ZATOICHI #25
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda • 1973 • Japan
Everything comes full circle when Zatoichi returns to his hometown. Unfortunately, he finds that a childhood friend has become a feared crime lord, keeping the locals in debt and bilking them of their rice. Capping off Zatoichi’s feature film era before he made the transition to television in 1974, this chapter is suffused with melancholy, closing the series on a note of seriousness and emotional heft that it has well earned.
Up Next in Samurai
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Samaritan Zatoichi
ZATOICHI #19
Directed by Kenji Misumi • 1968 • JapanHired by a yakuza boss to eliminate an accused debtor, Zatoichi fulfills his task, only to witness the victim’s sister paying the owed amount minutes later. When the crime lord tries to possess the woman along with the cash, the blind swordsma...
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Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold
ZATOICHI #6
Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro • 1964 • JapanAfter arriving in a small village, Zatoichi finds himself accused of stealing the citizens’ hefty tax payments. To clear his name, he must face off against a corrupt official, a succession of hired blades, and a bullwhip-wielding titan, played...
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Zatoichi on the Road
ZATOICHI #5
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda • 1963 • JapanThe itinerant Zatoichi comes across a dying man, who begs the masseur to escort a young woman back to her family in Edo. The honorable swordsman agrees, but in so doing, he catapults himself between two warring yakuza clans, each with its o...
