Akira Hojo
Context
Sanctuary was a successful crime/thriller manga , which ran from 1995 to 1997. It was translated in the US during the late 1990s.
Background
- Real Name: Don Hojo.
- Marital Status: Single.
- Known Relatives: Mother, father (deceased).
- Group Affiliation: Sagara Alliance, The Yakuza.
- Base Of Operations: Japan.
- Height: 5’8”? Weight: 160lbs?
- Eyes: Brown Hair: Black
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History
The two young men Akira Hojo and Chiaki Asami vowed to transform the destiny of Japan, by any means. As children they survived the horrors of the Cambodian killing fields together. They weren’t pleased with what they saw when they returned home to Japan.
They would walk different paths. One would topple the Japanese Parliament to become the President and the other would topple the Yakuza Crime Syndicate to be it’s new Patriarch. How it went should be read in the excellent books of Sanctuary totaling around 3000 pages !
Description
Akira Hojo is a slenderly built man of average height in his 20s. Usually clad in the very best clothing he is extremely attractive.
Hojo gives a very strong impression on people by his mere presence and he’s adored by women wherever he is. Even though he has a strong aura his opponents underestimate his capacities. Seemingly of limitless energy he inspires his surroundings.
Personality
Hojo is extremely charismatic. He can sway an opponent into an ally by carefully planned speech and gestures. He is a most excellent speaker and knows exactly how to put each word and how to read people.
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Hojo never ever shows excitement of any kind, but instead is always cool, even in situations of violence or brutal death. An opponent has no way of reading his thoughts and his toughness impresses even the most hardened characters.
He always radiates a strong sense of total and cool control, relaxation and physical beauty. His henchmen adore him as do former enemies. Hojo is also extremely persistent and has a powerful will bending for nothing. In other words he is ruthless, but peculiarly at the same time a good man wanting the best for the Japanese people and his loved ones of which only few exist.
Other traits
He knows exactly how to intimidate an opponent or seduce a woman and always seems to be several steps before his opponents as he is also superbly intelligent. His leading capacity is also excellent and he usually deducts the next moves of his opponents.
He cares deeply about his friend Chiaki Asami and the bonds they share nothing could ever brake. He also has deep feeling for deputy police chief Ishihara.
He is mentally extremely strong and his only weaknesses are his feelings towards Chiaki Asami and to the upholding of the Yakuza honour codes. Although he is ruthless when need be, he also has a big heart and wants every pupil in Japan to have the best of lives. Well… this is a very complex man, even inspiring to read about !
DC Universe History
The Yakuza of Sanctuary are very influential which probably wouldn’t fit very well in the normal DC Universe. The Sanctuary characters would probably do best in a no-supers campaign. Using the rules for Yakuza Rank the players could actually play Yakuza members !
The Yakuza of Sanctuary
The Yakuza in the Sanctuary comics are very organized criminal gangs with strong beliefs in Yakuza honour. The country of Japan is divided into geographical areas with one syndicate controlling one area. The syndicates themselves have several thousand members each and are all very hierarchical.
The entire Yakuza is supervised by the Patriarch and each syndicate is controlled by a Don. Under the Dons are the Heads who control City-sized fractions of the syndicate. The Heads are in control of their city’s Gang Bosses and Henchmen. Each big city have local offices for the different syndicates. For details of members in each section, see the new advantage : Yakuza Rank.
The syndicates wage war against each other when one side believes it can win, i.e. the power balance is tipped to one side : bigger syndicates ’eat‘ smaller ones. Each war usually ends with one side surrendering or the leader of the syndicate gets assassinated. Each syndicate always want to increase their syndicates’ prestige and power.
The Yakuza of Japan as a total has a total annual income of 7 trillion yen and it has a total of 90 000 members. The three biggest syndicates Kobe Sannoh, Sagara Alliance and Kyushu Alliance have a total of 60 000 of these members. The Yakuza of course gets its money through illegal activities such as ’protection services’ and drug dealings.
The usual deal also is that the smaller syndicates pay an annual tribute to the more powerful syndicates.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Akira Hojo (At the end of Sanctuary)
| Dex: 03 | Str: 03 | Bod: 04 | Motivation: Resp of Power/Power lust |
| Int: 09 | Wil: 09 | Min: 08 | Occupation: Yakuza Sagara Don |
| Inf: 06 | Aur: 07 | Spi: 09 | Resources {or Wealth}: 17 |
| Init: 018 | HP: 055 |
Skills:
Charisma: 09, Detective: 08, Thief: 05, Vehicles (land): 03, Weaponry: 04
Advantages:
Attractive, Buddy (Chiaki Asami), Connoisseur, Free access (yakuza don), Gift of Gab, Iron Nerves, Leadership, Luck, Notoriety, Omni-connection, Scholar (The Yakuza, survival), Assistant (Mr. Tokai; not very silent !), Yakuza Rank (Grand Don).
Connections:
The Gong Clan (high), Kobe Sannoh Association (high), Kanto Takeyama Alliance (high), Kyushu Alliance (high), Okinawa Alliance (high), The Police (low), Sagara Alliance (high), State Bank (high), Street (high), Underworld (high), Yakuza Patriarch Ichijima (high, earlier only).
Drawbacks:
Public Identity, Watched (The Yakuza & The Police, Med, National), CIA-Changing the destiny of Japan and reaching ’Sanctuary‘.
New rule – Yakuza Rank
Cost: variable
The Yakuza Rank advantage is a measure of the characters status within the Japanese organized crime syndicates of Yakuza. It determines how much power and influence a character has within the organization and how many members he commands over. There is also a limitation on the number of connections a Yakuza member can have.
The Yakuza Rank advantage determines the maximum number of allowed connections ; the higher the Rank, the more influential and connected he can be. Also the higher the Rank, the more Yakuzas he commands.
There are some generally useful connections for a Yakuza to choose from and which are divided into two types : the Yakuza Syndicate connections and the Japanese political/business connections. All other connections not of this type are handled as usual. A Yakuza of a lesser Rank will usually follow the orders of one with a higher Yakuza Rank.
Japanese political/business connections include : Business Community, The Government, National Police, State Bank, Street and Underworld.
Japanese crime syndicates include : Eastern Japan Domon Association, Kanto Takeyama Alliance, Kobe Sannoh Association, Kyushu Alliance, Okinawa Alliance, The Patriarch and Sagara Alliance.
Foreign crime syndicates include : The Russian Mafia, Hong Kong Syndicates, Taiwan Syndicates and the Gong Clan.
| Rank Grade | Cost | Maximum connections |
|---|---|---|
| Henchman | 0 HP | 1 low-level syndicate, no political A Henchman is just the ordinary thug-like member of the Yakuza with little power. These are the troops that make all the dirty work of the syndicates. Most members are of this rank. |
| Gang Boss | 5 HP | 1 High-level syndicate, 1 political (any level) A Gang boss is a leader of up to 100 henchmen of a local fraction of the actual syndicate. These are somewhat more connected and have the potential of rising to higher positions. |
| Head | 10 HP | 3 syndicates (any level), 2 political (any level) A Head is the leader of the entire City section of a syndicate with control of up to 1000 henchmen and 10 Gang Bosses. Many Heads are known in public to be Yakuza leaders. |
| Don | 20 HP | 5 syndicates (any level), 3 political (any level) A Don is the Big Boss of the actual Syndicate with total control of all its members in the country and can have up to 20 Heads under him, controlling a total of up to 20 000 henchmen. All Dons are know in public to be the leaders of their Yakuza faction. A Don and all ranks above also get a special -1CS OV/RV on all their character interaction attempts through the sheer force of intimidation and influence held by the Don. Applies only if target knows that the Don is a Yakuza leader, of course. |
| Grand Don | 30 HP | 7 syndicates (any level), 4 political (any level) A Grand Don is a Don who has advanced through large-scale alliances with other syndicates and who has the most say of all these syndicates. A Grand Don can potentially control up to 50 000 henchmen throughout all the allied syndicates. |
| Patriarch | 40 HP | No limits to connections of any kind The Patriarch is the founder and leader of the entire Yakuza. He has total control over every Syndicate and all lesser Ranks bow down to his orders. No yakuza ever goes against the wishes of the patriarch who controls approximately 90 000 henchmen in the world. |
New Drawback – Watched/Hunted/Stalked
As Described elsewhere. Described as Type (’watcher‘, frequency, range).
Examples of use: A crime boss of a big city would have this as Watched (Criminal Syndicates, High, City) as the other crime bosses (of the City) would keep a constant (high frequency) eye on the activities of him (Watching only).
A wanted, but very evasive criminal (player character) could have this as Hunted (Police, Med, Country) as he’s constantly being pursued (but not in every adventure is medium frequency) by his country’s (range is Country) law-enforcement agencies (Hunter is the police).
Source of Character: Sanctuary, Manga Comics.