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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 ''Zatoichi Monogatari'', part of Shimozawa's ''Futokoro Techō'' series that was serialized in the magazine ''Shōsetsu to Yomimono''. This originally minor character was drastically altered and developed for the screen by Daiei Film and actor Shintaro Katsu, becoming the subject of one of Japan's longest-running film series. A total of 26 films were made between 1962 and 1989. From 1974 to 1979, a television series was produced, starring Katsu and some of the same actors that appear in the films. Produced by Katsu Productions, 100 episodes were aired before the ''Zatoichi'' television series was cancelled. The seventeenth film of the ''Zatoichi'' series was remade in the US in 1989 by TriStar Pictures as '' Blind Fury'', starring Rutger Hauer. A 2003 film was directed by Takeshi K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 November 1931. He was the son of Minoru Okumura (奥村 実), a noted kabuki performer who went by the stage name Katsutōji Kineya (杵屋 勝東治) and who was renowned for his nagauta and shamisen skills. He was the younger brother of actor Tomisaburo Wakayama. Shintaro Katsu began his career in entertainment as a shamisen player. He switched to acting because he noticed it was better paid. In the 1960s he starred simultaneously in three long-running series of films, the Akumyo series, the Hoodlum Soldier series, and the Zatoichi series. He played the role of blind masseur Zatoichi in a series of 25 films between 1962 and 1973, in 100 episodes across a four season television series from 1974 to 1979, and in a 26th and final film in 1989, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zatoichi (2008 Film)
, also known as ''Zatoichi Live'', is a filmed stage production of ''Zatoichi'', a play co-written by Takashi Miike and Masa Nakamura based on the character created by Kan Shimozawa. It was Miike's second filmed stage production, following '' Demon Pond'' in 2005. The stage production was performed and filmed on December 12, 2007, and the DVD was released on May 30, 2008. Plot A reward is offered for Zatoichi, who has killed some Kappo officials. He causes a disturbance at a gambling house when he discovers that the dice are being switched by a man hidden under the table. This arouses the notice of the "Twin Snakes" Cho ("Red Viper") and Ryo ("Black Viper"), who seek to obtain the reward for Zatoichi, but Zatoichi escapes with the deaf biwa player Kanbachi no Hachi. Cho and Ryo are killed by Ryunosuke. Zatoichi and Hachi collect Japanese brown frogs to sell in town as a source of medicine in exchange for money to use for eating and drinking. They encounter the Ake-Tayu Company ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zatoichi Challenged
is a 1967 Japanese ''chambara'' film directed by Kenji Misumi and starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi. The film was originally released by the Daiei Film, Daiei Motion Picture Company (later acquired by Kadokawa Pictures). ''Zatoichi Challenged'' is the seventeenth entry in the 26-part film series dedicated to the character of Zatoichi. The series, known for its blend of action, drama, and social commentary, has become iconic in Japanese cinema and has garnered a significant following worldwide. Plot Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu), the blind swordsman and masseur, checks into an inn where he shares a room with an ill woman and her young son, Ryota. Before the woman dies, she entrusts Zatoichi with the task of taking her son to his father, an artist living in the town of Maebara. Moved by her dying wish, Zatoichi agrees to help the boy, embarking on a journey that tests his skill and compassion. As Zatoichi and Ryota travel together, they encounter various obstacl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zatōichi (2003 Film)
(released in the US as ''The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi'') is a 2003 Japanese ''jidaigeki'' action film, directed, written, co-edited by and starring Takeshi Kitano ("Beat" Takeshi) in his eleventh directorial venture. Kitano plays the role of the blind swordsman, with Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigoro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura, and Akira Emoto in supporting roles. A revival of the classic '' Zatoichi'' series of samurai film and television dramas, the film premiered on 2 September 2003 at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Silver Lion for Best Director award, and went on to numerous other awards both at home and abroad. Plot The film's plot follows a traditional theme, with Zatoichi (a blind swordsman) coming to the defense of townspeople caught up in a local yakuza gang war and being forced to pay excessive amounts of protection money. Meanwhile, Zatoichi befriends a loc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ichi (film)
''Ichi'' is a 2008 chanbara チャンバラ film directed by Fumihiko Sori, starring Haruka Ayase, Takao Osawa, Shido Nakamura, and Yosuke Kubozuka. It was released by Warner Bros. Japan on October 25, 2008. The film was loosely based on the manga by Hana Shinohara published Oct 23, 2008, to Aug 23, 2011. It is also a soft reboot of the Zatoichi film series, featuring a female protagonist this time named Ichi, a blind musician and samurai traveling Feudal Japan to find her lost mentor (who is actually Zatoichi himself). Plot is a goze (blind woman) who is travelling Japan in search of her mentor, who was the actual Zatoichi. She is befriended by a traveling samurai Toma Fujihira, who tells her that he rescued her from bandits (in fact, it was Ichi who saved them both by killing the bandits). They travel to a town run by the Shirakawa, a Yakuza family who are plagued by the Banki-to, a group of mercenaries. This group is led by Banki, an evil man who is excellent in sword fightin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kan Shimozawa
was a Japanese novelist and historical writer best known for originating the character Zatoichi. He was awarded the Kikuchi Kan Prize in 1962 for a series of works set at the end of the Tokugawa period and the Meiji era. Biography Kan Shimozawa was born Umetani Matsutaro in Atsuta, Hokkaido on February 1, 1892. He was the half-brother of painter Migishi Kōtarō. He graduated from the law school of Meiji University in 1914 and initially returned to his hometown where he worked for a lumber company. He moved back to Tokyo in 1918 to work for an electric company, and in 1919 joined the newspaper ''Yomiuri Shimbun'' as a reporter. He would move to the newspaper ''Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun'' in 1926. While working as a reporter, he collected interviews with former Shinsengumi under the guidance of jurist Takeshi Osatake. These interviews served as the basis for the novel ''Shinsengumi Shimetsuki'' published in 1928 and adapted into a film in 1962. He would write two sequels, ''Shinse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blind Fury
''Blind Fury'' is a 1989 American action comedy film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Rutger Hauer, Terry O'Quinn, Lisa Blount, Randall "Tex" Cobb, and Noble Willingham. It is a modernized, English-language remake of ''Zatoichi Challenged'', the 17th film in the Japanese ''Zatoichi'' film series. The film follows Nick Parker (Hauer), a blind, sword-wielding Vietnam War veteran, who returns to the United States and befriends the son of an old friend. Parker decides to help the boy find his father (O'Quinn), who has been kidnapped by a major crime syndicate. This was Phillip Noyce's American film debut. After premiering in West Germany, ''Blind Fury'' was released in the United States by Tri-Star Pictures on August 17, 1989. It received mixed-to-positive reviews, but failed to find an audience at the box office. In the years since its release, the film has developed a cult following. Plot While serving in Vietnam, American soldier Nick Parker is blinded by a mortar exp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takashi Miike
is a Japanese film director, film producer and screenwriter. He has directed over 100 feature film, video, and television productions since his debut in 1991. His films span a variety of different genres, ranging from violent and surrealism, bizarre to Drama (film and television), dramatic and family-friendly movies. He is a controversial figure in the contemporary Cinema of Japan, Japanese cinema industry, with several of his films being criticised for their extreme graphic violence. Some of his best-known films are Audition (1999 film), ''Audition'', Ichi the Killer (film), ''Ichi the Killer'', ''Visitor Q'', ''Dead or Alive (1999 film), Dead or Alive'', ''One Missed Call (2003 film), One Missed Call'', and various remakes: 13 Assassins (2010 film), ''13 Assassins'', ''Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai, Hara-kiri'', and Graveyard of Honor (2002 film), ''Graveyard of Honor''. He has also acted in more than 20 films. Early life Miike was born in Yao, Osaka, Yao, Osaka Prefecture. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeshi Kitano
, also known as in Japan, is a Japanese comedian, actor, and filmmaker. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. During his time as a student at Meiji University, he became a comedian at the strip theater France-za in Asakusa, Asakusa, Tokyo. In 1973, he formed a comedy duo called Two Beat with Kiyoshi Kaneko, who later became Beat Kiyoshi. Kitano adopted the stage name Beat Takeshi. Riding the wave of the comedy boom, he gained popularity with satirical and sharp-tongued black humor. In the 1980s, he appeared in TV shows such as ''Oretachi Hyōkin-zoku'' which recorded the highest viewership rating of 29.1%, and ''Takeshi's Castle'' which recorded 24.7%, becoming explosively popular on television. He gained recognition as an actor in director Nagisa Ōshima's film ''Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence'' (1983). In 1989, he made his directorial debut with the film V ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junji Sakamoto
is a Japanese film director. Career After working as a set assistant or assistant director under such filmmakers as Sogo Ishii and Kazuyuki Izutsu, he made his directorial debut in 1989 with '' Dotsuitarunen'' (earning the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award) and followed it up with another boxing film, ''Tekken'', in 1990. Sakamoto became known for action films focusing on the conflicts between male characters, such as '' Tokarefu'' and '' New Battles Without Honor and Humanity'', but has also made films centered on female characters such as ''Face'' and ''Awakening''. He won the award for Best Director at the 24th Japan Academy Prize and at the 22nd Yokohama Film Festival for ''Face''. He won the Special Jury prize for '' My House'' at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival in 2003. ''Chameleon'', an action film starring Tatsuya Fujiwara and Asami Mizukawa, screened at the Busan International Film Festival in 2008. '' Children of the Dark'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daiei Film
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 not only artistic masterpieces, such as Akira Kurosawa's '' Rashomon'' (1950) and Kenji Mizoguchi's '' Ugetsu'' (1953), but also launching several film series, such as ''Gamera'', '' Zatoichi'' and ''Yokai Monsters'', and making the three ''Daimajin'' films (1966). It declared bankruptcy in 1971 and was acquired by Kadokawa Pictures. History Daiei Film was the product of government efforts to reorganize the film industry during World War II in order to rationalize use of resources and increase control over the medium. Against a government plan to combine all the film studios into two companies, Masaichi Nagata, an executive at Shinkō Kinema, pressed hard for an alternative plan to create three studios. His efforts won out and Shin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bakuto
''Bakuto'' (博徒) were itinerant gamblers active in Japan from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. They were one of two forerunners (the other being ''tekiya'', or peddlers) to modern Japanese organized crime syndicates called ''yakuza''. History Beginning around the 17th century, ''bakuto'' plied their trade in towns and highways in Edo period, feudal Japan, playing traditional games such as hanafuda and Chō-han, dice. During the Tokugawa shogunate, violent ''bakuto'' ''ikka'' (families) rose to power with the gambling spaces they ran, occasionally hired by local governments to gamble with laborers, winning back worker's earnings in exchange for a percentage. They had varying qualities of relationships with the villages in which they lived, often as well with the government, despite their connection. In the 18th century, the tradition of Irezumi, elaborate tattooing was introduced into ''bakuto'' culture. Dealers of card or dice games often displayed these full-body t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
