Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
"Zatoichi no uta ga kikoeru" (original title)

Promising to make a delivery for a dying man, the blind swordsman Zatoichi comes across the usual crime gangs but also meets a blind monk who brings into question his use of violence.

Director:

Tokuzô Tanaka

Writers:

Kan Shimosawa (story), Hajime Takaiwa (scenario)

Stars:

Shintarô Katsu, Shigeru Amachi, Jun Hamamura

Cast

Credited cast:
Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatoichi
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shigeru Amachi	...	Genpachiro Kuroda
Jun Hamamura	...	Blind Biwa Priest
Gen Kimura	...	Tamekichi
Kanae Kobayashi	...	Tamekichi's mother
Koichi Mizuhara	...	Joshuya
Mayumi Ogawa	...	Cho / Shino
Kei Satô	...	Boss Gonzo

Storyline

Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.

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Plot Keywords:

zatoichi | thirteenth part | sequel | katana | sword fight | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

3 May 1966 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Zatoichi #13: Zatoichi's Vengeance

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Followed by Zatoichi in Desperation (1972)

User Reviews

Zatoichi gets a conscience

An interesting entry, the prescence of the blind monk calling Zatoichi on his bad choices adds an interesting element to an otherwise standard Zatoichi film. The concept doesn't play out fully unfortunately, he never makes a real decision about his life of violence.