is a 1962 Japanese ''

chanbara , also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of ' ...

'' film directed by

Kenji Misumi (2 March 1921 – 24 September 1975) was a Japanese film director. He created film series such as ''Lone Wolf and Cub'' and the initial film in the long-running ''Zatoichi'' series, and also directed ''Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice'', starri ...

and based on the 1948 essay of the same name by

Kan Shimozawa was a Japanese novelist and historical writer. He was born February 1, 1892, in Atsuta, Hokkaido, and died July 19, 1968. Sometimes his name is spelled ''Kan Shimosawa'' (in ''New Tale of Zatoichi'', ''Zatoichi the Fugitive''). His real name was U ...

. It is the first installment in a long-running ''

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—''Portrait of Hel ...

'' film series starring

Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the ''Akumyo'' series, the ''Hoodlum Soldier'' series, and the ''Zatoichi'' series. Life and career Born Toshio Okumura (奥村利夫 ''Okumura Toshio'') on 29 Novemb ...

as the blind swordsman

Zatoichi is a fictional character created by Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa. He is an itinerant blind masseur and swordsman of Japan's late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). He first appeared in the 1948 essay , part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' serie ...

Plot

The blind

masseur Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...

Zatoichi is hired as muscle for the ''

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

'' Sukegoro (Eijiro Yanagi) as he thinks that war is inevitable with his rival Shigezo (Ryuzo Shimada). Zatoichi has a distinguished reputation as a swordsman and Sukegoro thinks that purchasing his services is money well spent. Shigezo responds by hiring a '' ronin'' of similar repute, Miki Hirate (Shigeru Amachi). Ichi presents himself as a meek, humble man and is commonly underestimated and looked upon suspiciously. His being a masseur, which was a position of low regard in

feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to Japanese Paleolithic, prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millenni ...

, merely increases the hostility that is shown towards him. One notable scene has Ichi playing dice in a gambling den where the dealer attempts to con him with loaded pieces. Ichi demonstrates the extent to which he has mastered his other senses by noticing that the dice have a different sound and calling out the gamblers for tricking him. The only person who respects him is Hirate, who as a ''ronin'' understands what it feels like to be an outcast. Though Hirate and Ichi know they must fight when the war begins, they develop a sense of friendship. Hirate is eager to fight Zatoichi, as he is terminally ill with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and wishes to die fighting. As Hirate becomes increasingly sick, Sukegoro takes advantage by ordering an all-out attack on Shigezo and removing Ichi from his payroll. Hirate learns that Shigezo intends to kill Ichi anyway by sniping him with a ''

tanegashima is one of the Ōsumi Islands belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, 444.99 km2 in area, is the second largest of the Ōsumi Islands, and has a population of 33,000 people. Access to the island is by ferry, or by air to New ...

''. The dying warrior drags himself from his bed and pledges to kill Ichi in an honorable manner. Ichi learns from a boy at the temple where Hirate was staying of his intentions, and also learns the reason. After the tense final fight, in which Zatoichi prevails and cuts Hirate down, he rejects the advances of the ''yakuza'' mistress Otane (Masayo Banri), who has become disillusioned with her lifestyle, to continue as a solitary wanderer.

Cast

* Masayo Banri as Otane * Ryūzō Shimada as Shigezo of the Sasagawa Yakuza * Gen Mitamura as Hanji of Matsugishi *

Shigeru Amachi was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 120 films from 1953 to 1984. Career Amachi joined the Shintoho studio as one of its "New Face" actors of 1951 and established himself in action and jidaigeki films. He gained fame for the nihilist ...

as Miki Hirate * Chitose Maki as Hanji's wife Yoshi * Ikuko Mōri as Shigezo's wife Oyutaka * Michio Minami as Tatekichi of the Iioka Yakuza *

Eijirō Yanagi (16 September 1895 – 24 April 1984) was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 160 films from 1940 to 1975. Career Starting out in shingeki theater, Yanagi moved to shinpa (also rendered ''shimpa'') is a form of theater in Japan, ...

as Sukegoro of Iioka *

Toshio Chiba Toshio is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toshio can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *敏夫, "agile, man" *敏男, "agile, man" *敏雄, "agile, male" *俊夫, "sagacious, man" *俊雄, "sagaci ...

as Masakichi of Iioka * Manabu Morita as Seisuke of Iioka *

Yoichi Funaki Yoichi may refer to: *Yōichi, Japanese given name *, district in Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan *, town in Yoichi District *, a Japanese whisky distillery in the town *, train station in Yoichi District * also Yoichi is a masculine Japane ...

as Yogoro of Sasagawa * Kin'ya Ichikawa as Mokichi of Sasagawa * Eigorō Onoe as Rihei of Sasagawa * Yoshito Yamaji as Tatekichi's father Yahei *

Yukio Horikita Yukio is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yukio can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *幸夫, "happiness, man" *幸生, "happiness, live" *幸男, "happiness, man" *幸雄, ...

as Kanaji of Sasagawa * Ryūji Fukui as Daihachi of Iioka

Release

''The Tale of Zatoichi'' was released in Japan on April 12, 1962. It was re-issued theatrically in 1976. The film was followed by ''

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues is a 1962 Japanese film directed by Kazuo Mori and starring Shintaro Katsu as Zatōichi the blind swordsman, a character created by Kan Shimozawa. ''The Tale of Zatoichi Continues'' is the second entry in the popular, long-running ''Zatoichi'' s ...

'' later in 1962.

Reception

The film received positive reviews earning 100% from review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

according to 7 reviews. The film summoned the most sequels of a samurai film and has also spawned a remake in 2003.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of Zatoichi 1962 films 1960s adventure films Japanese adventure films 1960s Japanese-language films Japanese black-and-white films Zatoichi films Jidaigeki films Samurai films Yakuza films Daiei Film films Films directed by Kenji Misumi Films scored by Akira Ifukube Films about blind people 1960s Japanese films