The Paths of Zatoichi

Jonathan Wroot

doi:10.5771/9781793601223

Summary

The Paths of Zatoichi charts the history and influence of the Japanese film and television franchise about Zatoichi the blind swordsman. The franchise is comprised of 29 films and 100 TV episodes (starring the famous Shintaro Katsu, who starred in 26 of the 29 feature films). They all follow the adventures of a blind masseur in medieval Japan, who wanders from village to village and often has to defend himself with his deadly sword skills. The first film was released in 1962 and the most recent in 2010. These dates demonstrate how the franchise can be used as a means of charting Japanese cinema history, via the shifts in production practices and audience preferences which affected the Zatoichi series and numerous other film and TV texts. Zatoichi signifies a huge area of Japanese film history which has largely been ignored in much existing scholarly research, and yet it can reveal much about the appeal of long-running characters, franchises, and their constant adaptation and influence within global popular culture.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2021
ISBN-Print: 978-1-7936-0121-6
ISBN-Online: 978-1-7936-0122-3
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 190
Product type: Book Titles

1. Dedication No access
2. Contents No access
3. Acknowledgments No access
4. Note for Readers No access
1. Why Follow the Paths of Zatoichi? No access
2. Establishing the Path Analogy No access
3. Navigating the Paths of Zatoichi No access
1. The Short, but First, Tale of Zatoichi No access
2. The Rise of Shintaro Katsu within Daiei No access
3. The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) No access
4. The Timing of Zatoichi’s Tale No access
5. The Impact of Zatoichi’s Tale No access
1. From New Tales to Outlaws: Zatoichi’s Path at Daiei No access
2. Producing Zatoichi’s Path: From Challenges to Samaritans No access
3. The Early 1970s: Daiei’s Bankruptcy and the Crossover to Toho No access
4. Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970) No access
5. Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival (1970) No access
6. Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971) No access
7. Zatoichi at Large (1972) No access
8. Zatoichi in Desperation (1972) No access
9. Zatoichi’s Conspiracy (1973) No access
10. Katsu’s Path: From Star to Producer No access
11. Note No access
1. Changing Paths: Katsu Takes Ichi from Film to TV No access
2. Changing Seasons: Katsu’s Entourage for Ichi’s Travels No access
3. Changes and Constants: 100 Episodes of Ichi’s Travels No access
4. Season One No access
5. Season Two No access
6. Season Three No access
7. Season Four No access
8. Changing Fortunes, but No Farewells: Ichi’s TV Finale No access
9. Note No access
1. A Rest at the Crossroads: Ichi’s Path beyond Katsu and Japan No access
2. The Path of Oichi, at Shochiku Studios No access
3. Ichi’s Mandarin Path: The Blind Swordsman in Taiwan No access
4. The Path of Si Buta: Indonesia’s Blind Warrior No access
5. The End of Katsu’s Path: The Blind Swordsman in 1989 No access
6. Blind Fury: The Blind Swordman’s First Steps in the West No access
7. Notes No access
1. Chanbara at Home and Abroad No access
2. Zatoichi (2003): Takeshi Kitano Steps on to Katsu’s Path No access
3. Ichi (2008): Katsu Remembered and the Blind Swordswoman Renewed No access
4. The Blind Swordsman on Stage No access
5. Zatoichi: The Last (2010): An Attempt to End the Path No access
6. The Blind Swordsman and the Blockbusters: Hollywood Homages No access
7. Conclusion: Zatoichi’s Path Continues No access
8. Notes No access
Continuing Paths and Homages No access Pages 153 - 154
Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf (2009) No access Pages 155 - 155
Hoshino (2016) No access Pages 156 - 156
ZVP (2016) No access Pages 157 - 157
Blindsided (2016) No access Pages 158 - 159
Top Knot Detective (2016) No access Pages 160 - 170
Filmography and TV Series No access Pages 171 - 176
Index No access Pages 177 - 190