Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
2 Seasons
The colossally popular Zatoichi films make up the longest-running action series in Japanese history and created one of the screen’s great heroes: an itinerant blind masseur who also happens to be a lightning-fast swordsman. As this iconic figure, the charismatic and earthy Shintaro Katsu became an instant superstar, lending a larger-than-life presence to the thrilling adventures of a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice in every town and village he enters. The films that feature him are variously pulse-pounding, hilarious, stirring, and completely off-the-wall.
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1:27:44Episode 1Zatoichi’s Conspiracy
Episode 1
ZATOICHI #25
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda • 1973 • JapanEverything 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 f...
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18:02Episode 2John Nathan on ZATOICHI
Episode 2
The following is a 2013 interview with filmmaker and Japanese-culture scholar John Nathan, who shares his memories of actor and filmmaker Shintaro Katsu, star of the ZATOICHI series.
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57:45Episode 3The Blind Swordsman
Episode 3
Directed by filmmaker and Japanese-culture scholar John Nathan, this documentary from 1978 takes a candid and unvarnished look at the professional and personal life of Shintaro Katsu, the star of the ZATOICHI series.
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27:16Episode 4Serialized Success
Episode 4
In this interview, conducted in 2013, Asian-film critic Tony Rayns offers his thoughts on the popularity of the ZATOICHI series, its main character, and some of the key talents involved in making it.
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on THE TALE OF ZATOICHI
Episode 5
