Zatōichi
Zatōichi ( Japanese 座頭市 ) is a literary figure of the Japanese writer Kan Shimozawa . Zatoichi gained popularity through numerous film adaptations and a television series not only in Asia, but also with Western fans of martial arts films .
character
Zatōichi is a blind masseur who has mastered the sword fighting technique Iaijutsu . Ichi is the name, Zatō is the lowest rank in Todoza , the guild for male blind people at the time. He uses a rare fighting style in which he leads the sword hidden in his white cane with one hand and with the blade down instead of up.
The hearing of the inconspicuous man is so pronounced that he can successfully pursue his vice, the game of dice, and also put criminals on the cross who underestimate the blind. He wanders through the country and is repeatedly involved in conspiracies, the solution of which requires a safe sword wield.
In some representations, Zatōichi is also shown as a seeing samurai who only pretends to be blind.
Movies
From 1962 to 1989, the actor Shintarō Katsu played the cult figure of Zatōichi and enriched the Jidai-geki genre in 26 films and a television series. The films offer a mixture of pun, action and slapstick, but also contain a philosophical approach.
The combination of a clumsy blind man in an often cruel world and a deadly fighter who is underestimated by everyone makes Zatōichi a unique figure.
After Katsu's death, the director and actor Takeshi Kitano took on the character in 2003 and made a younger audience aware of it. Zatoichi - The Blind Samurai was Kitano's greatest commercial success to date.
| No. | title | year | Japanese | Romanization | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Tale of Zatoichi | 1962 | 座頭市 物語 | Zatōichi monogatari | Kenji Misumi |
| 2 | The Tale of Zatoichi Continues | 続 ・ 座頭市 物語 | Zoku Zatōichi monogatari | Kazuo Mori | |
| 3 | New Tale of Zatoichi | 1963 | 新 ・ 座頭市 物語 | Shin Zatōichi monogatari | Tokuzo Tanaka |
| 4th | Zatoichi The Fugitive | 座頭市 兇 状 旅 | Zatōichi kyōjō-tabi | ||
| 5 | Zatoichi on the Road | 座頭市 喧嘩 旅 | Zatōichi kenka-tabi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | |
| 6th | Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold | 1964 | 座頭市 千 両 首 | Zatōichi senryō-kubi | Kazuo Ikehiro |
| 7th | Zatoichi's Flashing Sword | 座頭市 あ ば れ 凧 | Zatōichi abare tako | ||
| 8th | Fight, Zatoichi, Fight | 座頭市 血 笑 旅 | Zatōichi kesshō-tabi | Kenji Misumi | |
| 9 | Adventures of Zatoichi | 座頭市 関 所 破 り | Zatōichi sekisho-yaburi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda | |
| 10 | Zatoichi's Revenge | 1965 | 座頭市 二段 斬 り | Zatōichi nidan-giri | Akira Inoue |
| 11 | Zatoichi and the Doomed Man | 座頭市 逆 手 斬 り | Zatōichi sakate-giri | Kazuo Mori | |
| 12 | Zatoichi and the Chess Expert | 座頭市 地獄 旅 | Zatōichi jigoku-tabi | Kenji Misumi | |
| 13 | Zatoichi's Vengeance | 1966 | 座頭市 の 歌 が 聞 え る | Zatōichi no uta ga kikoeru | Tokuzo Tanaka |
| 14th | Zatoichi's pilgrimage | 座頭市 海 を 渡 る | Zatōichi umi o wataru | Kazuo Ikehiro | |
| 15th | Zatoichi's Cane Sword | 1967 | 座頭市 鉄 火 旅 | Zatōichi tekka-tabi | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 16 | Zatoichi the Outlaw | 座頭市 牢 破 り | Zatōichi rōyaburi | Satsuo Yamamoto | |
| 17th | Zatoichi Challenged | 座頭市 血 煙 り 街道 | Zatōichi chikemurikaidō | Kenji Misumi | |
| 18th | Zatoichi and the Fugitives | 1968 | 座頭市 果 し 状 | Zatōichi hatashijō | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 19th | Samaritan Zatoichi | 座頭市 喧嘩 太 鼓 | Zatōichi kenka-daiko | Kenji Misumi | |
| 20th | Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo | 1970 | 座頭市 と 用心 棒 | Zatōichi to Yōjinbō | Kihachi Okamoto |
| 21st | Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival | 座頭市 あ ば れ 火 祭 り | Zatōichi abare-himatsuri | Kenji Misumi | |
| 22nd | Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman | 1971 | 新 座頭市 ・ 破 れ！ 唐人 剣 | Shin Zatōichi: Yabure! Tōjin-ken | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 23 | Zatoichi at Large | 1972 | 座頭市 御用 旅 | Zatōichi goyō-tabi | Kazuo Mori |
| 24 | Zatoichi in desperation | 新 座頭市 物語 ・ 折 れ た 杖 | Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Oreta tsue | Shintaro Katsu | |
| 25th | Zatoichi's Conspiracy | 1973 | 新 座頭市 物語 ・ 笠 間 の 血祭 り | Shin Zatōichi monogatari: Kasama no chimatsuri | Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| 26th | Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally | 1989 | 座頭市 | Zatōichi | Shintaro Katsu |
- 2003: Zatoichi - The Blind Samurai
- 2010: Zatoichi - The Last
- Note : The English titles given are those used commercially and are therefore not direct translations of the original Japanese titles.
Television series
From 1974 to 1979, a 100-part Zatōichi television series was produced in Japan in four seasons with Shintaro Katsu in the lead role:
- 26 episodes, 1974
- 29 episodes, 1976
- 19 episodes, 1978
- 26 episodes, 1979
Most of the stories on television are original pieces, but some are essentially edited remakes of entire Zatoichi films from the previous decade such as season 1 episode 14, Fighting Journey with Baby in Tow and season 1 episode 16, The Winds From Mt. Akagi .
The first season of the television series was released with English subtitles by Media Blasters / Tokyo Shock.
American remake
In 1989, Hollywood was inspired by the stories of the blind Japanese masseur and produced the remake Blinde Anger (1989), directed by Phillip Noyce, with Rutger Hauer in the role of a blind Vietnam veteran .
literature
- Patrick Galloway: Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook. Stone Bridge Press 2005, ISBN 1-8806-5693-0