is a 1966 Japanese ''

chambara , 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

Tokuzō Tanaka was a Japanese film director. He is well known for directing Zatoichi series and Nemuri Kyōshirō series films. Biography Tanaka graduated from Kwansei Gakuin University. In 1948, he joined the Daiei Film, Daiei studio and started working as ...

and 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 masseur

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'' se ...

. It was originally released by the

Daiei Motion Picture Company Daiei Film Co. Ltd. (Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ''Daiei Eiga Kabushiki Kaisha'') was a Japanese film studio. Founded in 1942 as Dai Nippon Film Co., Ltd., it was one of the major studios during the postwar Golden Age of Japanese cinema, producing n ...

(later acquired by

Kadokawa Pictures Kadokawa Daiei Studio, formerly is the film division of the Japanese company the Kadokawa Corporation. It is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ), and is therefore one of Japan's Big Four film studi ...

). ''Zatoichi's Vengeance'' is the thirteenth episode in the 26-part film series devoted to the character of Zatoichi.

Plot

Traveling on the road, Zatoichi (Katsu) encounters a dying man who gives him a bag full of money and the name "Taichi". Traveling on, he makes the acquaintance of a blind biwa-playing

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. The two travel to a town that is having their annual thunder drum festival. The town is under the domination of a

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 ter ...

boss who extorts from the people.

Cast

as Zatoichi *

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 Kurobe *

Jun Hamamura was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 1995. Selected filmography * ''Wolf'' (1955) * '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) * '' The Hole'' (1957) * ''The Temptress and the Monk'' (1958) * ''Enjō'' (1958) * ''Odd Obs ...

as blind priest * Gen Kimura as Tamekichi * Koichi Mizuhara as Joshuya *

Mayumi Ogawa is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 3rd Japan Academy Prize and at the 4th Hochi Film Award for '' Vengeance Is Mine'' and '' The Three Undelivered Letters''. In 2008, Ogawa got ordained as a Shingon Bud ...

as Ocho/Oshino *

Kei Satō was a Japanese character actor and narrator. He is known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima, and for several films with Kaneto Shindo, such as '' Onibaba'' and '' Kuroneko''. He won the best actor award from ''Kinema Ju ...

as Boss Gonzo

Production

Yoshinobu Nishioka was a Japanese jidaigeki production designer, art director, producer, and set decorater from Asuka, Nara Prefecture who won three Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction. Nishioka joined Daiei Kyoto film in 1948. ...

- Art director

Reception

In a contemporary review, "Chie." of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised the film, noting "superlative camerawork" of

Kazuo Miyagawa was a Japanese cinematographer. Career Born in Kyoto, Miyagawa was taken with sumi-e Chinese ink painting from the age of eleven and began to sell his work as an illustrator while a teenager. He became interested in the cinema during the 1920s, ...

and compared the ''Zatoichi'' series to the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

film series, noting its "coolness and sense of fun". "Chie." noted a highlight to be the film's finale with its battle on the bridge as being "splendidly photographed". From a retrospective review, J. Doyle Wallis, in a review for

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

, wrote that "''Zatoichi's Vengeance'' displays one of the most interesting aspects of Zatoichi as a character."

References

External links

* * *
Review: ''Zatoichi's Vengeance'' (1966)
by Thomas Raven for freakengine (August 2011)
''Zatoichi's Vengeance'' (1966)
review by D. Trull for Lard Biscuit Enterprises

review by Alec Kubas-Meyer for Unseen Films (15 February 2014)
REVIEW: Zatoichi 13 – ''Zatoichi’s Vengeance'' (1966)
by Mark Pollard for Kung Fu Cinema Japanese adventure films 1966 films Zatoichi films Daiei Film films Films set in Japan Films shot in Japan Japanese films about revenge Films scored by Akira Ifukube Films directed by Tokuzō Tanaka 1960s Japanese films {{1960s-Japan-film-stub