The , sometimes referred to as the , is the second-largest yakuza

Yakuza

, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

 group in Japan with an estimated 20,000 members.

The Sumiyoshi-kai is a confederation of smaller gangs. Its current sosai, or president, is Shigeo Nishiguchi. Structurally, the Sumiyoshi-kai differs from its main rival, the Yamaguchi-gumi

Yamaguchi-gumi

is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....

. The Sumiyoshi-kai, as a federation, has a looser chain of command and although Nishiguchi is still the supreme Godfather, he shares some powers with several other men.

The group has a complex history, with numerous name changes along the way. It was founded in 1958 as the Minato-kai (港会) by Shigesaku Abe who was the 3rd socho, or supreme head (socho) of the Sumiyoshi-ikka

Sumiyoshi-ikka

The Sumiyoshi-ikka is an affiliate of the Sumiyoshi-kai yakuza syndicate, based in Tokyo, Japan. Its current leader is Hareaki Fukuda, who is also the kaicho of the Sumiyoshi-kai.-Successive sochos:...

. Yoshimitsu Sekigami who is 4th socho of Sumiyoshi-ikka renamed it to Sumiyoshi-kai. It was received the control of power, and dissolved in 1965.

In 1969, the group was rebuilt as a union, the Sumiyoshi-rengo by Masao Hori who was 5th socho of Sumiyoshi-ikka. It tried to make it in Sumiyoshi-rengokai (住吉連合会) of the organization that united it in 1982, and Hori assumed the president (kaicho). Chief director Ryoji Kawaguchi assumed the kaicho, and Hori was promoted to sosai

Sosai

The Japanese word Sosai means roughly "president" or "director-general". It is used in several ways:-Political:*Sosai, or president of the government, was only once the title of the imperial prime minister: from 1 January 1868 The Japanese word Sosai (Japanese:総裁, "Sōsai") means roughly...

, or president in 1988. Kawaguchi died of illness in May 1990, and Hori died of illness in October of the same year.

Shigeo Nishiguchi, born in 1929, assumed the 6th socho of Sumiyoshi-ikka and kaicho of this group in February, 1991. At that time, it was again renamed the Sumiyoshi-kai. Chief director Hareaki Fukuda assumed the kaicho, and Nishiguchi was promoted to sosai in June 1998. Fukuda assumed the 7th socho of the Sumiyoshi-ikka on April 17, 2005.
Sumiyoshi

Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka

is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It is located on the southern part of the Uemachi Plateau, in the southern most part of Osaka City, and is separated from Sakai City's Sakai-ku and Kita-ku by the Yamato River...

 is a ward in the city of Osaka.

On the morning of Monday the 5th of January 2007, boss Ryoichi Sugiura was shot in his car in Tokyo. Within hours the offices of the Yamaguchi-gumi

Yamaguchi-gumi

is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....

were fired upon in retribution.