Zatoichi on the Road (1963)
"Zatôichi kenka-tabi" (original title)

Zatoichi promises to deliver a maiden safely home but finds two dangerous gangs have a mysterious interest in the young girl.

Director:

Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writers:

Minoru Inuzuka, Kan Shimosawa (story)

Stars:

Shintarô Katsu, Shiho Fujimura, Ryuzo Shimada

Cast

Credited cast:
Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatôichi / Ichi, a zatô in the Tôdô-za (guild for the blind)
Shiho Fujimura	...	Mitsu
Ryuzo Shimada	...	Jingorô (as Ryuuzô Shimada)
Reiko Fujiwara	...	Hisa
Matasaburo Niwa	...	Yamada
Yoshio Yoshida	...	Boss Tomegoro of Kagotame
Sonosuke Sawamura	...	Boss Tobei of Shimozuma
Shôsaku Sugiyama	...	Boss Hikozo of Doyama
Yutaka Nakamura	...	Matsu
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gen Kimura	...	Yakuza enforcer
Teruko Ômi	...	Palaquin receptionist

Storyline

Blind swordsman/masseuer Ichi (or "Zatoichi") is asked by a dying man to deliver the maiden Mitsu (or "Omitsu") to her family in Edo, and Zatoichi feels honor-bound to do so. But rival gangs each have an interest in kidnapping the girl for ransom. Zatoichi joins with one of the gangs when the other gang captures Mitsu, but he then finds that to rescue her, he must fight both gangs.

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Plot Keywords:

zatoichi | fifth part | sword | katana sword | sword fight | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

27 June 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

Zatoichi's Fighting Journey

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Boss Tobei of Shimozuma: [after Zatoichi lures three Yakuza bosses from two opposing sides of a gang war via a ruse] You blind bastard!
Boss Tomegoro of Kagotame: I run an honest business.
Zatôichi: Then why did you try to kidnap the girl?
Boss Tomegoro of Kagotame: No, it wasn't like that. It was -...
Zatôichi: [Zatoichi interrupts] Nobody has a worse reputation around here than you guys.
[pauses then around to face Boss Hikozo]
Zatôichi: You too.
Boss Hikozo of Doyama: What?
Zatôichi: Using an innocent woman as bait - Unscrupulous coward! None of you deserves to live.
Boss Hikozo of Doyama: What are you talking about? Get them!
[...]

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Connections

Followed by Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)

User Reviews

Masterful samurai among the masterless (those hapless choppers who should have remained so)

Fierce fighter, but humble, deferential to a fault, carefully rewards goodness only when he cannot be thanked, protective of innocents --- much like our finest cowboy heroes (Shane, Coop in Noon, Clint).

My wife likes The Shield for the same reasons she likes Hollywood's version of Cosa Nostra: protect the innocent, swiftly and without recourse punish the guilty.

If Michael Corleone ran the justice system, would O.J. be playing golf? Would the beaten, threatened common-law wife be turned away from the police station with "until he actually kills you, the ACLU won't allow us to do anything?"

Just saw the first sequel episode, #2. The print I found appears to be a crude chop job by Janus Films, that marketer having rudely hacked off the correct ending.