Once a year the yakuza openly do a show of strength in Tokyo, disrobing to show their full-body tattoos.

Last weekend I got very lucky and managed to see a Yakuza show of strength here in Tokyo. This is extremely rare – and definitely up there with my most memorable travel experiences.

Takahashi-gumi is one of the big Yakuza groups in Tokyo. They stripped off in front of the police station to reveal their tattoos then began carrying a portable shrine through the streets. It weighed over one tonne and took about 100 people to lift it. Completely insane.

I decided to publish this piece with DAZED. Read my full report for them here.