ZATOICHI #12
Directed by Kenji Misumi • 1965 • Japan
Kenji Misumi, who directed the first installment of the ZATOICHI series, returns with this tale in which the blind swordsman once again finds himself the protector of a child: a little girl pursued by both devious family members and bloodthirsty ruffians. Further complicating his journey is a new acquaintance, a tremendously skilled chess player (the charismatic Mikio Narita) who has mysterious motivations and a dark past.
Up Next in Samurai
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Yotsuya Kaidan, Part One
Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita • 1949 • Japan
Iemon Tamiya is an impoverished masterless samurai who craves a better life, which he cannot have because of his marriage to Oiwa, who is completely devoted to her husband. She, in turn, is the object of a deadly, obsessive love of a criminal, Kohei, ...
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Zatoichi in Desperation
ZATOICHI #24
Directed by Shintaro Katsu • 1972 • JapanStar 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,...
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Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
ZATOICHI #21
Directed by Kenji Misumi • 1970 • JapanCowritten 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 ro...