Kakerou

The history of Kakerou goes back very far, with their records listing the founding as before the year 441.[1] The founder of the club was Kiruma Kagerounosuke, whose job back then was to punish clans that tried to refuse payment of lost bets. At first, he watched over only those of villagers, but his watch soon encompassed merchants, samurai, and even feudal lords. The type of people that used him changed and, naturally, he began to oversee only those with power.[2]

Founding Kakerou, they would fairly decide bets and rules and fairly manage the procuring of bets from the losers, but the biggest reason for such a strong following was their ability to most definitely collect. At first, powerful ninja would collect the losers’ bets, regardless of a person’s power or rank in society. Thanks to this way of operating, Kakerou earned trust easily and soon spread its roots deeply throughout the country.[3]

Many historic Japanese incidents have been a result of Kakerou collecting from bets, including but not limited to:[4] Oda Nobunaga’s death at Honnō-ji,[5] the Sakuradamon incident, assassinations of important people of the Meiji Restoration, scandals involving important politicians of the Shōwa Era, the withering of a young IT company’s CEO and the Hamah casino incident.[4]

Kakerou is an organization that oversees powerful gambles between the members of the Japanese underground. It is led by its Royal Leader and is composed of thousands of soldiers, numerous people in high political positions and 101 Referees. Once a person joins Kakerou’s ranks, that are not allowed to leave the organization; if they do, they will be hunted down and killed.[6]

When a member of Kakerou dies, their body is transported to a mausoleum where they are cremated and their remains stored in urns. The only ones who know of the location of the mausoleum are the family of gravekeepers who transport the coffins.[7]

Royal Leader

The title of Royal Leader (お屋形様, oyakatasama) has been passed down through twenty-one generations since Kiruma Kagerounosuke founded Kakerou. The current Royal Leader of Kakerou is Kiruma Souichi and before him, his father Kiruma Tatsuki.

Leader’s Attendants

Main article: Leader’s Attendant

The Leader’s Attendant is a special position given to only a few. These individuals are the only ones who are supposed to know about Souichi’s memory problems. The attendant’s job is to follow Souichi and to re-implant his lost memories.

Referees

Main article: Referee

The Referees are an integral and influential part of Kakerou and who attend to the gambles played between or for Kakerou members. They are agents for collecting debts and various other jobs that concern the Kakerou members.

Debt Collectors

A debt collector gathers the loser’s debts by any means necessary. Although all Referees are capable of collecting debts and its their duty, if a Referee can’t collect the winnings, a Referee specialized in debt collection is sent to solve the case. Yakou Hikoichi is considered a debt collector by excellence.

Sweepers

A sweeper (掃除人スイーパー) keeps the enemies of Kakerou at bay or chases down those that have attempted to leave Kakerou. Yakou Jouichi is a notorious sweeper and is implied that there are a lot of sweepers scattered across Japan. It is known that sweepers are ranked in their capability, as Bandai Kaoru was once an S-ranked sweeper before becoming a Referee.[8] Yakou Jouichi is an S-rank sweeper, while Chris Lee and Ron are known A-rank ones.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

This ministry is in charge of the diplomatic issues of Kakerou like making first contact with international individuals/organizations. Mizue Yuuko is the current head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Soldiers

The soldiers are a visible part of Kakerou’s influence: every time a match is decided, they occupy the location to ensure the conditions in which the match is held. Usually, they’re in charge of blocking the exits, checking the inside and the surroundings of the match’s location and assisting the Referee in charge in everything they need. If anyone in their jurisdiction is causing problems, they will “purge” them and/or remove them from the scene.

Kakerou has control over the ACIA (暗謀設立) and uses it to handle police and/or government interference in Kakerou’s business.

Anti-Corruption Intelligence Agency (ACIA) is an organization that is affiliated with the cabinet secretariat and a Kakerou’s front organization that is used to take over a match’s location and legally stand above the police so they can’t interfere.