- published: 20 Apr 2017
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Zatoichi (座頭市, Zatōichi) is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series that are both set during the late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist Kan Shimozawa.
This originally minor character was developed for the screen by Daiei Studios (now Kadokawa Pictures) and actor Shintaro Katsu, who created the screen version. A total of 26 films were made from 1962 to 1989. From 1974 to 1979, the television series Zatoichi was produced, starring Katsu and some of the same stars that appeared in the films. These were produced by Katsu Productions. One hundred episodes, with episodes 99 and 100 being a two-part story finale, were aired before the Zatoichi television series was cancelled.
Film number 17 of the original series was remade in America in 1990 (by TriStar Pictures) as Blind Fury, an action movie starring Rutger Hauer.
A 2003 film, Zatōichi, was directed by Takeshi Kitano who also starred as Zatōichi in the film. The film was awarded the Venice Film Festival's Silver Lion for Best Direction in 2003.
Takeshi Kitano (北野 武, Kitano Takeshi, born 18 January 1947) is a Japanese comedian, television personality, director, actor, author, and screenwriter. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, abroad he is known exclusively for his filmwork. With the exception of his works as a film director, he is known almost exclusively by the stagename Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi).
Kitano rose to prominence in the 1970s as one half of the comedy duo Two Beat, before going solo and becoming one of the three biggest comedians in the country. After several small acting roles, he made his directorial debut with 1989's Violent Cop and garnered international acclaim for Sonatine (1993). But he was not accepted as a director in Japan until Hana-bi won the Golden Lion in 1997.
He has received critical acclaim for his idiosyncratic cinematic work, winning numerous awards with Japanese film critic Nagaharu Yodogawa having once dubbed him "the true successor" to influential filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Many of Kitano's films are dramas about yakuza gangsters or the police. Described by critics as using an acting style that is highly deadpan or a camera style that approaches near-stasis, Kitano often uses long takes where little appears to be happening, or editing that cuts immediately to the aftermath of an event. Many of his films express a bleak or nihilistic philosophy, but they are also filled with humor and affection for their characters.
Actors: Masumi Harukawa (actress), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Minoru Inuzuka (writer), Shintarô Katsu (director), Asao Koike (actor), Shintarô Katsu (producer), Hideji Ôtaki (actor), Katsuo Nakamura (actor), Kan Shimozawa (writer), John Fujioka (actor), Toshio Taniguchi (editor), Jun Fujikawa (actor), Kiwako Taichi (actress), Tokio Oki (actor), Naoe Fushimi (actress),
Plot: Star Shintaro Katsu sits in the director's chair for this psychedelic and unremittingly bleak entry in the Zatoichi series, which is unlike any other in its grind-house grimness. A tale of innocence corrupted by sadistic, sleazy criminality, the film is propelled by Easy Rider-esque editing and a trippy seventies funk score by Kunihiko Murai.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, death-of-child, katana, katana-sword, martial-arts, samurai, sequel, stabbed-in-the-hand, sword, sword-fightActors: Shintarô Katsu (writer), Tatsuya Nakadai (actor), Kazuko Yoshiyuki (actress), Shintarô Katsu (producer), Isao Tomita (composer), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Kunie Tanaka (actor), Osami Nabe (actor), Yoshio Yoshida (actor), Kô Nishimura (actor), Masayuki Mori (actor), Kenji Misumi (director), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Toshio Taniguchi (editor), Ryûnosuke Kaneda (actor),
Plot: Cowritten by star Shintaro Katsu, this adventure pits Zatoichi against one of his most diabolical foes: a blind yakuza boss whose reign of terror and exploitation has made him nearly mythic. Guest starring the legendary Tatsuya Nakadai as a ronin haunted by a traumatic past, and featuring an unforgettable nude swordfight in a bathhouse, this twenty-first entry in the series is a fan favorite.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, katana, katana-sword, martial-arts, ronin, samurai, sequel, sword, zatoichiActors: Masaichi Nagata (producer), Tatsuo Endô (actor), Makoto Fujita (actor), Ichirô Saitô (composer), Eijirô Tôno (actor), Ryôzô Kasahara (writer), Shiho Fujimura (actress), Masumi Harukawa (actress), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Ryûji Kita (actor), Fujio Suga (actor), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Toshio Taniguchi (editor), Gen Kimura (actor), Eigorô Onoe (actor),
Plot: Zatoichi comes upon the town of Tonda, overrun by gangsters. Using one of his favorite techniques, Zatoichi proceeds to win 8 ryo in a rigged gambling game. Of course, the local gangsters attempt to kill him, and the adventure begins. It turns out a blacksmith named Senzo examines Zatoichi's cane sword, and discovers it to be forged by his old mentor. Senzo discovers the sword is at the end of its usefulness and will break when it is used next....
Keywords: character-name-in-title, fifteenth-part, maid, sequel, zatoichiActors: Ryôzô Kasahara (writer), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Asao Koike (actor), Kôjirô Kusanagi (actor), Tatsuo Matsumura (actor), Osami Nabe (actor), Eitarô Ozawa (actor), Kenzô Tabu (actor), Masaichi Nagata (producer), Akira Ifukube (composer), Kenji Misumi (director), Shôsaku Sugiyama (actor), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Jûshirô Konoe (actor), Toshio Taniguchi (editor),
Plot: Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save tha man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town
Keywords: character-name-in-title, katana, katana-sword, pornography, pottery, samurai, sequel, seventeenth-part, sword, sword-fightActors: Hajime Takaiwa (writer), Jun Hamamura (actor), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Shigeru Amachi (actor), Akira Ifukube (composer), Kei Satô (actor), Tokuzô Tanaka (director), Mayumi Ogawa (actress), Mayumi Ogawa (actress), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Gen Kimura (actor), Kanji Suganuma (editor), Koichi Mizuhara (actor), Kanae Kobayashi (actress),
Plot: 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.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, katana, katana-sword, samurai, sequel, sword, sword-fight, thirteenth-part, zatoichiActors: Daisuke Itô (writer), Tatsuo Endô (actor), Takuya Fujioka (actor), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Mikio Narita (actor), Fujio Suga (actor), Rokko Toura (actor), Saburô Date (actor), Akira Ifukube (composer), Kenji Misumi (director), Kaneko Iwasaki (actress), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Gaku Yamamoto (actor), Kanae Kobayashi (actress), Chizu Hayashi (actress),
Plot: Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning...
Keywords: character-name-in-title, chess, fight, katana-sword, samurai, sequel, sword, sword-fight, twelfth-part, yakuzaActors: Kazuo Mori (director), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Sachiko Murase (actress), Seitaro Omori (composer), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Kenjirô Ishiyama (actor), Koichi Mizuhara (actor), Manabu Morita (actor), Ryûzô Shimada (actor), Jun Katsumura (actor), Shozaburo Asai (writer), Eiko Taki (actress), Kanbi Fujiyama (actor), Masako Myojo (actress),
Plot: Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, eleventh-part, katana, katana-sword, samurai, sequel, sword, sword-fight, zatoichiActors: Kichijirô Ueda (actor), Mikijirô Hira (actor), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Akitake Kôno (actor), Taichirô Kosugi (composer), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Gen Kimura (actor), Kimiyoshi Yasuda (director), Koichi Mizuhara (actor), Teruko Ômi (actress), Miwa Takada (actress), Ikuko Môri (actress), Shozaburo Asai (writer), Eiko Taki (actress), Rocket Nakata (actor),
Plot: Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, daruma-doll, dice, gambling, katana, kite, ninth-part, samurai, sequel, swordActors: Masaichi Nagata (producer), Tatsuo Endô (actor), Sei Ikeno (composer), Bokuzen Hidari (actor), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Minoru Inuzuka (writer), Kazuo Ikehiro (director), Naoko Kubo (actress), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Teruko Ômi (actress), Ryûtarô Gomi (actor), Mayumi Nagisa (actress), Ikuko Môri (actress), Jun Katsumura (actor), Shozaburo Asai (writer),
Plot: Blind masseur Zatoichi is nursed back to health by a young woman after he is shot by a gang member. Zatoichi, who had come to the village to repay a debt, now feels further indebted. He commits himself to use his amazing sword skills to help the young woman's father, whose river-crossing service is under attack by the same gang responsible for Zatoichi's wounds.
Keywords: character-name-in-title, sequel, seventh-part, zatoichiActors: Minoru Inuzuka (writer), Shintarô Katsu (actor), Seizaburô Kawazu (actor), Tatsuo Endô (actor), Akira Ifukube (composer), Fujio Suga (actor), Tokuzô Tanaka (director), Shôsaku Sugiyama (actor), Kan Shimozawa (writer), Gen Kimura (actor), Mikiko Tsubouchi (actress), Kanae Kobayashi (actress), Mieko Kondo (actress), Chitose Maki (actress), Yutaka Nakamura (actor),
Plot: Blind masseur and master swordsman, Zatoichi, is tired of killing. He journeys to his old village looking for peace, but is pursued by the brother of Boss Kanbei, a man he's killed. Back home, Ichi connects with Banno, his teacher, who seeks prestige and has arranged for his younger sister, Yayoi, to marry into a wealthy samurai family. Ichi and Yayoi realize they are in love, but Ichi's request for her hand meets with Banno's derision. Ichi is also drawn into Banno's plot to kidnap the son of a wealthy man, ostensibly to aid the Mito Goblins, a gang of thieves on the run; but Banno wants to keep the ransom. Ichi wants harmony and love, but can he escape a destiny of violence?
Keywords: blind-man, character-name-in-title, dice, flute, katana, katana-sword, kidnapping, martial-arts, murder, samisenThis is one of Ichi's best fights against the nastiest of villains, Yasaburo Kashiwazaki. Some of the series bad guys might have one good quality but not this thug. He's a black hearted creep & stone gangster played magnificently by Makoto Satô. Enjoy!
For English subtitles press the CC button above. For a variety of notes on the edit press the Annotations button above. This conclusion to the Zatoichi saga comes full circle and returns to several themes encountered in the first Zatoichi Monogatari. For instance, the first battle at night with a lantern that Ichi snuffs out, the famous dice hustle, the tormented Ronin that befriends Ichi, etc. Also, elements from other films are interwoven, such as Ichi falling into a hole on the side of the road because he doesn't trust the local children warning him. One striking element of this story is Ichi's return to his childhood and dealing with his own separation from his mother. The aged, war-weary, and weather-beaten Ichi takes refuge in a country orphanage, and even takes an birds-egg expel...
新・座頭市物語 New Tale of Zatoichi 1963.
座頭市物語 The Tale of Zatoichi 1962.
Zatoichi is a fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of films and a television series that are both set during the late Edo period (1830s and 1840s). The character, a blind masseur and blademaster, was created by novelist Kan Shimozawa. From 1974 to 1979, the television series Zatoichi was produced, starring Katsu and some of the same stars that appeared in the films. These were produced by Katsu Productions. One hundred episodes were aired before the Zatoichi television series was cancelled. S01 E05 A ronin's sister has gone blind but can be cured if he's able to raise enough money within the next month. (1974)
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi movie clips: http://j.mp/1L5P8It BUY THE MOVIE: http://amzn.to/ua9jvz Don't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6pr CLIP DESCRIPTION: Ichi (Takeshi Kitano) aka Zatoichi, slices up a couple of roving bandits when they try to intimidate him. FILM DESCRIPTION: Beat Takeshi Kitano directs and plays the title role in this tribute to the wildly popular "blind swordsman" of Japanese cinema who was the hero of more than 20 movies and a television series from the early '60s to the late '80s. In Kitano's version, Zatôichi wanders into a town harassed by criminal gangs, and helps two geishas take revenge on the men who murdered their parents. His mission leads him to a final, bloody confrontation with the gang's mastermind and his hired assassin (Tadanobu ...
This is, in my opinion, the greatest Japanese movie sword fight. The fading light, the falling snow and two masters fighting for what they both believe is their duty. The Samurai blindly obeys his orders while Ichi looks to protect the weak & helpless. The ending is pure Bushido. Enjoy
Ative as legendas para aparecer.
[Lone Ninja:]
I tighten the darts more and more, I strike in the dark corridors
The fighting will start rip titans apart war is war
Slash and sever the long axe is menacing
It's wrath and terror we combat veterans
Ya'll back pedaling, we forward march
Harm and crack skeletons, you're in water with sharks
Mourn as we spell your doom we wasn't born
With a silver spoon you do us wrong and we'll seal
Your tomb, feel the gloom as you wander the maze
Demolish and slay tommorrow isn't promised today
Give honor and praise, I'm blindfold with katana blade
Die slow, with eyes closed I will clobber prey
Rob your grave, maraud and plunder
Conquer and raid, cuase shock and awe and wonder
We're roaring thunder, who applaud our elders
Head towards the bunkers or the fallout shelters
Plot and get blown to smithereens, we chopping we chopping your dome
With guillotine spill the beans, June Marx and Lone's the illest team
Fullfilling dreams or your squad is dying
Sparks is flying, the chilling screams are horrifying
Got the heart of a lion and the eye of an eagle
I'm the largest of giants I'll get violent and evil
You silent and peaceful, don't wage in battle
I'm brolic and lethal, go pray in the chapel
[June marx:]
Make plans I radiate scans throw on your raybans
Mind steady learning emerging straight out the wasteland
Shake hands on paid deficits slay effortless
Hunger made us constantly suffer became predators
Weaponless war terrorist raw battlin monstrous
Smuggle ammo within the shadow of the colossus
Cosmic waves buried deep in the caves, a lethal rage
Breathe deep release secrets with age indecent blades
Darts flying spark iron we clash the dark alliance
Spar tyrants raw words surpassing art and science
Horrifyin sound weapons blowing flesh opens
In a direction flowing like victims is breaststroking
Neck broken thrown in various ways deep in the summit
Seas of bodily fluids spray leaking from stomach
Preachers summon spells ward off hordes of demonic forces
Twin perils desecrating multi symbolic crosses
Losses taken june orchestrate doom with facial wounds
Catch me in the break room burning haze exhaling fumes
Mixtape biohazardous waste the rhyme unravel
Monumental statue I stab you with flying shrapnel
Pteoradactyl wingspan bring man to bended knee