Kihachi Okamoto

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo

After a two-year absence from screens, the blind swordsman returns in one of his best adventures. Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard—Toshiro Mifune’s scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend. This is the sole Zatoichi effort from celebrated director Kihachi Okamoto, who supplies satirical vision and stylistic panache worthy of the two iconic characters at the film’s center.

Film Info

  • Japan
  • 1970
  • 115 minutes
  • Color
  • 2.35:1
  • Japanese

Available In

Collector's Set

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman

Blu-ray Box Set

9 Discs

$159.96

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo
Cast
Shintaro Katsu
Zatoichi
Toshiro Mifune
Yojimbo/Sasa
Ayako Wakao
Umeno
Osamu Takizawa
Eboshiya
Masakane Yonekura
Boss Masagoro
Shin Kishida
Kuzuryu
Kanjuro Arashi
Hyoroku
Toshiyuki Hosokawa
Sanemon
Shigeru Koyama
Jinzaburo Wakiya
Credits
Director
Kihachi Okamoto
Produced by
Shintaro Katsu
Original story by
Kan Shimozawa
Screenplay
Kihachi Okamoto
Screenplay
Tetsuro Yoshida
Cinematography
Kazuo Miyagawa
Edited by
Toshio Taniguchi
Original music
Akira Ifukube
Art direction
Yoshinobu Nishioka

Current

Tony Rayns on the Meaning of Zatoichi
Tony Rayns on the Meaning of Zatoichi

Asian-cinema expert Tony Rayns unpacks the significance of Zatoichi’s name and the strict social hierarchy that the character so gleefully upends.

On the Road with Zatoichi
On the Road with Zatoichi

He massages, he gambles, and he’s great with a blade. Who is this blind swordsman, anyway?

By Geoffrey O'Brien