Zatoichi's Cane Sword

Zatoichi's Cane Sword
Japanese 座頭市鉄火旅
Hepburn Zatōichi tekka-tabi
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Produced by Ikuo Kubodera
Written by Ryozo Kasahara
Based on Zatoichi 
by Kan Shimozawa
Starring Shintaro Katsu
Shiho Fujimura
Eijirō Tōno
Music by Ichirō Saitō
Cinematography Senkichiro Takeda
Edited by Toshio Taniguchi
Production
company
Release dates
  • 3 January 1967 (1967-01-03) (Japan)
  • 16 August 1971 (1971-08-16) (New York)
Running time
93 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

Zatoichi's Cane Sword (座頭市鉄火旅 Zatōichi tekka-tabi) is a 1967 Japanese chambara film directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda and starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind masseur Zatoichi. It was originally released by the Daiei Motion Picture Company (later acquired by Kadokawa Pictures).

Zatoichi's Cane Sword is the fifteenth episode in the 26-part film series devoted to the character of Zatoichi.

Plot

In a town dominated by yakuza, Zatoichi (Katsu) encounters a master swordsmith named Senzo (Tōno) who identifies Zatoichi's cane sword as the work of his late mentor. Senzo also spots a crack in the blade and warns that it will snap after one more kill.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

Roger Greenspun, in a review for The New York Times, wrote that "[w]here it is quiet enough to allow Ichi his peaceful idiocyncrasies, Zato Ichi's Cane Sword is a pleasantly modest film, an amiable contrast to the fateful solemnities of the Toshiro Mifune samurai dramas. Ichi's very invulnerability makes for a certain relaxation, a few songs, a little buffoonery, and much of it to the good."[2]

References

External links

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