is a 1965 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

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 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'' serie ...

. 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 and the Chess Expert'' is the twelfth episode in the 26-part film series devoted to the character of Zatoichi. It has also been known as ''Showdown for Zatoichi'' and ''Zatoichi's Trip to Hell''.

Plot

On a boat trip to

Honshu island , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island sep ...

, Zatoichi (Katsu) makes the acquaintance of Jumonji (Narita), an expert

shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as Western chess, ''chaturanga, Xiangqi'', Indian chess, and '' janggi''. ''Shōgi'' ...

(Japanese

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

) player and swordsman. Once on Honshu, a group of men that had tried to cheat Zatoichi at dice try to take revenge upon him- only for Ichi to turn the tables on them in the tussle. However, Miki, the niece of a woman named Otane, is injured in the confusion, compelling Ichi to go to great lengths to procure the medicine needed to cure her injury. When she recovers, the child sincerely thanks him, leaving him overwrought with emotion. The four travel to

Hakone is a town in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had a population of 11,293 and a population density of 122 persons per km². The total area of the town is . The town is a popular tourist destination due to its many hot springs and views of ...

to use hotsprings to help in healing Miki. After arriving, further guests arrive- including a young lord named Sasagara, his sister Kume, and their retainer Roppei, the only one who could identify the man who killed their father, over a heated game of shogi. When Otane admits to her growing feelings for Ichi, he reveals that he still harbors feelings for a woman of the same name that he once loved, who is now dead. Despite his suspicions, Zatoichi remains silent, until Roppei is found dead- having been strangled with a length of wire while engaged in prayer. This, combined with the discovery of a fishing float at the scene of the killing, further implicates Jumonji. However, Ichi continues to "observe" Jumonji through their shogi games, with the latter having won two of their three games. When The brother and sister reveal a particular quirk of the man who killed their father- rubbing his nose and snapping his finger- Ichi is all but certain of his new friend's guilt in the two murders. As Zatoichi and Jumonji escort Otane and Miki on their trip, the two men begin a verbal game of shogi, with each move escalating the tension between the two of them. Eventually, the moment of "checkmate" comes- when Jumonji confronts Ichi, only for Zatoichi to reveal the fishing float from the scene of the murder. The two engage in a duel- with Zatoichi telling Otane to get Miki away from the carnage- and Ichi critically wounds Jumonji. Though he stops from killing the man, when Sasagara and Kume arrive to enact vengeance upon him. In the confusion, Zatoichi departs- with Sasagara and Kume bowing respectfully to him, and Miki calling out to thank him. As he walks away, upon hearing Miki, Zatoichi softly returns her earlier thanks- saying "arigato".

Cast

as Zatoichi *

Mikio Narita was a Japanese actor. He was most famous for playing villains. He often worked with Kinji Fukasaku. Narita graduated from Haiyuza Theatre Company acting school and joined Daiei Film. His career as a screen actor started in 1963. His film debut ...

as Jumonji * Chizuru Hayashi as Kume * Kaneko Iwasaki as Otane *

Gaku Yamamoto Gaku (written: 岳 or 学) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese actor *, Japanese politician *, Japanese politician *, Japanese alpine skier *, Japanese aikidoka *, Japanese politician *, Japanese p ...

as Sagawa * Tatsuo Endo as

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 ...

boss *

Takuya Fujioka was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing the role of Daikichi Okakura on the television drama series '' Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari''. Fujioka attended Kwansei Gakuin University but dropped out because of illness. His first starring r ...

as Sunpachi *

Taro Marui Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

as Roppei * Rokko Toura as crippled yakuza

Reception

From contemporary reviews, Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the film "has considerably more juice than its predecessor", adding that " e settings, especially the natural

panoramas A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

, and the costumes are fetching in quite lovely color. Mr. Katsu performs, as before, with beguiling, wily simplicity. There is an excellent, sinuous performance by Mikio Narita as an expert

player and no mean swordsman himself. Chizu Hayashi is a pretty, earnest heroine and little Gaku Yamamoto, as her chirpy daughter, is cute." Thompson also said " e movie is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

in being unabashedly

melodramatic A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

with most of the cards stacked, clipping along in a straight line through some pictorial backgrounds and with

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...

triumphant." "Beau." 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), ...

'' stated that the film "has enough bloodletting for the kids and enough saccharine romantics (Zatoichi is courted by the teary-eyed wife of one of his conquests) for the ladies. But without art for addicts of Akira Kurosawa and with those shivering subtitles for the mass audience, it has no commercial future in this country."

References

External links

* * *
"Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman, Vol. 12 - ''Zatoichi and the Chess Expert''"
review by J. Doyle Wallis 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 ...

(25 May 2004)
Review: ''Zatoichi and the Chess Expert'' (1965)
by Thomas Raven for freakengine (July 2011)
''Zatoichi and the Chess Expert'' (1965)
review by D. Trull for Lard Biscuit Enterprises

review by Hubert for Unseen Films (13 February 2014) {{DEFAULTSORT:Zatoichi and the Chess Expert Japanese adventure films 1965 films Zatoichi films Daiei Film films Films set in Japan Films shot in Japan Films about chess Films directed by Kenji Misumi Films scored by Akira Ifukube 1960s Japanese films