Fight, Zatoichi, Fight - 1964

Well, that was dark. I thought the ending of the last movie was dark. That ending does not hold a candle (ha) to some of the things in this film. Fight, Zatoichi, Fight is the eighth movie in this franchise and we're still rolling strong in terms of quality. This is also the eighth movie in two years. Back in the day where you filmed a movie in two weeks. But let's get back on point. This movie is dark.

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword - 1964

Illustrated by Ricardo Venancio

Zatoichi's Flashing Sword, we have the startling distinct difference between the light humor and grim darkness this series is known for. We open with some basic slapstick, and as the film progresses along the plot, it gets darker and darker, until the final conflict is down at night, with the only lighting source fireworks and a candle, with suspiciously big flame.

Our film begins with some light comedy, that ends with a young yakuza attempting to shoot Zatoichi with a musket. He almost succeeds, but a young woman aids him. He would then travel to her home town to give proper thanks upon his full recovery. There finds two rival yakuza families, obviously, and thus must choose a side in an upcoming battle over control of a ford and it's trafficking across.

Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold - 1964

Illustraion by Evan Bryce

This is Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold. What could possibly be the most Serial of titles I've ever seen. Well, that and film #12, Zatoichi and the Chess Expert. But what can you do, American titles for Japanese films can be like that. And don't ask me to translate 座頭市千両首. I only know 座頭市 is Zatoichi. And 千両 is sen ryō, 1000 ryō, ryō being, as far as I can tell, the primary denomination of currency in this films, if the subtitles mean anything. If anyone knows the last character. Do tell.

Back to the Chest of Gold. Zatoichi wanders into a town, where they finally get to pay off their taxes after several years of drought. They're celebrating by getting drunk. Well, tragedy inevitably occurs when the money gets stolen, a misunderstanding leads Ichi to get blamed for the theft, as well as a local Yakuza boss, who seems to be akin to Robin Hood.

Zatoichi on the Road - 1963

Illustration by Josh Cochran

This film I had the pleasure of watching with a friend. And the displeasure of having massive issues with the laptop and disc, where the final 5 minutes wouldn't play. It took some time to see the last five minutes, roughly a week. And it leads to a very disjointed feeling I have for the movie. But I'll talk about that shortly, let us instead talk about the movie itself.

Ichi comes across a dying man who seems to have been escorting a young woman, Omitsu. Omitsu is played by Shiho Fujimura. Omitsu is the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and in the course of spurning the advances with a too grabsy samurai, stabs him with a hair pin. This goes badly, and thus, Ichi arrives to keep her safe along the way.

Zatoichi: The Fugitive - 1963

Illustration by Samuel Hiti

This is the part where I let you in on a little secret. Some time has passed since I saw this movie and am writing this. This originally started as a quest to watch one Zatoichi movie every day and ramble on about it on a forum where no one read it. Unlike here, where I will ramble were no one listens, I just happen to be managing this site. So my memories of this film are a bit sketchy, and I've lost all my first impressions on if I liked it that much or not, but since I don't want to go back three movies to watch it again, I'll make due.

The New Tale of Zatoichi - 1963

Illustration by Scott Morse

I have no idea why this is called The New Tale of Zatoichi, it stars the same lead actor, continues a plot thread of the previous film. The only new thing about it is that lead Shintaro Katsu is a bit thinner and has hair. Oh, and it's in color. Maybe it's just the English title, the Japanese title is Shin Zatōichi Monogatari...new tale of Zatoichi. Well, screw that, I think they're just making this up as they go along.

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues - 1962

Illustration by Paul Pope

The Tale of Zatoichi Continues stars Shintaro Katsu. While he still performs quite well in this story, he is left with little of the humor of the previous film, and gets all the dark dramatic scenes. The samurai that is the main fight of the film is Yoshiro, played by Shintaro's elder brother, Tomisaburo Wakayama (credited as Jo Kenzaburo). These two have a fair more antagonistic relationship which is the core of the film, though not much honestly happens in this movie.

The Tale of Zatoichi - 1962

Illustration by Greg Ruth

I have begun my quest to watch 25 Japanese samurai films about a blind man. And this is honestly an OK start. I can see why this became a series of films, then later a TV show, then a few remakes/spiritual sequels. While I'm not a total stranger to Japanese cinema of the age, having seen Kurosawa's classics Yojimbo and 7 Samurai, as well as my fair share of Kaiju. But back on point. Shintaro Katsu plays the role of the blind Masseur/Yakuza Ichi. Zato is his title as a member of a guild, at least that is what I've read, my knowledge of Japanese masseur guilds is sketchy. Shintaro is brilliant, except for a brief scene at the end, he has his eyes closed the entire film, and so relies on mannerisms and facial tics to get emotion across, which is really effective. And when they do open his eyes, though it was hard for me to tell, it does look like they gave him contacts to get a milky look to them.

Welcome

A quick introduction is in order. This is my space where I'm going to talk about movies. Movies I'm watching, movies I've watched, and movies I probably will watch. This is about my journey through films.

I'm J.C. and I like movies, and TV, and a whole lot of things. I want to have fun with films, so I try not to take everything too seriously, but what can you do. This all started elsewhere on the internet where I started writing down my thoughts on a Japanese film franchise Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman. I got roughly three films in and things happened, and I couldn't continue. I've made it to film 7 since then, and plan to continue in the near future all the way to the end of my Criterion set. I plan on putting up those first three bits up here, and we shall see how this all evolves from there.

Here is to a fun ride, let us see where it takes us. Who knows, I might just learn something.