The Woman Who Makes Prosthetic Pinkies for Ex-Yakuza Members
When “Mike” spotted a newspaper advert for a clinic making prosthetic fingers in the 90s, he thought it was a scam. But the ex-yakuza member had booked himself a consultation within the hour. For almost a decade, a stumpy pinkie on his left hand had marked out his previous allegiance to the criminal world, preventing him from leading a normal life.
A fake little finger, he thought, sounded outlandish, but it was worth a shot. It might allow him to disguise his past—and help shield against Japanese society’s prejudiced view of ex-yakuza members in search of redemption.
“I wasn’t sure if it would work,” Mike told me, “but I really wanted to meet people without worrying about what they’d think.”
Published
Mooncustafer 