Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter
Jul 2010 · Kodansha USA
4.8star
42 reviewsreport
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216
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About this ebook
Yakuza Moon is the shocking, yet intensely moving memoir of 37-yearold Shoko Tendo, who grew up the daughter of a yakuza boss. Tendo lived her life in luxury until the age of six, when her father was sent to prison, and her family fell into terrible debt. Bullied by classmates who called her "the yakuza girl," and terrorized at home by a father who became a drunken, violent monster after his release from prison, Tendo rebelled. A regular visitor to nightclubs at the age of 12, she soon became a drug addict and a member of a girl gang. By the age of 15 she found herself sentenced to eight months in a juvenile detention center.
Adulthood brought big bucks and glamour when Tendo started working as a bar hostess during Japan’s booming bubble economy of the nineteen- eighties. But among her many rich and loyal patrons there were also abusive clients, one of whom beat her so badly that her face was left permanently scarred. When her mother died, Tendo plunged into such a deep depression that she tried to commit suicide twice.
Tendo takes us through the bad times with warmth and candor, and gives a moving and inspiring account of how she overcame a lifetime of discrimination and hardship. Getting tattooed, from the base of her neck to the tips of her toes, with a design centered on a geisha with a dagger in her mouth, was an act that empowered her to start making changes in her life. She quit her job as a hostess. On her last day at the bar she looked up at the full moon, a sight she never forgot. The moon became a symbol of her struggle to become whole, and the title of the book she wrote as an epitaph for herself and her family.
Adulthood brought big bucks and glamour when Tendo started working as a bar hostess during Japan’s booming bubble economy of the nineteen- eighties. But among her many rich and loyal patrons there were also abusive clients, one of whom beat her so badly that her face was left permanently scarred. When her mother died, Tendo plunged into such a deep depression that she tried to commit suicide twice.
Tendo takes us through the bad times with warmth and candor, and gives a moving and inspiring account of how she overcame a lifetime of discrimination and hardship. Getting tattooed, from the base of her neck to the tips of her toes, with a design centered on a geisha with a dagger in her mouth, was an act that empowered her to start making changes in her life. She quit her job as a hostess. On her last day at the bar she looked up at the full moon, a sight she never forgot. The moon became a symbol of her struggle to become whole, and the title of the book she wrote as an epitaph for herself and her family.
Ratings and reviews
4.8
42 reviews
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March 13, 2023
Wow! I loved this book. Really interesting but also very confronting. How some women are literally fighting for their lives every day. And still it keeps happening. Thank you Shoko Tendo for sharing your story
Aidana Trachtenberg
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October 2, 2019
One of the best biography/autobiography book I've read so far. Each chapter tells a vivid story and how the author overcame her fears and uphill battles that she dealt within her life
1 person found this review helpful
A Google user
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January 9, 2019
The details of Shoko's life are unbelievable! Thrilling yet captivating, so many emotions played out while reading this book. Definitely recommend it!
2 people found this review helpful
About the author
Yakuza Moon is SHOKO TENDO’s first book. She currently lives in Tokyo with her baby daughter, and is working on her second book, a lighthearted look at the life of a single mother.
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