Yakuza Superstitions #1

When a yakuza sees a hearse (霊柩車/reikyusha) coming towards him in traffic, he’ll often put down the cell-phone which he has semi-permanently attached to his ear, and hides his thumb in his fist to avoid bad luck. (親指を隠す). The thumb, called the oyayubi 親指 in Japanese, means “parent finger.” It represents to the yakuza, the oyabun (father-figure) who is their boss in the organization. The Godfather so to speak. 
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