Nathan, the yakuza movies I've been mentioning are far trashier than Kurosawa. That said, let me add one more that rises above its genre roots, The Wolves by Hideo Gosha, a master of saurai films. And like many of his samurai films, it also stars the great Tatsuya Nakadai.
Mark Schilling put out a guide to yakuza films that, while nowhere near complete, even from my novice's perspective, has led me to some good movies, and an interest in more. Includes interviews with Suzuki and Fukasaku, among others.
Mark
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