Zatoichi kyojo tabi (1963)

Director:

Tokuzo Tanaka

Writers:

Seiji Hoshikawa (writer)
Kan Shimosawa (story)

Release Date:

10 August 1963 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Action

Plot:

Blind swordsman/masseur Ichi (known as Zatoichi, or "Masseur Ichi") angers a local yakuza gang when he defeats several of them in a wrestling match...

Plot Keywords:

Samurai | Zatoichi | Katana | Martial Arts | Sword Fight

Cast

Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatoichi
Miwa Takada	...	Nobu
Masayo Banri	...	Tane
Junichiro Narita
Katsuhiko Kobayashi
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tôru Abe	...	Boss Yagiri Tokyuro
Jutaro Hojo
Jun Katsumura	...	Wrestling yakuza
Koichi Mizuhara	...	Boss Unosuke
Yasuhiro Mizukami	...	Boss Tamamura
Sachiko Murase	...	Maki
Hiroshi Nawa
Teruko Omi	...	Innkeeper maid

Also Known As:

Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive
Zatôichi 4 (Japan) (informal title)
Zatoichi, Crazy Journey

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

Daiei Studios

Movie Connections:

Followed by "Zatôichi monogatari" (1974)

Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive

Masseur Ichi, the Fugitive (1963)

*** (out of 4)

The blind swordsman Ichi (Shintaro Katsu) angers a large yakuza after defeating them in a wrestling match, which will lead to a bigger fight. Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka. This here was my second film in the series and while I enjoyed most of the first one, this one here just doesn't cut it. There's way too much talking going on and none of it is even mildly interesting. Even worse is that the actual swordfights are rather lame as well. The concept of a blind swordsman is really the only thing that keeps this film (and perhaps series?) afloat.