"jump" by Ginryu
Taka-san is creating calligraphy for the ODO YAKUZA TOKYO book (more info on the book soon). He is our fixer for the entire Yakuza project, and over the years has become a dear friend. His work will be featured as chapter pages in the book. There will be 12 works in total. He's not a professional artist, but his calligraphy has a very strong personality speaking through it. It's a very emotional and exhausting process for him to put his sentiments about the Yakuza story into the characters he draws.
I think it's a really cool collaboration, and it adds an extra layer of authenticity to the book, especially as he has been deeply involved since the very beginning. Without him, we would have never made contact with the Yakuza in the first place. At his own personal risk, he always makes sure my brother Malik and I are safe at all times, and continuously advises us on the ever so important do's and don'ts when dealing with them. A bar owner and professional musician, he himself is not a member of any family.
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