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Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally
TITLE DETAILS

Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally

1989-02-04 · 116 min · ★ 6.4

Action · Drama · Adventure

Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.

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Production details

Directors
Shintarō Katsu
Production companies
Katsu Production, Shochiku
Countries
Japan
Status
Released

Top Cast

Shintarō KatsuShintarō KatsuZatoichi
Kanako HiguchiKanako HiguchiBoss Han Bosatsu
Takanori JinnaiTakanori JinnaiInspector Hanshu
Ryûtarô GanBoss Goemon
Yuya UchidaYuya UchidaBoss Akabei
Toyomi KusanoUme
Tsurutaro KataokaTsurutaro KataokaTsuru
Miho NakayamaMiho Nakayama
Ken OgataKen OgataRonin
Norihei MikiNorihei MikiZatôichi's Friend
Joe YamanakaJoe YamanakaKuruma Sukezaemon
Rikiya YasuokaRikiya Yasuoka
Gō AwazuGō Awazu
Daisuke BanDaisuke Ban
Takashi EbataTakashi Ebata
Shinzō HottaShinzō Hotta
Mayumi Fujii
Eugene Harada
Hiroshi Hasegawa
Tsuneyuki Hasegawa

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Where to watch

Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.

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View authorized watch options on TMDb

Recommendations

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Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.

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Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend.

Zatoichi's Revenge
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Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi's recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss's brothel. With help from Denroku's daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman
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Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.

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New Tale of Zatoichi
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Zatoichi's Pilgrimage
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★ 6.7
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Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.

Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
★ 6.8
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The blind masseuse is targeted by the leader of a powerful yakuza group while also fending off a jealous husband bent on revenge. Zatoichi tours Edo's underground via a rousing onsen fight scene, gambling houses and the gender-bending character of Umeji, before a final, flame-filled conflagration.

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Zatoichi's Cane Sword
★ 7.3
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