Like a Dragon (Yakuza) Series

The Dispute Over a Single 'Empty Lot' in Kamurocho Erupts

In Kamurocho during the height of the 1988 bubble economy, young Dojima Family member Kazuma Kiryu becomes entangled in a dispute over a small plot of land known as the 'Empty Lot' — what should have been a routine property deal. Framed for a murder he did not commit, he is expelled from the family. The lot later becomes central to a major redevelopment plan, drawing multiple criminal organizations into the unfolding turmoil.

— 'Yakuza 0' (2015). The story is set across two cities in December 1988: Kamurocho (Tokyo) and Sotenbori (Osaka).

Goro Majima Is Pulled Back into the Underworld in Sotenbori, Osaka

In Sotenbori, Osaka, during the same period, Goro Majima — who had been trying to live as a legitimate citizen — is forced back into a world of violence by orders from his superiors. Caught between his public role as a cabaret manager and his standing in the underworld, his path begins to intertwine with Kiryu's.

The Shooting of the Dojima Family Patriarch — Kiryu Takes the Blame for His Best Friend's Crime and Serves a 10-Year Sentence

The chairman of the Dojima Family, Sohei Dojima, is shot dead. The actual perpetrator was Kiryu's sworn brother, but Kiryu — determined to protect both his beloved and his best friend — turns himself in and takes the blame. He is sentenced to ten years in prison for murder, and the Dojima Family is left in disarray.

— Background recounted in the opening of 'Yakuza' (2005) and its remake 'Yakuza Kiwami' (2016).

Released from Prison, Kiryu Is Drawn into the 10-Billion-Yen Theft Incident and Meets the Girl Haruka

Returning to Kamurocho after completing his ten-year sentence, Kazuma Kiryu encounters a young girl named Haruka, said to hold the key to ten billion yen that vanished from the Tojo Clan. Pursued by multiple factions seeking the money, he is also drawn into the clan's succession dispute.

— 'Yakuza' (2005) / 'Yakuza Kiwami' (2016).

Kiryu Retires from the Underworld Immediately After Becoming the Dojima Family's Fourth Chairman, and Takes in Haruka

Having settled the incident, Kiryu is pushed to accept the position of the Dojima Family's fourth chairman — but immediately chooses to leave the underworld behind. He decides to raise the now-orphaned Haruka himself, beginning a new life as an ordinary citizen.

The Omi Alliance's Advance into Kanto and Confrontation with 'the Dragon of Kansai,' Ryuji Goda

One year after the previous incident, Kiryu is living quietly as a civilian — but the Omi Alliance, a powerful Kansai-based organization, begins moving into Kanto territory, seeking to absorb the weakened Tojo Clan. After the Tojo Clan's fifth chairman is attacked by Omi Alliance forces, Kiryu comes into conflict with the Alliance's direct affiliate, Ryuji Goda, known as 'the Dragon of Kansai.' The setting expands beyond Kamurocho to Osaka's entertainment districts of Sotenbori and Shinseicho.

— 'Yakuza 2' (2006) / 'Yakuza Kiwami 2' (2017).

Kiryu and Haruka's Peaceful Days Running the Okinawa Orphanage 'Morning Glory'

Having left Kamurocho, Kiryu runs the Okinawa orphanage 'Morning Glory' together with Haruka, spending peaceful days with eight children in their care. He builds a relationship with the locally trusted underworld group, the Ryudo Family, during this calm interlude.

U.S. Military Base Expansion and Resort Development Plans Threaten 'Morning Glory'

A little over a year into running the orphanage, plans for U.S. military base expansion and resort development in the region emerge, threatening the survival of Morning Glory and its local community. The situation becomes entangled with factional strife within the Tojo Clan and events back in Kamurocho, drawing Kiryu into a major conflict once again.

— 'Yakuza 3' (2009).

A Shooting Linked to the Ueno Seiwakai Sparks the Intersecting Fates of Four Men

A minor gang skirmish and a shooting involving the Ueno Seiwakai occur almost simultaneously in Kamurocho. Sparked by the murder of the Kanemura Kogyo boss, what initially appears to be ordinary yakuza infighting gradually reveals a far larger conspiracy reaching into the upper ranks of the police, intertwining the fates of four men: Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Taiga Saejima, and Masayoshi Tanimura.

— 'Yakuza 4' (2010).

Kiryu Again Disappears from Kamurocho While Haruka Begins a Path Toward Becoming an Idol

After the 2010 incident, Kazuma Kiryu once again leaves Kamurocho to live in hiding. Meanwhile, a now-grown Haruka steps into the entertainment industry, beginning her path as a trainee for an idol group.

The Grave Illness of the Omi Alliance's Chairman Sparks an All-Out 'East-West War' Across Five Cities

After the previous year's conflict ended by exposing a conspiracy within the police leadership, the grave illness of the Omi Alliance's seventh chairman upsets the balance of power, and full-scale war between the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance spreads across five cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Nagoya. The paths of Kazuma Kiryu — now living as a taxi driver away from Kamurocho — along with hunter Taiga Saejima, moneylender Shun Akiyama, former pro baseball player Tatsuo Shinada, and aspiring idol Haruka Sawamura, converge once again.

— 'Yakuza 5' (2012).

While Incarcerated, Kiryu Learns of Haruka's Disappearance and the Existence of Her Ward Haruto, and Heads to Hiroshima

Having completed his sentence and returned to the children of Morning Glory, Kiryu is informed that Haruka has gone missing. Following the trail, he learns that she is unconscious, that she had been in Hiroshima, and of the existence of a boy named Haruto whom she had been protecting. Kiryu travels to Onomichi, Hiroshima, to uncover the truth.

— 'Yakuza 6: The Song of Life' (2016). Set in Kamurocho (Tokyo) and the fictional Onomichi Jingaicho (modeled on Onomichi, Hiroshima).

The 'Deceased' Kiryu Is Drawn into a Secret Organization's Conflict Behind the Scenes of the Main Story

Publicly presumed dead following the previous year's events, Kazuma Kiryu takes refuge with a secret organization based in Sotenbori, Osaka, and — having discarded his old name — becomes embroiled in new battles within the underworld. This unfolds behind the scenes, in roughly the same time frame as the story of 'Like a Dragon' (Yakuza 7) described below.

— 'Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name' (released 2023). In-story chronology places it between 'Yakuza 6' and 'Yakuza 7', running roughly concurrent with the latter.

Ichiban Kasuga Finishes an 18-Year Sentence to Find the Tojo Clan and Omi Alliance Dissolved

Having taken the blame for someone else's crime and served an 18-year sentence, Ichiban Kasuga is betrayed shortly after his release and ends up in Isezaki Ijincho, a foreigners' quarter in Yokohama. This coincides with a historic turning point: the simultaneous dissolution of both the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance, reshaping the underworld's power structure across Kamurocho and beyond. In Ijincho, Kasuga meets new companions and builds a community of his own.

— 'Yakuza: Like a Dragon' (2020). The first mainline entry to be set primarily outside Kamurocho, in Yokohama.

Kasuga's Search for His Mother and Kazuma Kiryu's Path Intersect Again in Hawaii

Three years after the previous events, in 2023, the now-jobless Ichiban Kasuga is drawn into a yakuza-related incident in Yokohama alongside his companions, and learns information suggesting his long-lost mother is alive in Hawaii. He sets out to find her, and in Honolulu joins forces with Kazuma Kiryu, who has been investigating matters surrounding a local religious organization. The story follows the two protagonists as they team up.

— 'Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth' (2024). Set primarily in Honolulu, Hawaii, with additional settings in Yokohama's Isezaki Ijincho and Kamurocho.