Judgment in the Shadows

The subterranean council hall of the Takahashi syndicate was older than modern Tokyo itself. Built during the Meiji era beneath the original foundation stones of the Shinjuku fortress, the chamber was lined with dark Japanese cypress pillars that had absorbed the smoke of ceremonial incense for generations. Carved into the granite friezes along the ceiling were the ancient maxims of the samurai code—duty, loyalty, and retribution. As the thirty-two district…