Zatoichi's Cane-sword (1967) Zatoichi tekka tabi (original title)

Director:

Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writers:

Ryôzô Kasahara
Kan Shimosawa (story)

Release Date:

3 January 1967 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure

Plot:

Zatoichi, while fighting off the usual group of gangsters, meets the apprentice of the swordsman who created his blade, who relays bad news about the sword.

Plot Keywords:

Zatoichi | Fifteenth Part | Maid | Sequel | Character Name In Title

Cast

Shintarô Katsu	...	Zatoichi
Shiho Fujimura	...	Oshizu
Yoshihiko Aoyama	...	Seikichi
Makoto Fujita	...	Umazo
Kiyoko Suizenji	...	Oharu
Eijirô Tôno	...	Senzo
Masumi Harukawa	...	Oryu
Masako Aboshi	...	Omatsu the maid
Junichiro Yamashita	...	Shinnosuke
Ryûtarô Gomi	...	Ronin
Fujio Suga	...	Seisuke Kuwayama
Tatsuo Endô	...	Iwagoro
Ryûji Kita	...	Genbei Shimotsukeya
Eigoro Onoe	...	Zato
Yûsaku Terajima	...	Noodle Shop Owner
Gen Kimura	...	Hanzo the dice player
Sachio Horikita	...	Mosuke
Kimiko Tachibana	...	Otane

Directed by
Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ryôzô Kasahara
Kan Shimosawa		story

Produced by
Ikuo Kubodera	....	producer
Masaichi Nagata	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ichirô Saitô

Cinematography by
Senkichiro Takeda

Film Editing by
Toshio Taniguchi

Art Direction by
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Sound Department
Masao Oosumi	....	sound recordist

Production Companies

• Daiei Studios

Distributors

• Daiei Studios (1971) (USA) (subtitled)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Zatoichi tekka tabi" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Company:

Daiei Studios

Movie Connections:

Follows Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)

A true gem

This entry in the Zatoichi series has been reviewed extensively at IMDb for good reason. If you have grown to admire Zatoichi and enjoyed earlier films in the series, you are sure to love Zatoichi Tekka Tabi. If you are a fan of samurai films with a lot of action and spurting blood, then you will lose patience with this film. Warning for the before-mentioned samurai film fans; Zatoichi doesn't make his first kill until the 77th minute!

All of the most interesting scenes have been described by others. There is a great variety of scenes and Katsu Shintaro is at his best. I do have to mention the Duck Song scene. It is absolutely devastating. It's a short little song and dance performed by Zatoichi that blasts the boss who is hosting the party. Zatoichi finishes his song, waits, and doesn't hear any applause. The audience is stunned by his audacity. The scene continues with fabulous dialog between the boss and Zatoichi. It's pure gold.

The film eventually does take the viewer into familiar territory and by now you should know what to expect. The cinematography of Zatoichi entering the town holding an umbrella under falling snow is one of my favorite images from the series.

If you are looking to add to your Zatoichi DVD collection, this one is a no-brainer. It's terrific stuff served up by Katsu at his best.