[Namikaze]

Okay so I'm writing up a bunch of info on my wiki for the various syndicates.  In my research, I've found some conflicting information, specifically regarding dates.  According to Runner Havens, the Yellow Lotus triad was attacked by the Red Dragon Association (and the Octagon) in 2062-2063.  However, in Seattle 2072 the dates are implied to be in the mid-2050s.

Additionally, there's the event known as The Schism, in which Akira Watada purged the Yakuza of their Korean soldiers.  I haven't found a specific date for this event.  I've heard that it happened in the early 2050s, but I've also seen dates that imply that it occurred at the end of the 2040s.

Does anyone have any insight?

[Fizzygoo]

Seattle 2072, pg 174, Yakuza section, 1st column, end of 2nd paragraph, "The more defiant the Korean bosses became, the more Watada's paranoia grew, until he ordered a racist purge of the Seattle Yakuza in 2043. In a week of terror called 'the Schism,' most of the Koreans and their loyalists were killed. The few survivors became the core of the Seoulpa Rings, filled with a burning thirst for revenge against the Yakuza."

Not sure yet on the Yellow Lotus vs. Red Dragon.

Don't know which week though.

[Sendaz]

Yeah it is a bit of a muddle.

I tend to go with the earlier edition works as my baseline for 'accuracy' when dealing with dating hiccups like this.
This does not guarantee it to be the most accurate, but it does hearken back to a time when the material was vetted a bit better than some of the more recent editions.

2nd Edition Underworld has this

THE SCHISM
In January of 2043, Akira Watada responded to the refusal of his
demands by sending a “shadow army” of assassins into the Seattle
metroplex. Within days, most of the Korean leaders—and many of
their close personal followers—were dead. Only a handful escaped

2nd Ed Mob War! backs this up on page 36, giving the year of the Schism as 2043.

Of course maybe Wyrm can pop through and give something more substantial, but that's what I would go with myself.

[Namikaze]

Thanks for clearing up The Schism.  I've been reading that section too much, I think.  I must have gotten some dates confused.  Still not sure about the Triad thing though.

Runner Havens has this on page 6:

2062 to 2063—A violent Triad war breaks out between the Red Dragon Association and its main rival, the Yellow Lotus Triad, resulting in the destruction of the latter syndicate.

But then Seattle 2072 has this on page 178:

David Gao, the Octagon lodgemaster, is a shell of his former self.  The once-proud gang-leader is rarely seen in public and communicates primarily via the Matrix. Most of the business of the Triad falls to his Incense Master, Chen Kwan-Ti, who came to Seattle from mainland China in 2055.
> Which, as it happens, is when David Gao’s decline really accelerated. It was originally thought that Kwan-Ti was sent by the Red Dragon Association to press for more action against the Yellow Lotus, but these days it’s looking more like the Octagon’s Incense Master is playing his own game.
> Kat o’ Nine Tales

Which seems to imply the conflict occurred much earlier, in the mid-2050s.

[The Wyrm Ouroboros]

The 'Schism' is the 2043 Yakuza purge of Koreans that Sendaz has pulled out, which subsequently led to the Seattle origin of Seoupla Rings - a group design whcih has since spread more-or-less worldwide.

The Red Dragon/Yellow Lotus thing I would interpret as basically happening thus:

Pre-2055: The conflict exists between the Yellow Lotus and Red Dragon triads, with the former chipping slowly away at Red Dragon holdings.  David Gao is holding the line, but only holding the line; he is probably seeing the Yellow Lotus as nominal allies, being more concerned with conflicts with the Yakuza and Mafia.
2055: Chen Kwan-Tri is sent from the Red Dragon higher-ups in China to start to urge Gao to take greater actions against the Yellow Lotus.
2056-2062: Kwan-Tri works (probably magically) to sway Gao to his way of looking at things, increasing low-level Red Dragon strength.
2062-2063: 'Armed up', the Red Dragon goes to town and wipes out the Yellow Lotus Triad.

The thing with Gao being a 'shell of his former self' suggests to me that Kwan-Tri - the Incense Master, aka 'head mage' - has brought Gao under his magical dominance, and that unless Kwan-Tri is there to give Gao his marching orders, the Boss basically just sits around listlessly drooling or something, letting Kwan-Tri do whatever the hell he wants.