Movies about Zatoichi
Zatoichi (座頭市 , Zatōichi ? ) is a Japanese-made character featured in one of Japan’s longest-running series of films, as well as a television show with the same name. Both are set during the late Edo period (the 1830s and 1840s). The character, a blind masseur and blade-master, was created by novelist Kan Shimozawa.
Obsah
Vzhled
Zatoichi is a Japanese Swordsmanship Warrior and hero from Japan.
Historie
Zatoichi at first comes across as a harmless blind vzpomínková slavnost (masér) a bakuto (gambler), který se toulá po zemi a živí se tím cho-han (playing dice) as well as giving massages, performing acupuncture and even, on occasion, singing and playing music. Secretly, however, he is very highly skilled in swordsmanship, specifically Muraku-school kenjutsu and iaido along with the more general sword skills of Japan, as well as sumo wrestling and kyujutsu.
Little of his past is revealed, other than that he lost his sight as a child through illness. His father disappeared for undisclosed reasons when Zatoichi was about five years old. He is described by his swordsmanship instructor as having practised constantly and with extreme devotion when he was a pupil in order to develop his incredible skills. Zatoichi says of himself that he became a yakuza (gangster) during those three years he spent training (which immediately precede the original Příběh Zatoichiho) and killed many people, something he later came to deeply regret. This is reflected in his willingness to involve himself in the affairs of others—chiefly, those suffering from oppression/exploitation, or some form of corruption. Despite that moral re-assessment and his new perspective and remorse (and most often because of them), he usually has a bounty (sometimes quite large) on his head from one source or another throughout the movies and series. However, because of his earnestness, wit, and natural sense of empathy, many people who encounter him during his travels grow to respect and even care for him.
Unlike a bushi, he does not carry a traditional katana. Instead, he uses a well-made šikomi-zue (仕込み杖, lit. «prepared cane» or cane sword), as the use or possession of true fighting blades was formally outlawed for non-samurai during the Edo period. The decree was virtually impossible to enforce, however, as evidenced by the Yakuza enforcers being shown wielding katanas throughout the films. The blades of Šikomi-zue byly vesměs rovné, z méně kvalitní, neohýbané oceli, která se nemohla srovnávat ani s low-endem katana. As a result, the blade in Ichi’s cane sword is broken during the climactic battle in Uprchlík Zatoichi (čtvrtý film). Meč má do dalšího filmu novou čepel, kterou ovládá až do patnáctého filmu Zatoichi’s Cane Sword. The blade (which breaks during the film) and the blade that replaces it was specially forged at great expense and with far more than the usual care by master bladesmiths and were both of exceptional quality, superior to the swords of even most samuraj. Na začátku Zatoichi se setkává s Yojimbo, his sword-blade (presumably the same) inexplicably breaks and is sold to a blacksmith along with its hilt and scabbard. Its replacement is not a šikomi-zue, ale a jotō (杖刀 lit. a «staff sword») of unrevealed origin that resembles a short, thick bo staff, which also soon breaks. In the next film, Zatoichi: Festival ohně, opět používá svůj typický rákosový meč, vybavený novou čepelí neznámého původu a kvality.
Hlavním opakujícím se tematickým vzorcem těchto filmů a televizních seriálů je věčně toulavý a sentimentální tulák, který chrání nevinné a bezmocné před utlačovateli nebo válčícími lidmi. Yakuza gangs, stops the worst of general injustice or predation and aids the unfortunate, and often, through no fault of his own, is set upon by ruffians or stumbles into harm’s way. Zatoichi’s saga is essentially one of an earthy but basically good and wise man almost always trying to do the decent thing, to somehow redeem himself and perhaps atone for past failings. Nevertheless, he believes himself instead to be a stained, corrupted and evil man, irredeemable and undeserving of the love and respect that some show and rightly have for him. This self-described «god of calamities» is routinely a magnet for troubles of one sort or another. Death is his only constant companion, as he pragmatically does not allow other people, especially those he loves or thinks highly of, to get close and stay there for long; such would lead to eventual tragedy. Death does seem, like a shadow, to actually follow an often reluctant Zatoichi almost everywhere he goes, and despite his mostly compassionate nature, the killing appears to come entirely naturally to him.
His lightning-fast fighting skill is incredible, with his sword held in a reverse grip; this, combined with his unflappable steel-nerved wits in a fight, his keen ears, sense of smell and proprioception, all render him a formidable adversary. He is also quite capable with a traditional katana, jak je vidět na Zatoichi’s Vengeance a scéna v lázních Zatoichi a Festival ohně. Podobně prokazuje značnou zručnost při současném používání dvou mečů, podobně jako Musashi Nito Ichi styl v Zatoichi a muž odsouzený k záhubě. Almost preternaturally dangerous with blades, he is fully capable (whether standing, sitting or lying down) of fighting and swiftly defeating multiple skilled opponents simultaneously. Some, however, have come close to beating him in combat, in particular during the final duel in Zatoichi vyzván, kde hrály roli polehčující okolnosti.
A number of other standard scenarios are also repeated through the series: Zatoichi’s winning of large amounts at gambling via his ability to hear whether the dice have fallen on even or odd is a common theme, as is his catching loaded or substituted dice by the difference in their sound. This frequently culminates in another set-piece, Zatoichi’s cutting the candles lighting the room and reducing it to pitch blackness, commonly accompanied by his tag line «Kurayami nara kotchi no mon da» (暗闇ならこっちのもんだ; roughly meaning «Darkness is my ally» or «Now we are all blind»).
The character’s name is actually Ichi. Zato je titul, nejnižší ze čtyř oficiálních hodností v rámci Tōdōza, historický cech nevidomých (tedy zato také v japonském slangu označuje slepou osobu). Ichi se tedy správně jmenuje Zato-no-Ichi («Low-Ranking Blind Person Ichi», approximately), or Zatōichi for short. The massage was a traditional occupation for the blind (as their lack of sight removed the issue of gender), as was playing the biwa or, for blind women (goze), the shamisen. Being lesser hinin (lit. «non-people»), blind people and masseurs were regarded as among the very lowest of the low in social class, other than eta or outright criminals; they were generally considered wretches, beneath notice, no better than beggars or even the insane—especially during the Edo period—and it was also commonly thought that the blind were accursed, despicable, severely mentally disabled, deaf and sexually dangerous.
Powers
Zatoichi has human strengths.
Filmy
Ne. | Anglický název | Rok | japonský | Romanization | Ředitel | Výroba | Distribuce |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Příběh Zatoichiho | 1962 | 座頭市物語 | Zatōichi monogatari | Kenji Misumi | daiei | daiei |
2 | Nový příběh Zatoichiho | 1963 | 新・座頭市物語 | Shin Zatōichi monogatari | Tokuzō Tanaka | daiei | daiei |
4 | Zatoichi na cestě | 座頭市喧嘩旅 | Zatōichi kenka-tabi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | daiei | daiei | |
6 | Zatoichi a truhla ze zlata | 1964 | 座頭市千両首 | Zatōichi senryō-kubi | Kazuo Ikehiro | daiei | daiei |
7 | Zatoichi’s Revenge | 1965 | 座頭市二段斬り | Zatōichi nidan-giri | Akira Inoue | daiei | daiei |
11 | Zatoichi a muž odsouzený k záhubě | 座頭市逆手斬り | Zatōichi sakate-giri | kazuomori | daiei | daiei | |
12 | Zatoichi a šachový expert | 座頭市地獄旅 | Zatōichi jigoku-tabi | Kenji Misumi | daiei | daiei | |
13 | Zatoichi’s Vengeance | 1966 | 座頭市の歌が聞える | Zatōichi no uta ga kikoeru | Tokuzō Tanaka | daiei | daiei |
14 | Zatoichi’s Pilgrimage | 座頭市海を渡る | Zatōichi umi o wataru | Kazuo Ikehiro | daiei | daiei | |
15 | Zatoichi’s Cane Sword | 1967 | 座頭市鉄火旅 | Zatōichi tekka-tabi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | daiei | daiei |
16 | Zatoichi psanec | 座頭市牢破り | Zatōichi rōyaburi | Satsuo Yamamoto | Katsu Productions | daiei | |
17 | Zatoichi vyzván | 座頭市血煙り街道 | Zatōichi chikemurikaidō | Kenji Misumi | daiei | daiei | |
18 | Zatoichi a uprchlíci | 1968 | 座頭市果し状 | Zatōichi hatashijō | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | daiei | daiei |
19 | Samaritán Zatoichi | 座頭市喧嘩太鼓 | Zatōichi kenka-daiko | Kenji Misumi | daiei | daiei | |
20 | Zatoichi se setkává s Yojimbo | 1970 | 座頭市と用心棒 | Zatōichi do Yōjinbō | Kihachi Okamoto | Katsu Productions | daiei |
21 | Zatoichi jde na Fire Festival | 座頭市あばれ火祭り | Zatōichi abare-himatsuri | Kenji Misumi | Katsu Productions | Dainichi Eihai | |
22 | Zatoichi se setkává s jednorukým šermířem | 1971 | 新座頭市・破れ!唐人剣 | Shin Zatoichi: Yabure! Tōjin-ken | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | Katsu Productions | Dainichi Eihai |
23 | Zatoichi na svobodě | 1972 | 座頭市御用旅 | Zatōichi goyō-tabi | kazuomori | Toho / Katsu Productions | Toho |
24 | Zatoichi v zoufalství | 新座頭市物語・折れた杖 | Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Oreta tsue | Shintarō Katsu | Katsu Productions | Toho | |
25 | Zatoichi’s Conspiracy | 1973 | 新座頭市物語・笠間の血祭り | Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Kasama no chimatsuri | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | Katsu Productions | Toho |
26 | Zatoichi: Temnota je jeho spojenec | 1989 | 座頭市 | Zatōichi | Shintarō Katsu | Propagace Katsu | Šochiku |
- Poznámka: Zobrazené anglické názvy jsou běžně komerčně používané názvy, nejedná se tedy o přímé překlady původních japonských titulů.
Zatoichi – The Blind Swordsman
I am writing again about one of my favorite subjects: Japanese movies. One of my favorite Japanese movie series is Zatoichi, The Blind Swordsman. A total of 26 movies were made between 1962 and 1989, and 105 television shows were made between 1974 to 1979 making it the longest-running action series in Japanese history. Oddly enough, all of the movies and television shows feature the same person playing the main role. Shintaro Katsu, the son of a Kabuki actor, was an actor, singer, producer, director and shamisen player who appeared in more than 110 movies, but became synonymous with his role of Zatoichi.
The Zatoichi movies are formula movies in the same fashion as Bond movies and Law and Order television shows. Each movie has a similar storyline and plot. Zatoichi, a traveling blind masseur and sentimental drifter is a man who lives staunchly by a code of honor and delivers justice everywhere he goes during the late Edo Period (1830s and 1840s). He meets old friends or makes new friends who are forced to suffer some kind of harm or injustice by oppressive and/or warring yakuza gangs. In the meantime, Zatoichi, through no fault of his own stumbles into harm’s way. Eventually, Zatoichi overcomes his own problems, and comes to the aid of the unfortunate and innocents. (The Japanese love a good revenge story.) And, after every sword fight, there is the signature way Zatoichi slowly sheaths his cane sword.
Because of his blindness, his other senses are more finely attuned. His keen ears, sense of smell, sensory perception and his wits in a fight, combined with his incredible lightning-fast sword skills make him a formidable adversary. In addition to his sword skills, he also has a fondness for gambling on dice games where, once again, his other senses make up for his inability to see. He wins large amounts of money by his ability to identify whether the dice have fallen on even or odd, and the ability to identify loaded or substituted dice by the difference in their sound.
A number of sequels have been released since the last Zatoichi was released. There was even one that was about Zatoichi’s daughter. Recently (2003) a remake was released with Takeshi “Beat” Kitano playing the leading role of Zatoichi (he also directed the movie). Kitano did an excellent job creating the movie, and his portrayal of Zatoichi was spot on. It won a number of Japanese Academy Awards as well as a Silver Lion Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
2 Odpovědi
Brian Preston
Sensei Mike!
Thanks for this story. I find that this comes in a boxed set from Amazon with English subtitles covering episodes through the 1970s. I hadn’t heard of these episodes and I was only aware of the great samurai movies with Toshiro Mifune, or those by Akira Kurosawa. Domo arigato! Brian Preston,Portland,Canada
Brian – Thanks for the comment. It was good to hear from you. I hope everything is well. Yes, the Criterion Collection box set is the best option. It has all but the 26th movie. I know you would enjoy it. We hope to see you in Japan again soon.
Zatoichi: The Best Martial Arts Movie Series You’ve Never Heard Of
We take a dive into the whopping 25-film Blu-ray release of Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman – The Criterion Collection.
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V originále Tale Of Zatoichi (1962), he’s hired by a yakuza boss who wants to use Zatoichi’s skills against a rival gang who’ve also recruited an expert samurai. However, what Boss Sukegoro hasn’t banked on is Zatoichi and the samurai developing a bond, based on being the only honourable men in a world of scoundrels. New viewers may be surprised by how little swordplay there is in this film. Far from being a choreographed fight-fest, Tale Of Zatoichi is largely a melancholic character study of a friendship between two haunted men. When the swords do come out, the action is swift and brutal – blades are drawn only to kill, not to show off with. The film is starkly shot and theatrical in its approach to drama, but still holds the power to provoke thought with its gently philosophical tone. It brings Zatoichi to the screen fully formed; a new character to many but one who feels like he’s an old friend.
The first three sequels – The Tale Of Zatoichi Continues (1962) A New Tale Of Zatoichi (1963), a Uprchlík Zatoichi (1963) – are stories in the same style, although they switch from black and white to color in New Tale onwards. There are a number of recurring characters, from the shady yakuza bosses who won’t leave Zatoichi alone to the tragic figure of Otane, Zatoichi’s great love who is doomed for having met him (played beautifully by Masayo Banri). This initial quartet sets up not just the swordsman’s background but also the formula for a Zatoichi story. There’s usually a nefarious yakuza plot, a misguided peasant who’s in too deep, a vulnerable woman (often a prostitute) who falls in love with Zatoichi, and a mysterious ronin lurking in the darkness until the final confrontation when his intentions are revealed.
From the fifth film – Zatoichi On The Road (1963) – onwards, the recurring characters drop off and the stories get more episodic and self-contained, keeping things varied and, as the series progresses, allowing the filmmakers to experiment more. When Katsu’s newly-formed Katsu Productions company took charge of the series from Daiei in 1967, the films grew darker, in line with the actor’s vision of where the character should go.
By the time he took the director’s chair himself for Zatoichi In Desperation (1972), the tone had shifted dramatically. To give you an idea, if Tale Of Zatoichi is Projekt Čaroděj ze země Oz pak Zatoichi In Desperation is Návrat do země Oz. Everything comforting and familiar is suddenly dark and gritty. In the early films, a crooked dice joint could have a certain Edo romanticism to it but later on, the gambling dens are Hellscapes. An oppressive, noisy blur of threats, extortion and sweaty, dirty criminals lit only by the occasional candle flame. Likewise, the yakuza themselves are absolutely repulsive, going way beyond the call of duty to do evil.
Whether you prefer the elegiac early films, the dark and vicious later ones or anything in between, what’s consistent throughout is their astonishing quality. I mean, is there another film series anywhere near this long where every single entry has an IMDB rating of 7.1 or above?
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In addition to the high calibre of creative talent behind the camera – Kenji Misumi (Osamělý vlk a mládě), Kimiyoshi Yasuda (Yokai Monsters), Kaneto Shindo (Onibab, kuroneko), Kazuo Miyagawa (Yojimbo, Rašomon) and many more – the casts read like a Who’s Who of ’60s Japan, mixing pop icons like singer Mie Nakao and transvestite model Peter (who plays a bisexual pimp in the most psychotronic entry, 1970’s Zatoichi Goes To The Fire Festival) with legends of the screen like Takashi Shimura (Godzilla), Tatsuya Nakadai (Sword Of Doom) and Katsu’s real-life brother Tomisaburo Wakayama (who plays both Zatoichi’s brother in The Tale Of Zatoichi Pokračuje and an whip-cracking adversary in Zatoichi And The Chest Of Gold).
Towards the end of the series, Zatoichi even teams up with other famous screen swordsmen, squaring off against Toshiro Mifune in Zatoichi se setkává s Yojimbo (1970) and Jimmy Wang Yu in Zatoichi Meets The One-Armed Swordsman (1971). The latter is a co-production with Hong Kong (a rare occurrence at the time) with a heavy metaphorical message about the troubled relationship between the two countries, one of several examples where these films are quietly subversive.
But the star of the show is Zatoichi himself. While the stories are mostly standalone, his character deepens with every film and his own inner darkness grows. He’s instantly engaging, a mass of dichotomies that compel you to study him. His mind is sophisticated but he bows, scrapes, pratfalls, and eats like a pig because it’s what’s expected of him. As a blind masseur, he’s seen as one of the lowest ranking members of society but those who know the standard of his swordcraft view him almost as a god.
He is a yakuza who racks up a body count of at least 800 in these films alone, but one who abhors violence. He is ashamed whenever he’s forced into a position where he needs to kill and yet continually finds it’s his only option. In a few of the films – notably Bojuj, Zatoichi, bojuj (1964) a Zatoichi vyzván (1967) – he makes tremendous personal sacrifices to try and preserve the innocence of children, whom he universally adores. He knows he is beyond salvation himself, but continues to exist purely to save others from the same fate. Even his name could be argued as a contradictory pun, Zato being the lowest class of the Todoza (blind man’s guild) and Ichi being the Japanese for “one” (e.g. number one, the best).
It would be a fascinating character for anyone to play but with Shintaro Katsu, we’re treated to one of those rare and precious meetings that’s cinematic alchemy. When Katsu toured America with his father, playing shamisen, he was forced to journey in steerage class (which at the time was deeply unpleasant – not everyone survived it!) because their profession was seen as lowly. This mirrors Zatoichi’s predicament and it’s easy to see Katsu channelling his residual rage through the character. Additionally, he’d already played a sightless character in The Blind Menace (1960) and felt an affinity with this trait. His beloved shamisen teacher was blind so he believed he had understanding of how blind people think and behave (and indeed, by the time you’re six or seven films deep in this you’ll legitimately forget Katsu can actually see).
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Not many actors get to play the same character in over 130 different productions – especially not one this intense – so I guess he has an unfair advantage, but I think Katsu as Zatoichi may be the single greatest performance I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t get to use his eyes the way most actors do so makes up for it with the rest of his body. If you like “physical” performances, you’ll be in raptures watching him. Of particular delight to audiences at the time was the classic Zatoichi ‘switch’ where he moves from being the Chaplin-esque fool to the devasting killer in a split second.
My personal favorite film of these is Zatoichi vyzván and it gives you several of the best Katsu moments. One is when a carpenter makes fun of Zatoichi for being blind. Ichi plays along with the gag at first, laughing at himself, but turns the tables and soon has his tormentor barking like a dog on all fours in front of his peers, a cruel and petty humiliation. Watching Katsu’s entire body language and vocal inflection shift as Zatoichi goes from cheerful victim to terrifying aggressor is blood-curdling. Likewise, when his sword shaves the eyebrows off a third-tier yakuza who’s acting tough – a sudden explosion of violence in the middle of a slapstick scene – he then drops to his knees, devastated and shows shame over how inocent onlookers have seen “the worst side” of him, even in such a comparatively mild display of violence.
Vyvrcholení Zatoichi vyzván – set against the dramatic backdrop of a mountain snowstorm (and included in my Awesome Martial Arts Fights In The Snow list!) – is breathtaking, a shining example of how to turn a swordfight into something moving. Every blow resonates with emotion and it feels like Zatoichi is fighting for his very soul. When it’s all over, the film’s final sting is a heartbreaker showing that while Zatoichi has all the qualities of a great hero, the weight of all this violence on his soul is nothing short of unbearable.
Unfortunately, Zatoichi’s internal pain mirrors Katsu’s own and the latter part of his life was plagued with substance abuse, personal tragedy, and an early death in 1997. One of the extras in the Criterion boxset is the aforementioned Slepý šermíř documentary from 1978 and it’s an astounding piece. Historian John Nathan spends candid time on the set of the Zatoichi TV series and the resultant portrait of the master at work is almost like watching a parody of the “tortured genius” archetype. He has lackeys on set to pull up his trousers for him, drop cigarettes between his fingers and fetch him coffee while he barks “idiot!” and “clown!” at them, in between setting up insanely intricate shots with the meticulousness of a man obsessed. Watching him choreograph a fight and whisper to the stuntperson at the end of his sword “I can still hear your heartbeat”… “no… still”… “Okay, now I heard the last tick of your heart…” the line between Zatoichi and Katsu is all but gone.
Scenes of him paralytic with alcohol, arguing with crew members and colleagues are hard to watch. One accuses him of “being funny in the head” after enduring a semi-coherent rant, to which Katsu dourly replies, “I have been all my life…” but these sad moments are offset by scenes of him taking his crew out dancing, playing the shamisen and making those around him laugh ‘til they cry. Much like Zatoichi, his light and darkness can turn on a dime. The most moving moment however is when, after some particularly diva-ish footage is shown, Nathan asks one of Katsu’s long-suffering crew what he likes about the boss. The man’s face lights up, genuinely, entirely, and he gushes “EVERYTHING!” – which says it all, really.
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Reklama – obsah pokračuje níže
It’s easy to see why this irascible iconoclast’s character would appeal to fellow irascible iconoclast Takeshi Kitano but watching his enjoyably goofy remake, Zatoichi (2003) (the film that brought the character to most modern western eyes), it’s like a loving but inferior imitation rather than the living, breathing brilliance of the original. If that’s the only Zatoichi film you’ve seen, this boxset should be in your life straight away. If you’re already a fan of chanbara, jidaigeki or Japanese pop culture, it’s nothing short of an essential presence on your shelf.
On top of compiling so many great films (some of which were once quite rare) and the documentary, Criterion throw in a cracking featurette where John Nathan reminisces about making the documentary, an interesting overview of the series by critic Tony Rayn, and original trailers for all 25 films. That’s just on the discs. The crowning glory is the packaging.
The Zatoichi Collection comes in an exquisite hard box (you can watch an unboxing here), beautifully illustrated, with pockets for each of the discs and a hardback book. Inside the book you get a nice essay and some “tasting notes” for each of the films in turn and, best of all, a new English translation of the original Zatoichi short story by Kan Shimozawa.
This is a lovely little piece to read at the end, to put the whole thing into perspective. How great oak trees – an iconic movie character and the career of one of Japan’s finest actors – can grow from tiny acorns. And how sometimes, even the dark horse can come out on top. The legacy of Zatoichi – and Shintaro Katsu – has never looked brighter or more vital.
Zatoichi: Slepý šermíř is out now on Blu-ray through The Criterion Collection.
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