‘Tokyo Vice’: 5 Things To Know about Misaki, Tozawa’s Mistress

‘Tokyo Vice’ Season 1 introduced us to the world of intrigue surrounding Japan’s Yakuza criminal circles and the way things operate. Some people learn to play the game, and some are swallowed by the darkness never to be seen again. One interesting character who walks the fine line between thriving and being swallowed by darkness is Misaki – Tozawa’s mistress and Jake’s supposed love interest. Since she is a fairly interesting character, we decided to put together these 5 important things you should know about, especially if you are new to the show.

1. Misaki was inspired by a real-life person

‘Tokyo Vice’ was based on a book written by Jake Adelstein under the same name, and a lot of characters from the show have their real-life counterparts. Tozawa was based on Tadamasa Goto one of the most influential Yakuza crime bosses of the time, so it doesn’t surprise us that Misaki was based on one of his mistresses.

The mistress in question remains unnamed and Jake stated that she hated Goto almost as much as he did. There’s one notable difference however, Adelstein spent only a brief time with this unnamed mistress and they never entered a romantic relationship like it was shown in the show. The show is highly embellished and not an accurate portrayal of what actually did happen, however, this unnamed mistress clearly took a liking to Jake since she described him as an ambitious man who is loyal to his friends and ruthless to his enemies, and she basically told him he is the same person as Goto, which she could respect.

2. Tozawa has trouble trusting Misaki

Back in episode 6 of season 1 Jake wanted to ask Misaki a few questions, obviously unaware of how dangerous it is for her to even be seen near him. Misaki naturally refused to speak with him directly but this is when her troubles started. Later, Tozawa went out with Misaki and asked her can she imagine her life without him. Misaki naturally answered that she couldn’t however there is a good reason why Tozawa asked her that question. She was seen with Jake and Tozawa gave her a warning to keep Jake out of her bed if she wanted to stay alive. Messing with Yakuza bosses is foolish, messing behind Yakuza’s back is extremely stupid and dangerous, and Misaki is not the first woman to mistake ownership with legitimate power.

3. Misaki is being abused by Tozawa

As season 1 progressed we’ve seen more and more evidence that Tozawa treats Misaki like an object. At this point, Misaki is playing with fire as she seemingly runs into Jake all the time. Tozawa doesn’t like that, not necesrely because he is jealous but because Jake getting closer to Misaki means that Jake is close to him as well, and someone close to Tozawa knows a lot of things that could put him behind bars for a very long time. Tozawa wanted to kill Jake but Misaki, once again, foolish stood in Jake’s defense and said that it would be too obvious to kill him. Misaki’s words and her failure to please Tozawa sexually that day led to Tozawa hitting Misaki. Proving that her status within the clan is temporary and fickler.

4. Not even Misaki knew where Tozawa disappeared

Over the course of the first season, we’ve seen that Tozawa was generally ill and had to rely on medication to survive. We’ve speculated that he is most likely suffering from some kind of liver condition, just like his real-life counterpart, Goto. In any case, after Tozawa seemingly disappeared from the face of the Earth not even Misaki knew where he was gone. This is what allowed her to relax a bit and do some stupid things with Jake.

5. Misaki was the one to rule Jake into a trap

In Episode 2 of Tokyo Vice season 2, Jake and Misaki slept together acting on their mutual attraction. Misaki probably had fun on her mind, considering that a normal relationship was impossible for them, something that she stated on several occasions. However Jake wasn’t having it, he went as far as to insist that Misaki leave her current life and go with him back home to Missouri, to meet his parents.

This proposition tells you just how serious Jake was about Misaki. However once Tozawa returned, Misaki, surprised in order to save her own head handed him Jake on a platter and set him up for a “meeting” with Tozawa. In Season 2 Episode 4, Misaki called Jake and asked him to meet at their secret spot and this is how Jake found out with absolute certainty that Tozawa was indeed back.

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