Prosthetic fingers

A Japanese company that produces prostheses has chosen an unusual, but very popular direction in the country - they make artificial fingers. Its main clients are the yakuza.





In East Asia, a severed little finger indicates membership in the yakuza - this is the initiation that all new members of the Japanese mafia go through. Tradition also prescribes yakuza who have stumbled or "lost face" to cut off their fingers in order to atone for their misdeed.



For the past ten years, Shintaro Hayashi has been making prosthetic limbs for members of the mafia who want to hide their involvement in the underworld. In the beginning, it specialized in the production of silicone prostheses for breast cancer patients and amputees, but later exchanged them for a new clientele.



"I observed a gradual increase in the number of people who needed little finger prostheses. They didn't want prostheses produced in several sizes at factories, but unique handmade ones that required long hours of painstaking work," 39-year-old Hayashi told ABC News.

The absence of a little finger indicates that a person is a former or current member of the yakuza. A ritual known as yubizume is a "payment" for yakuza members for actions that are contrary to the yakuza code, such as drug use, getting into fights, or stealing.



The pinky finger on the left hand is cut off first, as part of the ritual when accepted into the gang, but many yakuza are missing a few fingers.

Shintaro Hayashi helps former Mafia members hide their past so they can find work, or current gang members to hide their underworld at family gatherings and official receptions. The prosthesis of one finger costs $ 3000. Made by hand, it almost completely repeats the cut finger.



Most clients visit the Shintaro Hayashi Clinic several times a year, as silicone dentures wear out or need to be repainted.

According to Shintaro, about five percent of her clients are former yakuza members. In total, the clinic has produced more than 300 prosthetic fingers.



She says her clients fall into three categories: ex-members who are trying to start a life outside the mafia, yakuza who need to go to a child's wedding or family event without revealing their mafia identity, and men who are sent to her clinic by women worried about their reputation.

"Many men keep their fists clenched to hide the absence of a finger or fingers. But there comes a time when you can't hide their absence," says the prosthetist.

Yakuza is a collective term for organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese mafia is believed to have more than 100,000 members who are part of various groups throughout the country.