So who is Zatoichi? His origins are mysterious...He has at times referred to himself as a criminal and a Yakuza member (or former member) yet his title "zato" implies he is a monk and masseur. His demeanor is certainly in keeping with that of a humble buddhist wanderer. Though blind, which one might consider an apparently severe handicap in fuedal Japan, Zatoichi accepts his fate with stoic self-sufficiency, and indeed often seems far more adept at life than many of the sighted that he encounters. Yet where Ichi goes, trouble seems to follow. Seeming by nature prone to protect the weak and exploited, he often finds himself quickly at odds with those who would be oppressors, and deals with them in devastating fashion. Is Zatoichi violent? Certainly, in his response to provoction, and he certainly does not hesitate to defend himself or those he is protecting, but he never initiates combat, and would seemingly prefer to be left in peace. Given no choice, he is decisive, for the Bushido code is rigid, and he seldom is given room for compromise.
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Zatoichi also has a mischevious side, and enjoys gambling, where his visual handicap makes him an apparent easy mark, but his extremely acute hearing and other senses allow him to beat the odds in ways his would-be exploiters can't envisage, usually resulting in more violent conflict. As a result, Ichi usually finds himself with a slew of murdurous enemies, which he reluctantly but ferociously dispatches in a spectatular display of swordsmanship. In combat, Zatoichi is unstoppable, a force of nature. His acute senses, lightning speed, and tremendous skill overcome all who attempt to do him harm. There is often a sense of tragedy in many of his adventures, as he is forced to confront opponents hired by those who want to destroy him, ronin who are honorable themselves, who could easily be his friend, but have chosen to work on the side of wrong. Seemingly forever bemused by the contradictions of human nature, Zatoichi chooses to wander alone, searching for a better destiny.
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| The Tokugawa, or Edo, period of Japanese history that Zatoichi lives in lasted from 1603 to 1868, when Admiral Perry arrived to open Japan to the west. This period was characterized by harsh centralized government under the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo, which put a stop to most of the regional warfare between clans and local warlords that had defined Japan to that point. Because of a lack of any extensive fighting, the Samurai warrior class that had provided the pool of professional soldiers bagan to decline in influence. Many became "masterless samurai" or ronin ("man on a wave") and wandered about searching for work, or became employed in criminal enterprises. While this period saw a great flowering of Japanese culture as a whole, it signaled the decline of the samurai way of life. After 1868, Japan began to modernize rapidly, and the samurai class was literally outlawed. While the traditional sword-wielding samurai warrior all but disappeared, their philosophy and the code of Bushido remained a large influence in Japanese society and popular mythology, as well as a major influence on the militarist movement of the early 20th century that culminated in World War II. |
The mythos of the wandering samurai adventurer, facing the world with only his personal resources, fighting for causes, some moral, some not, is often compared to the arena of the American Old West, with the lone gunslinger battling the forces of evil, or sometimes fighting for his own more inscrutable reasons. While the comparison holds true in many respects, enough so that many Japanese samurai epics have been used as the basis for Italian spaghetti westerns with great success, the fundamental difference is that the while the epics of the Old West deal with the conquest of a new frontier and the perils of the associated vacuum of law and order, in the samurai genre we see the end of an era and a way of life, with the displaced and purposeless warrior adrift in a society that no longer has a place for him. This lost world of the Tokugawa era of Japan has continued to provide a fruitful source of adventures for our continuing entertainment. |
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| What other people are saying about Zatoichi: |
| "Any video store kung fu geek worth his weight in used movie ticket stubs would do well to investigate the phenomenon." --Entertainment Today |
"Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman' is, quite simply, the best action film series ever to come out of Japan. If you haven't seen any of these exceptional action-comedy-dramas, your movie experience isn't complete. They're beautifully filmed, excellently written, wonderfully acted, and to top it off, have some of the most unforgettable action sequences ever filmed anywhere. Don't miss them" --Ric Meyers, Martial Arts Film Author and Columnist |
| "Shintaro Katsu, the actor, created one of the most memorable on-screen persona ever, on a par with Charlie Chaplin's lonely Tramp, or Clint Eastwood's cowboy Stranger." --Wayne Muromoto, The Hawaii Herald |
| "Infectious story telling, fun action, and impressive blade work." --Playboy |
"Home Vision Entertainment has done you the favor of releasing Shintaro Katsu as Ichi in all of his metal-slinging, lethal glory. For those who need their sword fu enhanced, they will be most grateful for a few of these discs."
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"To see how it's done right, check out the three latest Zatoichi flicks ... Any fan of Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo' should sntach these up." --The New York Post |
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