Intrinsic to their isolation, yankii maintain strict social codes and customs. According to Sato’s sources, hairstyles play an important role in readiness to fight. A man who wears a tight perm “will take up the gauntlet at any time;” the style is seen as a sign of pride, and says, “I don’t want to be seen as a sissy.” When hanging out, yankii often aggressively stare at passersby. “What are you lookin’ at?” they demand, followed by, “What junior high did you graduate from?” or “How old are you?” It is shameful, an easy fight, for an older yankii to fight someone younger or from a different social clique like surfers and punks, who are considered more effeminate (hetare). Thus, although society deems yankii as delinquents, the group’s fighting code is organized around selective, limited violence.

The yankii cannot be discussed without mentioning a few overlapping counterculture groups. In certain regions, yankii often choose to take the bōsōzoku role. With its more focused and theatrical road-warrior lifestyle, bōsō is considered a step above hoodlum (gurentai), a more masculine, valorous role full of action and police chases. One ex-bōsō leader described the first time he saw a drive in Kyoto: “How can I say it? I felt that they were similar to me. My heart beat, beat so fast…I cried in my heart, ‘I want to be like that!’” Should yankii and bōsōzoku desire riskier, more dangerous pursuits, they may go on to become yakuza, members of the Japanese mafia.

Yankii communities are so proud and close-knit that many members never “grow out” of the lifestyle, part of the reason for the movement’s longevity. In a country known for myriad subcultures, yankii stand out for their relative consistency over time; it’s one reason the subculture still exists today.

As Kaori Shoji writes in The Japan Times, “On weekends they’ll pile into yankii Dad’s kaizosha (car specially customized with his own hands), rev up the engine and screech over to a freeway famiresu (the Japanese equivalent of a diner) for a jolly meal, while the rest of us who dutifully studied and went to college will gather to moan about the lack of dateable men, how we may never get married, and where we went wrong.”