Yubitsume (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Yubitsume is a Japanese ritual to atone for offenses to another, a way to be punished or to show sincere apology to another, by means of amputating portions of one's own little finger. It is almost exclusively performed by the Yakuza, the prominent Japanese criminal organization. The act of committing yubitsume is also referred to as yubi o tobasu, meaning "finger flying" ("he made his finger fly"). The ritual is thought to have originated with the bakuto, itinerant gamblers who were predecessors of the modern Yakuza. If a person was unable to pay off a gambling debt, yubitsume was sometimes considered as an alternate form of repayment. In Japanese swordsmanship, the little fingers' grip is the tightest on the hilt. A little finger-amputee was therefore unable to grip his sword properly, weakening him in battle and making him more dependent on the protection of his boss.