R0BTRAIN's Bad Ass Cinema: Swords of Doom- Zatoichi

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As with the James Bond series, some film series just seem to have a longevity that surpasses all expectations. For some unexplained reason 007 has always had the ability to connect with audiences. After 20 films, the series is still going with no end in sight and a new revamp of Her Majesty’s best Secret Serviceman on the way. In Hong Kong, the folk hero Wong Fei Hung has had a cinematic legacy that no one can really match up to. Through several actors and different takes on the character, the hero has been the subject of over one hundred films. For modern audiences, Jet Li was the face of this amazing man. Director Tsui Hark began a new series of films on the hero in his movie Once Upon a Time in China.

The Japanese have had two series that lasted longer than any other in their country. The first involves a guy in a big dinosaur suit destroying Tokyo every other week. Through 28 movies Godzilla has both terrorized and saved the Japanese nation from alien invasions, giant robots, and 60 ft gorillas. Godzilla may just be the most recognizable Japanese export ever.

The second long running series is a more traditional and yet less well known Japanese hero. He is the blind swordsman, Zatoichi. Through 27 films, Zatoichi has walked the paths of medieval Japan, righting wrongs with his lightning fast sword. Portrayed by two different actors, Zatoichi is not your typical hero. He does not have the forceful personality of Mifune’s Sanjuro or the imposing nature of Lone Wolf and Cub anti-hero Ogami Itto. Played through 26 of the films and 100 television episodes by Shintaro Katsu, Ichi is very impish in nature, with a jolly beer belly laugh and bowlegged walk. Upon first look, Ichi would seem an easy target for the gangsters of the ninetieth century, but as if turning on a switch, the swordsman becomes a one man army when challenged.


TheTale of Zatoichi Starring Shintaro Katsu and Shigeru Amachi. Directed by Kenji Misumi.

The film begins with a sequence in which Ichi walks into a gambling establishment to play dice. The game is very simple as two dice are placed in a cup and patrons bet whether the dice will be evens or odds. This game is a staple of the Zatoichi series. After a bit of fun, Ichi walks away with all the gamblers’ money. After this fun little interlude, Ichi is thrown in a gang war similar to the one that encompasses the plot of Yojimbo which was released only the year before. Two bosses Shigezo of Sasakawa and Sukegoro of Iioka are trying to control the same region. Both gangs enlist a master swordsman to do their dirty work. Shigezo enlists the help of an honorable ronin named Miki Hirate played by Shigeru Amachi. Sukegoro hires Zatoichi.

Hirate and Ichi meet at a river bank and converse about their situations and other things. They discover the two have a kinship, but know in the end that they will more than likely have to meet in battle. It is at this time that Ichi discovers that Hirate has tuberculosis.

The action of the film is kept to minimum until the very end of the picture. Finally getting word that Hirate has consumption, the gang from Iioka takes action. Shigezo is caught unaware as Sukegoro’s gang attacks, and yakuza warfare spills in to the streets. The fight is quite evenly matched until the battle between Hirate and Ichi decides the winner.


The first film in the Zatoichi series does exactly what it should do; it establishes the hallmarks which the series will use to endure. The first portion of the formula is the dice game. Many times in at least every other entry in the series, gamblers will attempt to swindle Ichi, thinking he is at a disadvantage, due to his blindness. This goes for the swordplay in the film also. Villains will almost always underestimate the abilities of Ichi, unaware of his preternatural skill. The swordplay is quite sparse in this first entry, but flashes of Ichi’s power can be seen. One scene involves the swordsman cutting a candle in half, while the wick of each portion remains lit. The yakuza asking Ichi for a show of his prowess sit there, stunned as Ichi berates them for doubting him.

The most important ingredients of the formula for this series are established when we learn about the character of Zatoichi himself. Much like the character work done for James Bond in Dr. No, The Tale of Zatoichi does what it can to establish the little quirks of this character that audiences have now grown to love. For instance instead of a dashing rogue, Ichi is the ultimate “everyman” hero with rotund figure and a jovial nature. Ichi’s blindness serves him, as people’s appearances cannot deceive because only their true natures shine through to him. He plays the simple fool to disguise his true talents. Only in combat, does Ichi spring into action. To his opponents he appears the “idiot savant”, when really his mind is as sharp as his blade.

Like Dr. No , The Tale of Zatoichi is nowhere near the best of the series. The film throws its audience into the world of Ichi. Director Kenji Misumi did equally important work on several Japanese samurai series such as The Sleepy Eyes of Death and Lone Wolf and Cub. Misumi would also work on several entries in the Zatoichi films such as the eighth movie, Fight, Zatoichi Fight and Zatoichi and the Fire Festival among others. What director Misumi and star Shintaro Katsu had done was establish a serialized type of entertainment, which was previously very popular in America. Now that the setup for the series was accomplished, the next step would be to take Ichi on his next adventure, and make it worth it for audiences to come back to this character again and again.

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues Starring Shintaro Katsu and Tomisaburo Wakayama. Directed by Kazuo Mori.

Taking place a year after the yakuza battle that ends the first film, Zatoichi returns to the same town to pay respects to Hirate. While there Ichi accidentally stumbles upon a situation involving a feudal lord who has been struck with madness. While Ichi tries to act as if he has witnessed nothing, the lord’s retainers know they must silence the blind man before the news of their leader’s affliction. Making things worse for Ichi, the gang that won the yakuza battles the previous year look to kill Ichi because they believe he is not showing them enough respect. Time and again the gang tries to end the life of the blind funnyman, but each time they are sent packing by Ichi’s sword work. Ichi’s most dangerous opponent reveals himself only after a long altercation with the yakuza gang. The swordsman reveals himself as Ichi’s brother, Yoshiro. In their youth, the two heatedly fought over a woman in a duel, which ended in both of them losing the woman they loved and Yoshiro losing his arm. Hard times fell on Yoshiro. Turning to a life of crime he awaited the moment when he could finally take revenge on his brother.

All this leads to the final third of this second Zatoichi being almost nonstop in its swordplay action. Between yakuza thugs, feudal retainers and a vengeful brother, Ichi must fight desperately for his life over and over, even until the last frame of film.

Just like any good series, The Tale of Zatoichi Continues takes the groundwork which made the first film successful and builds upon it. Shintaro Katsu is a bit more reserved in this film as Ichi does not have the time to be jolly while hordes of attacker try to end his life. The film does try to show Ichi in some reflective moments as he laments the situation with his brother and loss of his love.


The biggest improvement in the film is in terms of action. While not reaching the heights of swordplay that the series would late reach, the choreography in the film is quite impressive without going to the excess of other chambara’s such as Lone Wolf and Cub or Lady Snowblood. Katsu’s skill is quite impressive on screen as his sword strokes are quite graceful.

Also quite good is Tomisaburo Wakayama as Ichi’s brother, Yoshiro. Wakayama makes a formidable opponent for Ichi and is seething with both sorrow and anger. Yoshiro’s imposing figure is just one of the factors that allow him to have such screen presence. Wakayama in actuality was Shintaro Katsu’s sibling and their on-screen chemistry can be attributed to their real life feelings for each other. Later Katsu would go to produce the Lone Wolf and Cub films for his brother who starred as Ogami Itto in the series.

While the series would later be influenced heavily by Spaghetti Westerns and perhaps even Italian horror, these first two entries are pure Japanese cinema. The mood and settings in these movies harkens back to earlier films in Japanese cinema such as Samurai Rebellion and Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood. These two films were very successful at the box office, giving Katsu the opportunity to play Zatoichi over and over again. The series would get better and better as it went on, but these first two films were the hook that baited audiences to keep coming back to root for this idiosyncratic champion of justice.

Robert Sutton feels the most at home when he's watching some movie scumbag getting blown up, punched in the face, or kung fu'd to death, especially in that order. He's a founding writer for the movies section of Insidepulse.com, featured in his weekly column R0BTRAIN's Badass Cinema as well as a frequent reviewer of DVDs and Blu-rays. Also, he's a proud Sony fanboy, loves everything Star Wars and Superman related and hopes to someday be taken seriously by his friends and family.