Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman
Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (Japanese: 新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣, Hepburn: Shin Zatōichi: Yabure! Tōjin-ken, lit. 'New Zatoichi Break! Chinese Sword') (Chinese: 獨臂刀大戦盲侠; pinyin: Dú bì dāo dàzhàn máng xiá), also known as Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman and The Blind Swordsman Meets His Equal, is a 1971 Japanese-Hong Kong chambara / wuxia crossover by Japanese film director Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Chinese film director Hsu Tseng Hung. The film stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi and Jimmy Wang Yu as the "One-Armed Swordsman" Wang Kang.[1] It is a crossover of the long-running Zatoichi series and the One-Armed Swordsman film series.
| Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (新座頭市・破れ!唐人剣) | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Kimiyoshi Yasuda Hsu Tseng Hung |
| Screenplay by | Takayuki Yamada Kimiyoshi Yasuda |
| Story by | Kan Shimozawa |
| Produced by | Shintaro Katsu Wong Ming |
| Starring | Shintaro Katsu Jimmy Wang Yu |
| Cinematography | Chikashi Makiura |
| Edited by | Toshio Taniguchi |
Production companies | Katsu Productions Wing Luen Movie Film Company |
| Distributed by | Dainichi Eihai Golden Harvest |
Release date |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Countries | Japan Hong Kong |
| Languages | Japanese Mandarin |
The Chinese edit of the film reportedly featured a different ending where Wang Kang was victorious in the final duel, rather than Zatoichi.[2]
Plot
While traveling the Japanese countryside the blind masseur Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) comes across the One Armed Swordsman, Wang Kang (Jimmy Wang Yu), who is in hiding and protecting a child from a corrupt Japanese priest and a group of yakuza. Zatoichi and Wang Kang, each from very different worlds yet heroic swordsmen in their own right, at first seem to get along but a language barrier and a series of misunderstanding leads Kang to distrust Ichi. Soon the two heroes are at each other throats while each attempts to stop the true villains from taking the child.
Cast
- Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi
- Jimmy Wang Yu as Wang Kang
- Yūko Hama as Osen
- Michie Terada as Oyone
- Kōji Nanbara as Kakuzen
- Tokue Hanasawa as Yosaku
- Shinsuke Minami as Henoichi
- Shirō Itō as Shinshichi
- Toru Abe as Boss Tōbei
- Wang Ling as Li Yumei
- Cheung Yik as Li Xiangrong
Production
- Yoshinobu Nishioka - Art director
