市川市蔵 as Hotei Ichiemon 布袋市右衛門 from Set of Five Great Men (Gonin otoko soroi no yukata) 五人男揃浴衣

These men lived in a world of their own, with rigid rules and ideas of honor and obligation. Generally called yakuza (often translated as "gamblers" but more akin to gangsters), they preferred the more poetic toseinin ("wanderers, simply passing through this life") in referring to themselves. Some provided protection for commoners against corrupt or inept officials, but others were simply predators.