The Tale of Zatoichi

The Tale of Zatoichi (Zatoichi Monogatari) (1962)

Runtime: 96 minutes

Directed by: Kenji Misumi

Starring: Shintaro Katsu, Masayo Banri, Ryuzo Shimada, Hajime Mitamura, Shigeru Amachi

From: Daiei

Would you believe this is my first Zatoichi picture? Of course I’ve not only known of the character for years, long ago I saw 1989’s Blind Fury which was really an Americanized version of the tale AND I shook my head at Tarantino’s rather improbable name-drop of the character in Death Proof. Then again, the premise of “a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman” is a little far-fetched; no offense to Japanese novelist Kan Shimozawa, who created the character.

The movie did a swell job in introducing the character. Him being a masseuse was looked down upon at the time so that was a further handicap against someone who everyone underestimates and attempts to take advantage of due to his condition. Yet he is wise, his other senses are heightened and you believe his ability to kick ass. It is important to note that at least in this initial entry, the focus was on the story and characters; there isn’t much in the way of action until the finale.

The story is a standard feud in feudal Japan; it was made interesting due to all the characters, not just Zatoichi. Interesting settings both indoors & out, nice sound design, a cool score from Akira Ifukube of Showa-Era Godzilla films… good times overall. That does not include the scene where a guy forces himself on a woman but that does include the badass final 10 or so minutes.

I won’t be going through the entire run of these films-after all, the original series had 26 movies! However, once in a blue moon...