon, a dragon equal in power and finally one of the only creatures that can surpass a dragon

Sneaky detail for Kuze's irezumi - its left pinky is hidden by the scroll and desk.

I wish we had seen the tattoos of Kazama, Kashiwagi and Sera.

As an aside, Momotaro has a cultural connotation that'd work specifically with Awano's childhood. Assuming he's in his 40s~mid 50s, he'd have been around for the end of World War 2, and Momotaro was used as a big propaganda story, being about a group of relatively weak heroes all coming together to defeat a foreign invading force and bring back treasures for his family. Taihei Association specifically was a family that worked on Extortion for the Dojima Family, being the primary source of a lot of their steady income in the bubble era, with the Kenno Clan being the muscle and Shibusawa Family being more subtle and handling the big deals.

I mostly agree with this list, but Kuze's Enma is an easy S for me. Not only because the motive of the Judge of the Netherworld is so fitting, but the design, too. It has a lot of amazing details that really add up while not underwhelming the presence of the central piece, Yama/Enma. No odd coloring either... all fits in place, something that it's really hard to pull in on full body irezumi. I'd like to point the subtle presence of Ox-Head and Horse Face, Gozu and Mezu in japanese folklore, the guardians of hell who are tasked to bring upon Enma the souls that are to be judged before he dictates sentence. This plays a lot with the symbolism for several reasons. (SEE SPOILERS BELOW) The first is pretty obvious: The number 3. The first time Kiryu interacts with Kuze, he is at the center, surrounded by Awano and Shibusawa. At this point on the story, it heavily reinforces hierarchy and the fact that Kuze was the lieutenant that first aimed for the captain promotion, as well as he being the veteran of the 3. Awano still refers to him as Aniki, despite having the same rank. Shibusawa on his last fight also let to know the player that he "learned" something from Kuze. That added to the amount of ink on his back, Kuze is probably the oldest of the three lieutenant and the first of them to climb on the ranks of the Dojima family. It also plays with the theme of Kiryu being dragged to him. In every boss fight with him, Kiryu never wants to meet Kuze himself, and tries whatever he can to avoid him, but to no avail. Just as someone who struggles before entering to court, actually afraid of being judged. That, however, changes in the 4th fight, where Kiryu shouts his name in rage, and punches Kuze without hesitation. He's finally before the judgement he has to face, and it is after this fight that Kuze adknowledges him as "a true Yakuza". This is where the hammer falls. However, in order to keep living or dying, Enma has still to clear a name out of the list before releasing their soul, and that's exactly what the 5th fight is about. Just the two of them. Kuze has dictated sentence for Kiryu - he is worth of being a Yakuza to his eyes. However, it is still to the accused to accept this fate without remorse. Kiryu finally chooses between the civilian path that Kazama wanted for him, or for him to descend into the underworld that is the Yakuza world as Kuze has suggested him to. The momment Kiryu agrees to this, his name is erased. Enma cannot judge or pursue someone whose name is not on his list. That way, Kuze fades, to never be seen again or know what will happen to him, just like a momentary nightmare. Kiryu is the only owner of his own fate, and from now on, no one shall pass sentence to him, so the neverending chase of Enma is no more.

Ichiban's dragon fish represents "Growth," something he not only does narratively through the game but mechanically as well. It's fitting that this is a trait also attributed to the Dragon Quest Hero class as well, since they start out weak, but grow monstrously strong by the end.

If we are to take into account how an Irezumi is not chosen, then we can basically surmise that whoever made Kiryu's Irezumi was SO STRUCK by this man's aura, that he felt it prudent to make the man a Dragon, regardless of his standing in the world. AndItTurnsOutHeWasAbsolutelyRight. In this context, we can also surmise that whoever made Nishiki's piece wasn't entirely convinced that Nishiki would be able to become a Dragon, but the person who made Ichiban's piece did have faith that he would eventually reach those Tori Gates. ((I've also only actually played Yakuza 0, so I'm mostly speculating, here.))

Ichiban tattoo somehow gave me the biggest impact of "From Zero to Hero" He started as geeky child in adult's body. He got reality checked real hard, giving him existential crisis of who he is. Slowly but sure, he gained so many friends in a short time because of his optimism and cheerful attitude. He learned betrayal and lost someone as reality check, almost turned down to a darker path until the veteran wakes him up. Learning from the veterans, he gained confidence in his experience. Not only strong in body, but also make him act smartly. On the end of his journey, he fulfilled his destiny because he uphold the ideal he shared with someone. Brings me to tears watching him grew so fast, even for 1 game. 😢

As somebody who's drawn most/some of the yakuza tattoos, my favourite is Nishikiyama's tattoo, because of the background of it, and the fun I had drawing it!

I kinda disagree with your reasoning for Saejima. While his character no longer fits the violent nature of a Tiger, I think that's the point now, alongside Majima's character changes as well, actually. In a case of iron sharpening iron, both Majima's Hannya and Saejima's Tiger now both represent what they have risen above. Majima is far from his coinflip personality he seemed to be in Yakuza 1-3, and in the same boat Saejima has found peace and tranquility upon reuniting with his oath brother.

What i like about the tattoos in the yakuza series is that the characters use them as a way to tell you what their spirit animal is like and its meaning, my favorite one is majima's tattoo

I think the genius of Iwami's piece is that, like Ryuji, he most likely strong-armed his way into getting it. With the symbolism behind the creature, and the knowledge that Iwami sees himself as something of a lost heir trying to claim the Yomei throne and the name Kurusu Takeru from his father, I think it's pretty likely that he sees himself as the fated true leader descending from the heavens to lead the Yomei into an era of superiority over all of Japan. He strikes me as a very interesting mix of Ryuji and Shibusawa in that way: a man who somehow came close to attaining dangerous levels of power through a mixture of luck and cruel cunning, but he acts like every part of Yakuza 6 leading up to his father's funeral was all part of the master plan, even though it clearly wasn't. Maybe I'm seeing more than there is, but it upsets me that Yakuza 6 has been so dismissed by a lot of the fans and even Sega itself, what with *certain recent events*, so I've sort of taken it upon myself to defend it along with Yakuza 3.

A note about Nishikiyama's koi irezumi is in his name as well as that of the koi in question. His surname consists of the kanji for a brocade or fine clothing - 錦, the same as in the nishiki koi in question and the final kanji being that of a mountain, yama - 山. With this, his name and nature embodies his irezumi perfectly as he is the colored carp, a nishiki koi (錦鯉) making its way up the mountain to become a dragon, or at least that was the original path laid before him before the events of the first game.

Regarding Lee Wen Hai's tattoo, it's very fitting for him to wear Guan Yu on his back as a nod to his heritage. Guan Yu is popularly worshipped in the Chinese community by both the common folk and the Chinese triads. While it is not a traditional subject for Japanese irezumi, it's nice to see something different once in a while. I agreed with a lot of your ideas. Great video overall!

i think sajimas is actually a great representation of his character as the lack of a background showed he didn’t have the time to get it filled and increased like majima as he got locked up and for all intents and purposes he was a ferocious when he got it but as he aged and his tattoo faded he never got it furthered or touched it up

I also like that Daigo has the dragon as a sorta thing of even after kiryu is 'gone' his father figure of sorts still holds such a powerful place in his heart and life, and Daigo is always trying to live up to his mentor and father figure

For me, Minami irezumi easily S tier for the design and A tier on the meaning. It fits his nature of the “new” wave of yakuza members, his fighting style is a mix of eastern and western style. Also him having tattoos on his chest in addition to his irezumi reflect that fact. And i just like the uniqueness of it, never knew skulls fits that well in the traditional eastern styles tattoos.

I'd like to think that the way Ryuji's dragon is positioned, it literally is meant to represent that a single dragon stands above all

When it comes to Saejima's tattoo, it really feels like it's meant to be a "judging a book by it's cover" situation. People in 4 and 5 constantly assume Saejima is a hulking brute that killed 18 men with no compassion, a ferocious tiger, while he's really a deep and stoic individual who only did such a deed from undying loyalty to someone close to him. While a irezumi like a Tiger could have the connotation of being violent and bloodthirsty, you could still apply the ideas of being a tiger to Saejima. A deeply misunderstood animal that, while threatening in appearance, can still be caring and protective of those surrounding it, using it's strength for the betterment of others. Maybe I'm bias because Saejima easily became my favorite character because of his character in 4 and 5, but I think his Tiger piece really plays into his ideals of protecting those less fortunate than him with his overwhelming strength, a tiger and it's young.

Fun fact about tendo tattoo it's actually a reference to dragon quest in the art box of dragon quest there is a blue dragon so yeah tendo tattoo is just a reference

Imo Awano's is one of my favorite. You said it doesnt resonate with you but it fits Awano perfectly. In some versions, Momotaro is extremely reckless and lazy but highly proficient at his job as a samurai, and the tattoo has extremely flashy colors and is definitely more cartoony than ominous. This resembles Awano's descent into living a relaxed life and spending his years on women, partying and comfort. Like Momotaro he was extremely good at his job, but he became lazy and reckless with his habits which made him stunt his full potential. Majima even says after his fight that his fists could have taken him to the top, but awano's vices hindered him. Momotaro never went all out until his final battle, just like awano. Awano awakened his full strength and ended up shattering a concrete wall in a single punch. So the tattoo is definitely representative and fits Awano's personality

Now that you’ve done this, what are the chances of doing a ‘Yakuza/Judgement strip’ tier list?

7:00 I assume you meant original games cuz Majima shows his tattoo at the final battle of Majima everywhere

Ryuji's Dragon is just nuts, amazing design

Looking forward to see more in the next two installments (gaiden and 8) On a side note, it's weird how sawashiro's didn't make an appearance in the main series. Both sawashiros have pretty different motivations but the tattoo meaning fits both characters imo

Great list. My favorite tattoo is definitely Mine's kirin, and I'm glad that you appreciate it as well. In fact, it's such a beautiful design that I hope they never replicate another kirin for a new character, just because Mine's is so special.

Also, the sheer rush of adrenaline I felt when I heard that initial reaction to Aizawa's piece was amazing. I'm very excited to see what your opinions on Yakuza 5's story are, as it gets basically no criticism from other Yakuza content creators besides "haha twist final boss" and "Only children believe in dragons."

Such a good video! Fair tier list, completely agree

Congrats! Happy to see a fellow european grow (nothing against non-european but most RU-vidrs are from the USA so it's refreshing), I love your channel and I'm happy to see you go bigger and bigger

I would like to argue for why Tendo's tattoo needed to be a dragon. It's actually tied to Ichiban's journey. To explain it further, we actually have to look at the significance of Goda Ryuji. So, Goda Ryuji was meant to be the main person to rival Kiryu. While Goda doesn't end up winning against Kiryu in the end, the fact that Goda was given the Gold one, which is the Golden Dragon god that rules the void (think of the 4 Auspicious Beasts, then consider that Golden Dragon being the one that rules over them), then it signifies that Goda had the potential to surpass Kiryu and be basically the strongest character in the whole franchise (had he not "died(?)" in Yakuza 2). Now, considering that Goda had "died(?)" in Yakuza 2, they needed a person who holds Goda's level of strength/significance in the story of Yakuza 7. Reason for this is, Ichiban, as an incomplete dragon himself, needed to have been able to hold his own against both Kiryu, the Dragon of the Tojo clan, and Tendo, the Dragon of the Omi Alliance, to both prove himself as a Dragon in his own right as well as his own man. Not to mention, you can kinda see through Tendo how Goda's strength would've developed had he been able to survive to the time of Yakuza 7

correction for minami's bit: skull tattoos are traditional in Japanese tattooing, its called Zugaikotsu, here's what it means - "There is actually a more in-depth meaning to the skull tattoo designs than just anger, fear, danger or death - in fact it was not originally conceived as a symbol to represent any of these things. It was instead originally used to represent the symbol of “great change” and “celebration of a great life”. In analysing what the skull traditionally meant in ancient society we discover that it was related to the happening of great changes and an acceptance and embrace of our mortality “embracing the new”. The skull is a symbol used to celebrate and show respect for people who have passed. It’s highly probable that it’s association with death grew because of the fact that death is the greatest change that we will experience. Today it is extremely unfortunate that the majority of the general public does not understand the true meaning of the skull, and when they see it they automatically relate the symbol to negativity. A lot of conservative people loathe the design because of its perceived meaning; however, if they were aware of the true meaning behind the design their views might be totally different." The snake wrapped around it with the snake symbolizing new skin, a change in life, it means the person went through great change in their life and is happy with who they are Minami became a yakuza and was proud of it and likes the glamourous side to it, he's happy with his new life

I really dig the colorscheme and the flowers of Nakaharas piece, underrated Irezumi and character imo.

amazing video, although i have two "statements" on specific aspects: 1. i personally disagree with your assertion about Nishiki's tattoo representing him living in the shadow of Kiryu. my interpretation comes from what Utaboori had to say about Nishiki when talking about the tattoos, and to me represents Nishki's strife to become a man/yakuza in the same way Kiryu had by the end of zero. throughout the plot of one, especially with the added details given in Kiwami, to me it shows Nishiki fighting and overcoming the river, to finally become the dragon though his sacrifice at the end of 1. Having him become the dragon he truly was, and showing the only time him and Kiryu were truly equals on that level. 2. I'm curious on your opinion on Jo Sawashiro's Koi dragon, which is technically (if i remember correctly) only seen in RGG online. overall, amazing video man, and congrats on 2K. I'm very excited for more content. (Also, make that 3 hour Mine video you joked about, you know we all want it.)

Ryuji's Irezumi is one of the very best imo. The Story behind it, being a family heirloom added so much to the piece.

In China, Guan Yu tattoo is believed to require powerful people to bear it, otherwise it can bring bad luck or even death, Lee also having two dragon cross his shoulders to his arms, dragon tattoo that cross shoulders is also believed to require powerful people to bear it, otherwise it can bring bad luck or even death

The Viper of Okinawa. One of my Favorite Characters. Might be a simple design but on point.

Awano's irezumi is absolutely beautiful, S tier on design alone.

i strongly agree with Watase part... He had an interesting and cool characteristics but the story did him really dirty Or really any character in Yakuza 5(aside from one certain dude) Great video

The art is truly something to behold

thanks for the great video man, let's make it to atleast 10 million subs

I like to think that Iwami's tattoo is how he views himself but in reality he's just a immature child Like you said righteous isn't the way to describe Iwami at all. But in his head he probably thinks that's the definition for him

Damn someone made this video, cool.🎉

I’m so fucking hyped for this video

Can't wait for that yakuza 5 video!

Honestly, if you think about the themes and what he represents, Aizawa was the best final boss Yakuza 5 could have had. It's only if you look at what led up to the fight that things kinda start falling apart. (Also I love the black koi design visually, it just looks really cool)

Regarding what you said ahout aizawa. While watching i realized that aizawa would be better as a boss lore wise if he had a different role at the beginning, he was a good last boss that really fited wity the whole theme of the game, but they tried a bit too hard and forgot that it doesnt really make sense that he's written like that, if he only Just had a different role as maybe a omi guy helping watase and katsuya then it would maybe make more sense

man you put Shimano’s tiger on B just because he’s a villain ? The tiger is incredible

How could you possibly forget the best tatto of them all, Muroto from yakuza 3s rikiya substory!

i love that it kinda makes sense the overuse of the dragon, as its the main yakuza simbol of strength and every yakuza leader with ego and some strength would want that on his back

good to see you're growing, you make good content bonus points for actually trying to pronounce names correctly lol

you're not actually ranking them based on their intricacy but rather because you like the character more

Majima easily is my favourite

The first time I heard of the red carp myth was Pokemon

I love Ichiban tatto easy S tier for me. It look amazing, and the symbolism of the Dragonfish being a Koi thinking it's a dragon, is really fitting for Ichiban delusion

i feel like the symbolism in iwami’s tattoo is that he’s trying to be a yakuza, which is why the tattoo is depicted as benevolent, when thats not fitting for iwami at all, its literally what heizo said to him. i also read somewhere that apparently the bai ze has literally no correlation to the dragon, which symbolizes how iwami means absolutely nothing to kiryu. also, the bai ze eats dreams, which i guess is fitting for iwami, however the bai ze eats bad dreams and evil experiences, so i guess that probably doesnt correlate.

Something that i would like to add about tendo's piece IS that the blue dragon is a pretty popular enemy in the dragon quest saga

One of the substories of yakuza 3 has a yakuza shows his irezumi to Kiryu and Rikiya. It depicts a large heart with the words "love" inside. 😂

Honestly I just love the design and colouring of kiryus dragon and majimas hannya tattoos.

Can you please make video about similarities between Yakuza 3 and Yakuza 6? Like, they are really close to each other by the story

great video ,but in my opinion you could've at least mention that Rikiya's viper has an unfinished eye wich i think it ads depth to the character and the irezumi but i understand it could've made the video too long

ALL criminal undergrounds in East and South East Asia have ink. Even Cambodians. I know a guy with a massive back tat of Naga.

hey hope you Can this but iam not sure if you're only including story characters only but you missed a tattoo in yakuza 3, there's a substory about rikiya tattoo and during the substory there's a part where a yakuza guy shows his tattoo to kiryu and rikiya

Replaying 0 I gotten more appreciation for Shibusawa. I noticed his name popping up more when you going through the story. Its weird how I want a game for him because while I think hes cool. Kuze overshadowed him hard. Kinda fitting how hes portrayed as the guy in the shadows. Now granted I dont see that idea coming since I dont think RGG wants to make a villain protagonist and I dont want him to be sympathetic I want to appreciate him more as the villain. Come to think of it hes a bit more like Nishiki and a little bit of Ichiban. Essentially a Koi wanting to become a Dragon but clearly making it up however he was beaten back down his transformation not lasting long at all. Plus I like the idea of the character of who wants to be known but another legendary figure by existing prevents his own legend to be born. Hmmmmm maybe he should have been the one to get the first dragonfish or the second Koi tattoo.

That was impressive kazuma chan 🎉

watase likes to fight strong opponents but hes homorable and has no interest in sneaky bs i respect that i think his tatoo suits him

Hi man, at what tier would you put shishido tattoo?

I get having alot of grievances with 5s story but I think your brushing off of Aizawas tattoo altogether is unfair. Despite the sloppiness of his presence in the game as a whole, the koi is one of the most telling parts of his character. It represents his role as the relentless dreamer that faces Kiryu at the end of his journey, tying him thematically to Nishiki in his relentless search for power that he doesn't truly understand the weight of. It's black colouration also puts a focus on overcoming great adversity, moreso than the other colours. This ties both to his own final obstacle, being Kiryu himself, and overcoming the dream his father has been trying to force onto him while he's more occupied by simply wanting to be seen as the best, rather than just being handed the Tojo and Omi for nothing In general I get if you don't like Aizawa but brushing off his irezumi because of that I just found kinda odd, banger video otherwise I love your stuff

came back to this just to suggest a sub special, maybe for your next one you could rank all the recieve you remixes, since there's so many and you could always go back to it after 10 years to update it lol

Bro, who's this IKEA guy, oh wait it's Rikiya

minami's tattoo is fantastic, i'd love it get it eventually

10 YEAR JOINT :O

I think you really did Shibusawa and Tendo's tattoos dirty, because they aren't just plain old dragon, but they are both the Azure Dragon (Seiryu), which is the king of all dragons and one of the four Chinese mythological beasts. It's certainly relevant to Shibusawa's character, given that it also represents the East and Spring, as opposed to Kiryu's Ouryu, which represents the center of things. It reflects how Kiryu goes on to become a legendary yakuza while Shibs is completely cast aside and forgotten. The latter's tattoo also lacks a pearl which Kiryu's has, which symbolises its authority. This reflects how Shibusawa wants authority and to create a legacy and Kiryu later makes one for himself. As for Tendo, I haven't played LAD yet so I can't really comment on his. That's a brief analysis of its meaning, but I think you should give them more credit than just "another dragon."

I think you're underselling Saejima and Ryuji. For Saejima, while you say it doesn't track with his character after 4, I think that's a strong metaphor. Saejima is someone haunted by the way he acted in the past, something he can never be rid of, even after being exonerated of his crimes. It's something Saejima will wear forever, just like the permanent nature of a tattoo. For Ryuji, the "one dragon" aspect is better than you make it sound. It's clear in 2 alone that his desire to be the one dragon is more Ryuji's relentless lust to lord over everyone else, and is well explained through the story, not him relying on the dragon as a crutch for that story parallel.

Hey do you have the link to the Tumblr post that you mentioned a few times

Watching this and it’s hits 18:14 hits hard because of the story in infinite wealth😢😢

You know what? Despite some of them being in C tier, I still love all of them. They got a fantastic artist for these tattoos

i actually didnt know the term irezumi and just called them tattoos so thanks to you i learned the actually pronounciation thx!! good video as always brodai

The tattoo of nishiki will always be my favorite of the yakuza series second favorite is ichiban

Momotaro is a demon slayer, and Hannya is a demon

FINALLY

Ichiban definitely earned an S Tier in Infinite Wealth

Aizawa's Koi would have been cooler if it hadn't been coloured yet, or was only beginning to traverse the Yellow River. Considering that he's still relatively young and while he may be able to fit the symbolism of the Koi, he hasn't yet earned it and even if he managed to beat Kiryu by some fluke, that would have been the easiest part of his ascension. If you did beat Kiryu and try to claim such respect or control over the clan, you would be challenged to no end, you would be tested at every step of the way more than anyone else, and a Koi who isn't nearly as cunning as Nishiki cannot even dream to meet those tests. I am convinced that Yakuza 5 was built around the Finale, but to make things fit and also set up the major skeleton of 6's plot points, they couldn't use Katsuya or Watase.

I'd argue that Saejimas Tiger is fitting due to the Irezumi meant to be hidden. Saejima got a calm appearance, but we all know his insane power when fighting

The automatic subtitles really just called Ryuji “Luigi”

Sorry for my bad language but I think that saejima should have a higher tier because tigers in Japan was known as a ferocious and violent creature and we should not forget the physical strength but after many years the tiger image shift to more friendly then ever because now it symbol's protection in war and peace and even the protector of the land so as you can see saejima shift in character resemble the image of the tiger in Japan before and after because in Yakuza 4 he tries to protect every one he love like his sister and give his life for his patriarch or in Yakuza 5 for baba or in Yakuza like a dragon were you only fight him after majima Lose some health so he come to aid his brother. sorry for rumbling so much 😅😅

i'm really looking forward to that 5's story video because as someone who has it as my least favorite entry, sometimes it feels like i'm taking crazy pills when people will harp on secret twin cia brother and rubber bullets, but just gloss over everything else about 5.

Where would Shishido’s rank?

Great list! However the only addendum I would personally make is moving the stork down to low C tier, possibly D Tier.

Kanda’s running anim was funny as hell. “HELP, they’re gonna skin me alive!!!! AAAH!”

Out of all the dragon irezumis, Ryuji's is by far the best one. Heck, I think his irezumi is the best in the series. Bonus points for it being done by a woman.

who tf is ikea, I only know Rikiya

10:04 For some reason it sounds like he's speaking gibberish. Maybe it's his voice

honestly find it funny of Awano being called one of the good guys when he shoots woman for no reason in cold blood. I feel like that is cop out and was just done for shock value alone.

So at the time I’m writing this comment ryu ga gotoku 8 is out and it promisses to be good. I haven’t played it but it seems that Ichiban might become the dragon, his irezu has been hinting him to become.