Old Rags Hasutani (ぼろ布の蓮谷; Boro-nuno no Hasutani, Lit. "Rags Hasutani") is a member of the anti-yakuza vigilante group known as The Reapers, whom Kazuma Kiryu faces off against during the Hitman sidestory in Yakuza 3.
Background[]
Old Rags Hasutani was once a lieutenant to a Tojo Clan family, until his patriarch blamed him for a mistake he made in order to save face. After he was expelled from the clan, Hasutani found it difficult to find work due to his past as a yakuza. Eventually, his wife became ill due to overwork and passed away since the family could not afford to pay for her treatment.
Desperate for a way to support his son and daughter, Hasutani became a hitman. He sent his children to live with a friend of his so that they would not discover what he'd become and started spending all the money he made from hits on his children's upbringing and education. His devotion to his children is such that he willingly became homeless and stopped buying clothes for himself so that he could give as much money as possible to his children. Due to the fact that he's been wearing nothing but tattered, old clothes for years, he gained the nickname "Old Rags".
Eventually, he was hired by the Reapers to start assassinating yakuza. In exchange for these high-risk contracts, the Reapers provided Hasutani with enough money to gurantee a college education for his kids.
Yakuza 3[]
After he joins forces with Ibuki and the Honest Living Association, Kiryu is sent to find Hasutani and convince him to leave the Reapers.
Kiryu finds him in Public Park No. 3, where he is speaking to a young boy. When Kiryu approaches and asks for Hasutani by name, Hasutani sends the boy away, telling him to return home. Kiryu tries to recruit Hasutani for the HLA, but Hasutani refuses to betray the Reapers after they helped pay for his kids' education.
A fight breaks out between the two, which is eventually interrupted when the boy whom Hasutani had been speaking with earlier tries to defend him. Hasutani assures the boy that he is fine and that the fight was just some sparring before sending him away again. Hasutani then explains that the boy is simply a young kid who liked coming to the park to read and who eventually started talking to him since that park is where he slept. Since the boy reminded him of his son, Hasutani befriended him.
After Hasutani explains his background and reasons for working for the Reapers, Kiryu convinces him to leave them and join the HLA, out of concern that his children wouldn't be able to cope if they found out that their dad was helping them by killing others.
As a reward for convincing Hasutani to leave the Reapers, Kiryu is paid 80,000 yen.