| Zatōichi | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Created by | Kan Shimozawa (子母澤 寛 Shimozawa Kan). |
| In-story information | |
| Abilities | Swordsman, unarmed combatant, senses powerful due to blindness, gambler |
Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series set in the Edo period. The character, a blind masseur and swordmaster, was created by novelist Kan Shimozawa (子母澤 寛 Shimozawa Kan). This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios (now Kadokawa Pictures) and actor Shintaro Katsu, who created the screen version. A total of 26 films were made from 1962 to 1989. From 1972 to 1974, the television series "Zatoichi" was produced, starring Katsu and some of the same stars that appeared in the films. These were produced by Katsu Productions. One hundred episodes, with episodes 99 and 100 being a two-part story finale, were aired before the "Zatoichi" television series was cancelled.[1]
Film number 17 of the original series was remade in America in 1990 (by TriStar Pictures) as Blind Fury, an action movie starring Rutger Hauer.
More recently, Takeshi Kitano directed and starred in a 2003 Zatoichi movie. Show Aikawa also starred in a stage version of Zatoichi, directed by Takashi Miike.[2]
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Zatoichi at first appears to be a harmless blind anma (masseur) and bakuto (gambler) who wanders around the country, making his living by Chō-han (playing dice) as well as giving massages, performing acupuncture, singing and playing music; however, secretly, he is also highly-skilled in swordsmanship, specifically iaido and is equally skilled in the general sword skills of Japan, as well as Sumo wrestling. Little of his past is revealed; the reason for his blindness and how he developed his incredible swordsmanship are unknown.
He does not carry a traditional katana, instead using a well-made shikomi-zue (cane sword), as blades were outlawed for non-bushi in the Edo period. Shikomi-zue were generally straight-edged, lower-quality blades which could not compare with regular katana, but as revealed in Zatoichi's Cane Sword, his weapon was forged by a master bladesmith and is of superior quality.
A recurring theme of the films and television series is Zatoichi protecting the innocent from oppressive or warring yakuza gangs, and investigating/stopping general injustice. His fighting skill is incredible, with his sword-grip in inverse manner; this, combined with his keen ear and sense of smell and proprioception, renders him a frightening opponent. He is quite capable with a traditional katana, as seen in Zatoichi's Vengeance and the bath house scene in Zatoichi and the Festival of Fire. Similarly, he displays considerable skill using two swords simultaneously, in Musashi-like Nitō Ichi style in Zatoichi and the Doomed Man.
A number of standard scenarios are repeated through the series: Zatoichi's winning large amounts at gambling via his ability to hear whether the dice have fallen even or odd is a common theme, as is his catching loaded or substituted dice by the difference in their sound. This frequently culminates in another set piece, Zatoichi's cutting the candles lighting the room and reducing it to pitch blackness, commonly accompanied by his tag line "Kurayami nara kocchi no mon da" (暗闇ならこっちのもんだ lit. Darkness is my advantage).
The character's name is actually Ichi. Zatō is a title, the lowest of the four official ranks within the Tōdōza, the historical guild for blind men. (Thus zato is also Japanese slang for a blind person.) Ichi is therefore properly called Zatō-no-Ichi ("Low-Ranking Blind Person Ichi", approximately), or Zatōichi for short. Giving massages was a traditional occupation for the blind, as was playing the biwa. Because blind persons and masseurs were on the lowest social level, considered no better than beggars- especially during the Edo period- it was commonly thought the blind were severely mentally disabled, deaf and sexually dangerous.
The original series of 26 films featured Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi. The first film was made in 1962 in black and white. The third film, in 1963, was the first to be filmed in color. The twenty-fifth film was made in 1973 followed by a hiatus of 16 years until Katsu's last film, which he wrote and directed himself in 1989.
The original series of movies features other popular fictional characters of the genre on two occasions: Zatoichi and the One Armed Swordsman (1971) connects with the Shaw Brothers series of Hong Kong produced movies directed by prolific director Chang Cheh.
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) features Toshirō Mifune who played Imperial Shogunate Secret Agent Sassa Daisaka. This is essentially a reprisal of the title character of Akira Kurosawa's hit films Yojimbo (lit. "bodyguard") and Sanjuro (lit. "thirty-year-old"). As in Kurosawa's films, in this film the Yojimbo character is simply continued through a timeline, though his previously unknown identity is finally revealed in this Zatoichi film.
| No. | Title | Year | Japanese | Romanization | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Tale of Zatoichi | 1962 | 座頭市物語 | Zatōichi monogatari | Kenji Misumi |
| 2 | The Tale of Zatoichi Continues | 続・座頭市物語 | Zoku Zatōichi monogatari | Kazuo Mori | |
| 3 | New Tale of Zatoichi | 1963 | 新・座頭市物語 | Shin Zatōichi monogatari | Tokuzo Tanaka |
| 4 | Zatoichi The Fugitive | 座頭市兇状旅 | Zatōichi kyōjō-tabi | ||
| 5 | Zatoichi on the Road | 座頭市喧嘩旅 | Zatōichi kenka-tabi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | |
| 6 | Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold | 1964 | 座頭市千両首 | Zatōichi senryō-kubi | Kazuo Ikehiro |
| 7 | Zatoichi's Flashing Sword | 座頭市あばれ凧 | Zatōichi abare tako | ||
| 8 | Fight, Zatoichi, Fight | 座頭市血笑旅 | Zatōichi kesshō-tabi | Kenji Misumi | |
| 9 | Adventures of Zatoichi | 座頭市関所破り | Zatōichi sekisho-yaburi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | |
| 10 | Zatoichi's Revenge | 1965 | 座頭市二段斬り | Zatōichi nidan-giri | Akira Inoue |
| 11 | Zatoichi and the Doomed Man | 座頭市逆手斬り | Zatōichi sakate-giri | Kazuo Mori | |
| 12 | Zatoichi and the Chess Expert | 座頭市地獄旅 | Zatōichi jigoku-tabi | Kenji Misumi | |
| 13 | Zatoichi's Vengeance | 1966 | 座頭市の歌が聞える | Zatōichi no uta ga kikoeru | Tokuzo Tanaka |
| 14 | Zatoichi's Pilgrimage | 座頭市海を渡る | Zatōichi umi o wataru | Kazuo Ikehiro | |
| 15 | Zatoichi's Cane Sword | 1967 | 座頭市鉄火旅 | Zatōichi tekka-tabi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 16 | Zatoichi the Outlaw | 座頭市牢破り | Zatōichi rōyaburi | Satsuo Yamamoto | |
| 17 | Zatoichi Challenged | 座頭市血煙り街道 | Zatōichi chikemurikaidō | Kenji Misumi | |
| 18 | Zatoichi and the Fugitives | 1968 | 座頭市果し状 | Zatōichi hatashijō | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 19 | Samaritan Zatoichi | 座頭市喧嘩太鼓 | Zatōichi kenka-daiko | Kenji Misumi | |
| 20 | Zatoichi and Yojimbo | 1970 | 座頭市と用心棒 | Zatōichi to Yōjinbō | Kihachi Okamoto |
| 21 | Zatoichi, The Festival Of Fire | 座頭市あばれ火祭り | Zatōichi abare-himatsuri | Kenji Misumi | |
| 22 | Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman | 1971 | 新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣 | Shin Zatōichi: Yabure! Tōjin-ken | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 23 | Zatoichi at Large | 1972 | 座頭市御用旅 | Zatōichi goyō-tabi | Kazuo Mori |
| 24 | Zatoichi in Desperation | 新座頭市物語・折れた杖 | Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Oreta tsue | Shintarō Katsu | |
| 25 | Zatoichi's Conspiracy | 1973 | 新座頭市物語・笠間の血祭り | Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Kasama no chimatsuri | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 26 | Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman | 1989 | 座頭市 | Zatōichi | Shintarō Katsu |
See also: List of Zatoichi episodes
The television series of Zatoichi ran for four seasons, with Shintaro Katsu in the lead role:
In 1989, TriStar Pictures released a remake called Blind Fury starring Rutger Hauer as the Zatoichi character. Here, Hauer is a Vietnam War vet who is blinded, then taught to fence by a local tribe before returning home to America. It is the production of this film that dissuaded Quentin Tarantino from remaking a Zatoichi film (The One-armed Swordsman) a year earlier. This film is based on Zatoichi Challenged (1967, the 17th film in the original series).
In 2003, Takeshi Kitano wrote, directed and appeared in a new high-budget Zatoichi film, called simply Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi). It premiered on September 3, 2003 at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Silver Lion award, and went on to numerous other awards both at home and abroad. It also stars Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Okusu, Yui Natsukawa, Guadalcanal Taka, Daigiro Tachibana, Yuko Daike, Ittoku Kishibe, Saburo Ishikura, and Akira Emoto.
In this remake, Zatoichi discovers a small, remote mountain town that has been overtaken by a bullying gang that is extorting money from the townspeople. As Zatoichi seeks to liberate the town, he encounters a ronin seeking employment to pay for his ailing wife's needs, and two geisha who are seeking to avenge the murder of their parents, but he soon discovers they are not what they seem to be.
The soundtrack features contributions from Keiichi Suzuki (formerly of the Moon Riders) and The Stripes.
In Ichi, a blind female musician who is rescued (and later trained) by Zatoichi travels Japan to find her mentor.[3][4]
Toho released a new Zatoichi film, titled "Zatoichi: The Last" on May 29, 2010, starring Shingo Katori as Zatoichi.
The majority of the films were produced by Daiei Motion Picture Company: from the first film, Zatoichi's Story (wrongly translated as all the titles are, as The Tale of Zatoichi a/k/a The Life and Opinions of Masseur Ichi), to the 19th film, Zatoichi Samaritan. Toho Studios picked up where it had left off—the 16th film, Zatoichi the Outlaw—with the 20th film, Zatoichi and Yojimbo. The 22nd film, Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman, was released in 1971—the year Daiei Studios went bankrupt. It was just as well Toho had taken over production with the 20th film (Zatoichi and Yojimbo) in the series.
However, starting with film entry 16, Zatoichi the Outlaw in 1967, Shintaro Katsu's own company, Katsu Productions, coproduced the films (as well as producing the TV series and his last Zatoichi film). After Daiei was out of commission, Toho Company took over the films as stated, including 1972's highly popular Zatoichi at Large, the 23rd film, through to Zatoichi at the Blood Fest in 1973, the 25th film. Shochiku did Katsu's last Zatoichi film in 1989, which was produced by Katsu Productions. It was re-released (and retitled Darkness Is His Ally) in 2004; this was no doubt sparked by the new 2003 Zatoichi film, Zatoichi, starring Takeshi Kitano, which Shochiku also released.
Chambara Entertainment/Video Action of Honolulu held the original VHS release rights to the Zatoichi film series numbers 1-20, though it only released some of them. Chambara eventually expired its North American release license. AnimEigo held the remainder of the VHS rights.[5]
Home Vision Entertainment (not Criterion as is often misstated) was granted United States distribution rights to the original Daiei films (except for the 14th, and the 16th was in possession of AnimEigo), and released them on DVD: films numbered 1-13, 15, and 17-19. AnimEigo released seven of the films: Zatoichi the Outlaw (1967), Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970), Zatoichi at the Fire Festival (1970, as Zatoichi: The Festival of Fire), Zatoichi Meets the One Armed Swordsman (1971), Zatoichi at Large (1972), Zatoichi in Desperation (1972), and Zatoichi at the Blood Fest (1973, as Zatoichi's Conspiracy). More than a few of these titles are somewhat questionable as to actual year of original production.
Media Blasters (under their Tokyo Shock label) released the 1989 film. The first season (26 episodes) of the TV series was released on February 7, 2007.
Takeshi Kitano pretended to be blind, imitating the Zatoichi performance by Katsu, in his 1999 film Kikujiro.
In The Wicked Priest (1968), the first of a series of 5 films, Katsu's brother Tomisaburo Wakayama does a perfect spoof of Zatoichi.
The character of Zatoichi finds homage in the character of Zato-Ino (also known as "the Blind Swordspig") in Stan Sakai's long-running anthropomorphic comic series Usagi Yojimbo. This iteration of the character uses his keen sense of smell to find his way and to combat his enemies.
The Crimson Bat film series was an unauthorized variation, with a blind woman named O-Ichi, played by Yoko Matsuyama, as the sword-wielding hero. This series of films was not well received; only three films were produced and the producers were chastised for stealing from the Ichi character.
Blindman was a spaghetti western variation on the Zatoichi formula starring Tony Anthony as a blind gunman.
The 1989 movie Blind Fury starring Rutger Hauer was inspired by Zatoichi Challenged, the 17th film in the series. In this movie Hauer plays a blind Vietnam War veteran trained to use a sword cane in battle, thus giving his remake character a more American background.
In the 2006 movie Devil's Den, while being trapped in the strip club by female ghouls, the main characters have a fantasy scenario of how Zatoichi would deal with the ghouls himself.
In the Shogun update of Team Fortress 2, a katana called "The Half-Zatoichi" was introduced for use by both the soldier and demoman, alluding to the fact that the demoman uses an eyepatch and is half-blind, while the soldier wears an improperly fitted helmet and has impaired vision.
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