Zatoichi sekisho yaburi (1964)

Director:

Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writers:

Shozaburo Asai (writer)
Kan Shimosawa (story)

Release Date:

30 December 1964 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared...

Plot Keywords:

Zatoichi | Kite | Daruma Doll | Dice | Sword

Cast

Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatoichi
Miwa Takada	...	Saki
Eiko Taki	...	Sen
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Boss Jinbei
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Daimaru	...	Zany Entertainer
Mikijiro Hira	...	Gounosuke
Gen Kimura	...	Yakuza dice thrower
Akitake Kôno	...	Intendant Gorota Kajima
Koichi Mizuhara	...	Kamazo
Ikuko Môri	...	Hanokama
Rocket Nakata	...	Zany Entertainer
Teruko Omi	...	Daruma maker's wife

Also Known As:

Adventures of Zatoichi (USA)
Adventures of a Blind Man
Blind Swordsman: The Adventures of Zatoichi
Zatôichi 9 (Japan) (informal title)

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Company:

Daiei Studios

Goofs:

Continuity: Throughout the film, Zatoichi's hair length and the darkness around his eyes changes from scene to scene or sometimes within the same scene.

Movie Connections:

Followed by Zatôichi abare-himatsuri (1970)

Blind Swordsman: Adventures of Zatoichi

Blind Swordsman: Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)

aka Zatoichi sekisho yaburi

*** (out of 4)

The blind swordsman (Shintaro Katsu) returns, this time helping a young woman track down her missing father. This is so far the best I've seen in the series thanks in large part to a darker tone than the previous two. Once again, the story of a blind swordsman works well and keeps the viewing interested and the fight scenes are extremely well done this time out.

Available on DVD or IFC shows it often.