For years, the yakuza operated somewhat openly. It was monitored by police with the understanding that the yakuza would take care of petty crime on its turf and leave ordinary citizens alone. But now, Japanese authorities are applying more pressure as the yakuza’s power begins to erode.

In 2015, while serving his last prison sentence, Nakamoto reflected on where he was going. He had lost faith in the organization and its future. It was time to leave.

“Even though I left the yakuza world, there is a lot I learned. And some of what is at the core is still the same,” said Nakamoto, 55, sitting in his udon restaurant in Kitakyushu, a city in southern Japan that is home to the Kudo-kai.

“I was willing to do everything and die for my organization,” he said, “and now I am just switching gears with that same mentality and putting that determination into living and working in normal society.”