Kazuo Ikehiro

Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword

Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword

The blind swordsman is shot and nursed back to health by kind strangers. He soon discovers that his saviors are caught between sparring crime lords; bound by honor, Zatoichi stays to ensure their safety. Along the way, we learn more about the origins of Zatoichi’s amazing abilities, and get to see them in action in a stunning underwater duel and a nighttime clash set against fireworks.

Film Info

  • Japan
  • 1964
  • 82 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.35:1
  • Japanese

Available In

Collector's Set

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

Blu-ray Box Set

9 Discs

$159.96

Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword
Cast
Shintaro Katsu
Zatoichi
Naoko Kubo
Okuni
Mayumi Nagisa
Oshizu
Takashi Edajima
Seiroku
Tatsuo Endo
Boss Yasugoro
Yutaka Nakamura
Mekichi
Bokuzen Hidari
Kyubei
Ikuko Mori
Yasuhoro’s sister
Credits
Director
Kazuo Ikehiro
Produced by
Masaichi Nagata
Original story by
Kan Shimozawa
Screenplay
Minoru Inuzuka
Screenplay
Shozaburo Asai
Cinematography
Yasukazu Takemura
Edited by
Takashi Taniguchi
Original music
Sei Ikeno
Art direction
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Current

Tony Rayns on the Meaning of Zatoichi
Tony Rayns on the Meaning of Zatoichi

Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns unpacks the significance of Zatoichi’s name and the strict social hierarchy that the character so gleefully upends.

On the Road with Zatoichi
On the Road with Zatoichi

He massages, he gambles, and he’s great with a blade. Who is this blind swordsman, anyway?

By Geoffrey O'Brien