Zatoichi

Zatoichi is a Japanese jidaigeki film from 2003, written, directed and edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also plays the title role of the blind wandering masseur and swordsman. The character was created by the writer Kan Shimozawa, and from 1962 to 1989 he was played in a film series by Shintaro Katsu. Zatoichi arrives in a town where yakuza gangs are waging a war and extorting protection money from the inhabitants. He becomes entangled in it alongside a female farmer, a gambler and geisha siblings who want to avenge the murder of their parents ten years earlier. He carries his sword hidden in a cane (shikomi-zue), because in the Edo period non-nobles had no right to carry swords. The character is generally credited in the series with a reverse sword grip, iaido and the kenjutsu of the Muraku school; we have not been able to substantiate from sources whether this film adopts them too. The film's duels include the one with the ronin Hattori Gennosuke, played by Tadanobu Asano. Kitano used digital technology to heighten the bloodiness of the duels. The film ends with a tap-dance sequence performed by the Japanese group The Stripes. At the 2003 Venice Film Festival, Kitano won the Silver Lion for directing for this film, and it also received the Audience Award there; at the Toronto International Film Festival he received the People's Choice Award.

Martial arts in this work

Origin

Kitano said that others approached him to make the film, and so this time he took a more conventional approach and wanted to make a purely entertaining film. With it he also ended an eleven-year collaboration with the composer Joe Hisaishi. The source is a character who first appeared in Kan Shimozawa's essay Zatoichi Monogatari from 1948. Shintaro Katsu played him in 26 films from 1962 to 1989 and in 100 episodes of a television series broadcast from 1974 to 1979. His last Zatoichi film was made in 1989 and was released in 2004 under the title Darkness Is His Ally. After Kitano's version, the studio Toho released the film Zatoichi: The Last in 2010, in which Shingo Katori played the title role.

Fight choreography

Japanese Wikipedia names Tatsumi Nikamoto as the master of the sword scenes (tateshi). Actor Tadanobu Asano, however, said in an interview published by UCLA that Kitano himself choreographed almost all sword scenes and that he learned many of his character's impressive techniques directly from him in rehearsals. This need not be a contradiction, as credit and creative direction can overlap, but we have not been able to substantiate each one's share. According to Asano, it was rehearsed, stylised swordplay rather than traditional martial training; we did not find in the sources that Kitano or Asano trained in swordsmanship. In the duel between Zatoichi and Hattori, the two recognise each other as masters of the sword when they first meet; a reviewer for the website Asian Movie Pulse ranks it among Asano's most memorable moments.

People and martial arts

• Takeshi KitanoDirector
• Tatsumi NikamotoFight choreographer
• Takeshi KitanoActor — as Zatoichi· Koryu Bujutsu (portrays the art on screen)
• Tadanobu AsanoActor — as Hattori Gennosuke· Koryu Bujutsu (portrays the art on screen)

Awards

• Won · Benátský filmový festival, Stříbrný lev za režii (2003) — Takeshi Kitano
• Won · Benátský filmový festival, Cena diváků (Leone del Pubblico) (2003)
• Won · Toronto International Film Festival, People's Choice Award (2003)