Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi
Zatoichi: The Tale of Zatoichi is a 1962 film from Japan, directed by Kenji Misumi, running 95 minutes. reelscum files it under chanbara.
- Year
- 1962 · 1960s films
- Country
- Japan
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Director
- Kenji Misumi
- Updated
- 29 Oct 2026
- Obscurity
- cult (37/100)
- Also known as
- Zatoichi: The Life and Opinion of Masseur Ichi · Zatoichi 1: The Tale of Zatoichi · Zatôichi 1 The Tale of Zatôichi
Defined in the glossary: Chanbara
The blind masseur who is also the deadliest swordsman alive. The first of twenty-five-plus.
The film that launched one of the longest-running character franchises in cinema. Zatoichi is a blind travelling masseur and gambler who is also, quietly, the most lethal swordsman in Japan, and the series would run to twenty-five-plus entries and a television show. This first film is restrained and melancholy, establishing the character before the sequels turned him loose.
Shintaro Katsu owns the role so completely that no one else has ever really taken it on. The appeal is the gap between the humble, shuffling exterior and the sudden, precise violence.
Trailer
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