Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman-Shin zatô Ichi: Yabure! Tôjin-ken (1971)

Directed by: Kimiyoshi Yasuda | 94 minutes | action, drama, adventure | Actors: Shintarô Katsu, Yu Wang, Watako Hamaki, Michie Terada, Koji, Nambara, Koji Minawara

‘Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman’ is already the 22nd film in a series of 25 films made about this blind swordsman. If you haven’t seen one yet and want to get a sense of the tone and mood of the films, consider Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns, especially “Once Upon a Time in the West.” The protagonist, Zatoichi, the blind masseur, is the lonesome cowboy who travels through the country without a permanent residence and without family or friends. He has exchanged his horse for sandals and his revolver for a sword disguised as a walking stick, which he masters like no other. As in the spaghetti westerns, the land is dry and hot, the heads are sweaty and the faces are furrowed, often filmed close-up. The world in which the lone hero moves is harsh and ruthless, as tormented and money- and power-hungry crooks hold sway. Women generally have nothing to crumble in the milk.

Zatoichi himself, like his western counterparts, is no stranger to a gamble here and there and drinks sake (the Japanese equivalent of whiskey) like water. In character he is a bit more modest than most gunslingers and a bit more philosophical. Another big difference is that Zatoichi himself never seeks danger. He ends up in it due to a combination of circumstances and takes his responsibility. However, that usually means that a lot of heads will roll, that is, of the bad guys.

Wang also crosses his path by chance. He is wanted by the people in the area because he is said to have killed innocent civilians. Nice fact: Zatoichi does not immediately condemn him, but tries to judge him on his character. They become friends. But due to all kinds of misunderstandings, they eventually come up against each other, which is less for them, but good for the viewers at home: a sensational confrontation is inevitable.

An old hero has once again been pulled out of the closet for this film, this time the one-armed swordsman from China, from Cheh Chang’s (Hong Kong, 1967) successful martial arts film of the same name. Although Yu Wang certainly has some kung fu and swordsmanship skills and he’s not bad acting, his character is a lot less believable than that of the blind Zatoichi. In fight scenes you can clearly see the major disadvantages of the missing arm, it is all a bit less balanced, less controlled. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that he really takes people out with his one arm. This is then compensated by some special effects, where the man flies through the air that it is a delight. Maybe there are monks who really can do that and it fits well in the Chinese martial arts tradition, in the Zatoichi idiom it is a bit out of tune, making it just okay. If at some point you inadvertently see his arm hidden in his suit, his character’s credibility is all but shattered. And it’s hard to counter that.

It makes ‘Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman’ a lesser movie from the series, which doesn’t mean it’s bad. The story, while simpler than usual, is as always well put together and except for the one-armed swordsman, the characters are believable and well thought out. The music is beautiful, although you can almost accuse the composer of plagiarism, because his music is very reminiscent of Ennio Morricone, the composer of famous spaghetti westerns. Perhaps it would be a good idea to posthumously create a variation on the genre with the Zatoichi series. How about ‘Noodle Western’?