Ep. 11: The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)

The first thread in a rich cinematic tapestry of adventures following blind masseur and unassuming master swordsman Zatoichi, a series that now spans 26 films and hundreds of TV episodes, starts here, with Kenji Misumi's The Tale of Zatoichi. Following the titular swordsman and establishing his character as a nonchalant zen master capable of leveraging people's prejudices and assumptions, Jack and Vaughn work through the oldest film featured on the show thus far. A peaceful, nearly anti-action film that plays up its minimalism and black and white beauty until a violently chaotic meltdown that pits two masters against each other.We’ll be back next week for more Japanuary adventures with Norifumi Suzuki's Roaring Fire – but until then, for more words, thoughts, and action adoration, find us all around the internet.Vaughn on The Twin Geeks, Letterboxd, Twitter, and Bluesky.Jack on The Twin Geeks, Letterboxd, Twitter, and Bluesky.