Narrow Road To The Deep North 7

Through this treacherous turbulence, bushidō ethics were important in controlling and maintaining public order, but they may not have been enough. Meritocracy devolved to meritocrazy. Masterless wandering samurai rōnin, who had once worked for samurai families during times of peace, formed gangs. Their appearance and behavior began to degenerate into fabulousness, earning them the designation of Kabukimono, from kabuku, meaning ‘to slant or deviate,’ and translatable into English as ‘strange things,’ or ‘the crazy ones.’ Kabukimono dressed in flamboyant clothing, combining colors of yellow and blue, accessorized by wearing short robes with lead weights in the hem, velvet lapels, wide obi sashes, elements of European clothing, or even women’s kimono as cloaks. 
They adapted bizarre hairstyles and facial hair, either styled up in various fashion, or left to grow long. Their katana were longer than normal had fancy hilts, large square tsuba, and red scabbards. Izumo no Okuni, the originator of kabuki theatre, borrowed heavily from kabukimono flair and personality, when she first began performing.
Kabukimono were often very violent and rude, stealing money from townsfolk, not paying at restaurants, or cutting people down, simply to try a new sword. Wrestling, dancing in the streets, fighting with other gangs at night, and other large incidents of violence became more common, especially in large cities such as Edo and Kyoto. Modern Japanese yakuza gangsters may have originated from kabukimono.