History Characters / Yakuza1

** He also collaborated on one for [[spoiler: his own son, Takashi, who had run off with a Yakuza patriarch's [[MafiaPrincess daughter.]] Said patriarch, recognising that being his daughter is ruining her life, is not completely opposed to her leaving with her boyfriend but first wanted to see if he was worthy of her. He and the Florist stage manage a scenario where Takashi had a chance to show his love for her in a dangerous situation. Takashi duly does, unknowing that both his and his gorlfriend's fathers are watching.]]

* DisappearedDad: Has a son named Takashi who doesn't even know about him, and who happens to be going out with a [[MafiaPrincess Yakuza Princess]]. Although he tells Kiryu he's ashamed of his son, he also thinks Takashi's better off without him, and can't bring himself to tell him the truth considering how long he's been absent from the kid's life.

[[folder:Lau Ka Long]]
!!! '''Voiced by:''' Shinichi Takizawa (''Yakuza'', ''Yakuza 3''), Ryuta Morikawa (''Kiwami''), Hiroki Goto (''ONLINE'', [[spoiler:''Like a Dragon'' onwards]]), Creator/JamesHoran (''Yakuza'', English version), [[spoiler:Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (''Like a Dragon'' onwards, English version)]]

* ArchEnemy: Downplayed, but Lau is surprisingly possibly Kiryu's most personal adversary given he [[spoiler: tortured him relentlessly before the events of the first game and attempted to have Rikiya killed in front of him in the third game. In ''Infinite Wealth'' the two are able to finally bury the hatchet under their new identities.]]

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:He returns in ''Yakuza 3'' only to be killed off immediately after his boss fight... Or so we thought]].

* BestServedCold: [[spoiler:Since his crushing defeat in the first game, he's been biding his time for four years until he forged a partnership with the treacherous Hamazaki to try and wreak his vengeance on Kiryu. When Kiryu defeats him yet again, he still tries to have Kiryu's friend Rikiya killed off out of spite.]]
* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler:Gets shot in the head by Joji after his defeat in the third game. He somehow manages to survive that, as revealed in ''Like a Dragon'']].
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He's only loyal to those who pay him for his triad's services. Initially hired by Shimano to kidnap Haruka for her pendant, he instead sells it to Nishiki when Shimano was "too cheap to bite". [[spoiler:However, he's also working behind Nishiki's back when he decides to keep holding Haruka hostage upon discovering who her father really is.]]

* DefeatEqualsFriendship: [[spoiler:In Infinite Wealth, when Kiryu decides to pay "Chau Ka Long" a visit the two quickly recognize each other, with Chau forcing Kiryu into a fight out of paranoia. Upon winning, Kiryu convinces him in front of [[TheQueenpin Seonhee]] that they can keep their pasts a secret, upon which Lau willingly opens up his shop to them]].

* DualWielding: Only in the first game, where he gets a pair of swords. [[spoiler: "Chau" in YLAD also has these in his Poundmates summon.]]

* HiddenAgendaVillain: His ultimate goal in the first game is to hold on to Haruka since she's "more valuable than any yakuza realizes". He refuses to explain his reasoning to Kiryu and after their fight, Kiryu immediately gets arrested by the police. Kiryu doesn't learn what he means until two chapters later [[spoiler:when he reunites with Kazama aboard Terada's yacht. Haruka's father is Kyohei Jingu, a politician whose reputation and career would be ruined if it was discovered that he had a bastard child with a woman different than the one he later married for political reasons. Thus, it can be surmised that Lau was planning to exploit that for money or power or perhaps some combination of the two.]]
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:Kiryu assumes Lau Ka Long's involved in the conflict of ''3'' because he's also trying to profit off of the Okinawa Resort Plan. Not a terrible assumption considering how in the first game, he adjusted his plans based on whatever course of action was the most profitable. However, Lau's ultimate goal in that game has nothing do with money. Instead, he aims to personally exact revenge on Kiryu for humiliating him the last time they met. Even when that fails, he tries to have his friend Rikiya killed in front of him out of spite.]]
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Sports one on the left side of his face. [[spoiler:Chau Ka Long has an identical scar.]]

** Somewhat deconstructed since later games imply that the Snake Flower Triad in Japan was only so powerful and feared under his leadership. In later games after his [[spoiler:supposed death,]] the Snake Flower Triad has devolved into more of a GoldFishPoopGang.

* {{Leitmotif}}: "Ogre Has Returned" in the third game, which gets remixed as "Ogre Has Reborn" for ''Kiwami''. [[spoiler:It also plays during the battle with Chau Ka Long in ''Infinite Wealth'', further confirming his true identity.]]

* MadeOfIron: [[spoiler:He managed to survive a bullet to the head]].

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: [[spoiler: The password to get into Chau Ka Long's shop is "Lau Chau Chau Ya". ("ya" means "shop".]]

* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:Used to be the number one student at the Dojo of White Lotus better known as Granny White. However, she kicked him and his subordinates out when they proved unwilling to change their wicked ways despite her best efforts.]]

* {{Retcon}}: [[spoiler:Like Kashiwagi, he made a cameo in Yakuza 6 via Spirit Photography. However, he turns out to be alive three years later.]]

* UnexplainedRecovery: In ''Yakuza Like a Dragon'', [[spoiler:Ichiban can meet a weapons merchant named Chau Ka Long who looks like Lau with a different hairstyle and who alludes to being in hiding from Kiryu. His identity is confirmed in ''Infinite Wealth'', where he and Kiryu end up coming to blows once again, though after winning Kiryu convinces "Chau" that as far as he and Seonhee are concerned, the past is in the past and they're just customers.]]

!!! '''Voiced by:''' Shinichi Takizawa (''Yakuza'', ''Yakuza 3''), Ryuta Morikawa (''Kiwami''), Hiroki Goto (''ONLINE''), Creator/JamesHoran (''Yakuza'', English version), [[spoiler:Creator/JohnnyYongBosch (''Like a Dragon'' onwards, English version)]]

* RecurringExtra: He makes multiple appearance throughout the franchise, but is never a major character.

* WalkingSpoiler:Much of the game is spent searching for her, and the circumstances behind her disappearance play a large role in the overall plot.

* VillainousLegacy: Up until ''4'', many events could be traced back to him. For instance, Akiyama recovered from homelessness by doing some day-trading using money from [[spoiler: the 10 billion yen Jingu laundered through the Tojo Clan after Nishiki sacrifices himself to destroy it]].

* InTheBack: [[spoiler: After his fight with Majima, Sagawa shoots him in the back while he's entrusting Majima with protecting Makoto.]]

* OldMaster: He appears in just about every game to teach the protagonists some new skills while also displaying his own mastery of unarmed self-defence techniques. He's still ''very'' physically capable by the time of ''Infinite Wealth'' despite the fact that he should be in his 80s or 90s and is even able to function as a Poundmate.

* BFG: As a DLC unit in the Majima Construction minigame in ''Kiwami 2'', he's a ranged unit carrying around a rocket launcher.

* BadBoss: Abducting and [[AttemptedRape trying to rape Yumi]] in ''Yakuza 1'' was a pretty good indicator of how little he cared about Kiryu, his own subordinate. But ''Yakuza 0'' fleshes this out even more, [[spoiler:showing that not only was he in on the FrameUp of Kiryu for a murder ''he'' signed off on, he was all too willing to give his Lieutenants free reign to utterly torment and decimate Kiryu once it became clear he wouldn't stay out of their way.]]

* TheQueenpin: Oh yes, son. Oh yes. Yayoi led the Tojo clan through one of its darkest hours, and kept the families together through sheer force of personality.

* StarterVillain: The very first person in the entire series to antagonize Kiryu by refusing to pay his debt and violently retaliating while aided by a crew of thugs. Notably, he's fought first in the prologue of the first game, 10 years before the plot properly begins.

* TheBusCameBack: After not having made an appearance in a mainline game since ''4'', he makes a short reappearance in ''Infinite Wealth'' as one of Kiryu's Memoirs of a Dragon. He's still running the clinic, but is close to retirement age, with his daughter lined up as a successor.

* AmbiguousSituation: It is not clear whether or not Kazuki is actually a Japanese man of Korean descent or whether or not [[spoiler:his {{Doppelganger}} just tied him to the organization. It doesn't help that the man who gave this information is later revealed to tbe TheMole for the Jingweon Mafia and could have easily been giving false information to better help lure all his enemies into a trap.]]

* OlderThanTheyLook: ''Infinite Wealth'' shows that he's still active as a host even after roughly 20 years, meaning he should be in his mid-late 40s at the least.

** In ''6'', Stardust has been taken over by the Korean Mob so he's no longer the owner nor does he work there. While his absence is explained, [[OutOfFocus he still nonetheless makes no appearance whatsoever compared to Yuya]] who at least makes an appearance having become a businessman after leaving the host industry. At the very least, Yuya mentions that he's planning on buying back Stardust from the Jingweon Mafia one day but as of this writing, there's no word on whether he succeeded as the subject is never brought up again in ''6'' nor any later entries in the series.

* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:He returns in ''Yakuza 3'' only to be killed off immediately after his boss fight... maybe]].

* DefeatEqualsFriendship: [[spoiler:In Infinite Wealth, when Kiryu decides to pay "Chau Ka Long" a visit the two quickly recognize each other, with Chau forcing Kiryu into a fight. Upon winning, Kiryu convinces him in front of [[TheQueenpin Seonhee]] that they can keep their pasts a secret, upon which Lau willingly opens up his shop to them]].

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Sports one on the left side of his face. [[spoiler:Chau Ka Long has an identical scar, which implies that they are somehow the same person.]]

%%* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: [[spoiler: The password to get into Chau Ka Long's shop is "Lau Chau Chau Ya". ("ya" means "shop".]]

* BaritoneOfStrength: Yuya is voiced by Creator/KentaMiyake, a voice actor known for his deep, melodious voice. He's also a decent fighter easily beating down any average Yakuza members that make trouble for Stardust.

* BloodBrothers: To Futoshi Shimano, as both are ruthless, violent, and willing to resort to any means to get whatever they want. Dojima however hates Shimano and Shimano is not above betraying him.

* BloodBrothers: To Sohei Dojima and Tsukasa Sagawa. It's more a formality as he doesn't seem to care for them that much, especially for Dojima whom he outright disapproves of (made clear in ''0''). Sagawa seems to be on better terms with him, though he says that he wouldn't give his life to save him, and it's reasonable to assume Shimano would reciprocate the feeling.

* BestFriend: Finally admits this to Kiryu during "Infinite Wealth," causing most of his actions in that game getting Kiryu some needed resolution.

* ShipperOnDeck: He was really expecting Kiryu and Sayama to hook up after the events of ''2'' but after the prologue of ''3'', they simply part ways on amicable terms to pursue their dreams.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: [[ZigzaggedTrope Zigzagged]]. Chronologically speaking,''VideoGame/Yakuza5'' is currently his latest appearance, though he has shown up in games released after ''5''.

* OldMaster: He appears in just about every game to teach the protagonists some new skills while also displaying his own mastery of unarmed self-defence techniques. He's still physically capable by the time of ''Infinite Wealth'' despite the fact that he should be in his 80s or 90s and is even able to function as a Poundmate.

* TheBartender: [[spoiler:It's implied that he's become the owner of Survive Bar in ''Like a Dragon''.]]

* NoOneShouldSurviveThat: [[spoiler: Heavily implied to be the Survive bar's owner in ''Like a Dragon'', despite the fact that he took a ''entire burst from a minigun.'']]
* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Continues to influence certain side content past his supposed death in ''3'' such as being the founder of the Honest Living Association, dedicated to helping ex-yakuza reintergrate back into society which ties into the Hitman series of sidequests.]]

* OldMaster: He appears in just about every game to teach the protagonists some new skills while also displaying his own mastery of unarmed self-defence techniques.

!!! '''Voiced by:''' Creator/KentaMiyake, Dave Fouqette (''Yakuza'', English version), Creator/PatrickSeitz (Infinite Wealth)

* ArchEnemy: Downplayed, but Lau is surprisingly possibly Kiryu's most personal adversary given he [[spoiler: tortured him relentlessly before the events of the first game and attempted to have Rikiya killed in front of him in the third game.]]