The following review is an extract from the book "Shintaro Katsu´s Zatoichi: Complete guide to all movies", which is now available on Amazon. Highly recommended for all Zatoichi fans!
"The blind masseur Ichi, who travels the roads of nineteenth century Japan towards the end of the Edo period, arrives at a village where two yakuza clans are about to start a gang war. Although he lacks the faculty of vision, Ichi (who has the other senses overdeveloped) is an excellent dice player and a master in the art of fencing. So much that his skill with the sword is capable of defeating in combat the majority of those who can see...
This is the first in the series of films about the character, the original Zatoichi, on the basis of whose success the following sequels would later be made. Very good chambara with the great Shintaro Katsu in the main role. The film highlights the importance of friendship, loyalty and honor, as well as the conflict of the main character and his strong desire to overcome: Ichi is marginalized from society because of his blindness; this marginalization has pushed him to vagrancy and delinquency, but also to develop surprising skills, which have turned him into a great masseur, an expert in games of chance... and, thanks to hard training and great concentration, also in a master of fencing. So Ichi decided that he should compensate his blindness with other faculties. Very good and very recommendable."
"The blind masseur Ichi, who travels the roads of nineteenth century Japan towards the end of the Edo period, arrives at a village where two yakuza clans are about to start a gang war. Although he lacks the faculty of vision, Ichi (who has the other senses overdeveloped) is an excellent dice player and a master in the art of fencing. So much that his skill with the sword is capable of defeating in combat the majority of those who can see...
This is the first in the series of films about the character, the original Zatoichi, on the basis of whose success the following sequels would later be made. Very good chambara with the great Shintaro Katsu in the main role. The film highlights the importance of friendship, loyalty and honor, as well as the conflict of the main character and his strong desire to overcome: Ichi is marginalized from society because of his blindness; this marginalization has pushed him to vagrancy and delinquency, but also to develop surprising skills, which have turned him into a great masseur, an expert in games of chance... and, thanks to hard training and great concentration, also in a master of fencing. So Ichi decided that he should compensate his blindness with other faculties. Very good and very recommendable."