Shin Zatôichi: Yabure! Tôjin-ken

An interesting meeting of action film genres at a time when one was ebbing into the twilight and the other just starting to go. It would be only a few more years before the chambara genre peters out (but not before some more great films are made) and mostly moves to television. The wuxia (swordplay) genre (where the One Armed Swordsman comes from) split off into the kung fu genre which hits it's stride with the coming of Bruce Lee's "Big Boss" and Wang Yu's self-directed "One Armed Boxer" (no relation to the swordsman), the same year this Zatoichi film is released. The great years of kung fu cinema were just around the corner.

Wang Kong (the One-Armed Swordsman) arrives in Japan to find a temple where a Japanese monk has invited Wang Kong to live. Unable to speak Japanese at all, Wang Kong chances upon a traveling Chinese family of entertainers who have made Japan their home. A husband, wife and young boy, they like Japan better then China. Accompanying Wang Kong to the temple the four encounter a procession of samurai transporting specially prepared abalone destined for the Shogun. Everyone must get off the road and let the procession pass or suffer dire consequences. Unfortunately, the little Chinese boy runs after a kite and is set upon by a sword swinging samurai. The mother protects her child but at the cost of her life, the father is killed too. Agast at the cruelty of the samurai, Wang Kong jumps in and kills a number of them. The little boy runs off and is separated from Wang Kong who retreats from further battle. The samurai decide to kill all the innocent people who witnessed the scene and blame the carnage on the "crazed Chinaman". Zatoichi comes upon the frightened child and decides to take care of him. Later the fugitive Wang Kong meets Zatoichi but the two have a really hard time communicating and Wang Kong is very suspicious of Zatoichi's motives. Of course this being a Zatoichi film, an evil yakuza gang gets involved and you know what's going to happen to them.

The first thing that strikes me is how different the One-Armed Swordman films were from the Zatoichi films in terms of sophistication. The HK films of the time were still very stagy in look and acting where the Japanese films were well versed in film techniques and acted in a more natural manner. I am not a great fan of Chang Cheh's "One Armed Swordsman" but many people really like it and it deserves it's significance in film history. It was also apparently very popular in Japan.

This particular outing with the character is arguably the best produced One-Armed Swordsman film with actor Wang Yu as the character. There are a few issues with the film, the most serious is that the producers assumed that you already know Wang Kong is missing an arm and fights with a broken sword. Anyone unfamiliar with the backstory is going to be confused but the film will still be watchable. Second, the highly refined and excellent sword choreography for Zatoichi really makes the faithful but stagy non-weapon kung fu for Wang Kong look not so good. The kung fu sword work comes off fine however. The Japanese producers were very respectful to the One-Armed Swordman mythos and kept the character true to the original film.

The film, while not the absolute best of the Zatoichi series, is very good and touches on a number of issues. There are colorful characters the liven up the film and you will not be wasting your time watching. Recommended.

The following review is an extract from the book "Shintaro Katsu´s Zatoichi: Complete guide to all movies", which is now available on Amazon.

A family of Chinese acrobats travels through Japan performing their shows. After one of their shows a compatriot of them appears on stage; a martial artist named Wang Kang. He only has one arm, the left arm, because the other lost it in a fight. The Chinese warrior came to Japan in search of the temple of Fukuryu-ji.

Soon Wang becomes friends with the other Chinese; a couple and their little son Shaolong. They know the address of the temple and agree to take him there. On the way there is a procession of samurai carrying offerings for the shogun. "It is forbidden to cross with them, we must wait for them to pass, so is the law in Japan" says one of the Chinese. However, a gust of wind takes his son's kite to the road where the samurai parade takes place. Little Shaolong runs after it, stumbling and interrupting the sacred procession. The indignant escorts of the procession want to punish him for it, but Wang Kang quickly intervenes, thus initiating a fight between the one-armed Chinese swordsman and the Japanese samurai. The latter assassinate Shaolong's unarmed Chinese parents, as well as others bystanders, producing an authentic massacre. In the end, Wang and the child manage to escape, although separately.

The news of what has just happened spreads quickly in the region, but in a distorted way. The official version states that a dangerous mad Chinese attacked the Samurai procession, thus provoking the carnage. Now, this foreigner is wanted by provincial officials and also by yakuza clans who cooperate with the authorities and hope to receive the juicy reward offered for the head of the foreign fugitive.

(...)

This is one of the most atypical films in Zatoichi's saga, which with was approaching towards its end (it is the twenty-second film of 26). It is a crossover in which the best Japanese swordsman of film series (who is blind) and the most "dexterous" Chinese martial artist (who is actually left-handed, as he lacks a right arm) share the poster. Wang Kang's character is played by Yu Wang (who is not as popular as Bruce Lee). Wang is the protagonist of a series of films shot in Hong Kong about the fictitious figure of the "One-armed swordsman". Like Zatoichi in Japan or El Santo in Mexico, this "one-armed swordsman" is a popular character with his own series of action films, including choreographed kung-fu fights.

In "Shin Zatoichi: Yabure!" The cultural and linguistic confusions between Ichi and one-armed Wang are memorable. After the final duel between the two (which although it is done with knives has enormous aesthetic similarities with the western-genre) the two, very equal, proclaim that "If we had understood each other, we would not have had to fight...".

The soundtrack is composed by Isao Tomita (one of the fathers of ambient music, and among the first to use synthesizers), who also created the music for the second film of the trilogy "Hanzo the Razor" and the episodes of the series "Oshi samurai".

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman is the twenty-second entry in the Japanese franchise about the blind masseur, skilled swordsman and lowly yakuza. This creative movie is a Hong Kong-Japanese cooperation with one director, one genre and one protagonist from each country. The story revolves around a Chinese swordsman who has recently arrived in Japan who meets a family of Chinese artists consisting of a father, a mother and a boy. The boy accidentally disturbs the procession of a local clan when his kite flies away. The pitiless yakuza attack the boy. The parents try to protect him but are brutally slain just as all witnesses on the road. The boy is however saved by the Chinese swordsman. They meet Zatoichi on their way who decides to help them but the language barrier makes communication quite complicated. Things turn sour when the three are helped out by a family of farmers but quickly discovered by the raging yakuza. The family's parents are slain, the daughter gets tortured and the Chinese swordsman and the boy must go into hiding in a temple. Zatoichi was on his way to get some information about the samurai and some water for his companions during the massacre. The Chinese swordsman now wrongfully believes Zatoichi betrayed him and the farmer's daughter also holds an unjustified grudge against the blind swordsman. Zatoichi needs to clear his name, fight the yakuza mob and save the farmer's daughter as well as the Chinese swordsman and the orphan boy.

There are numerous elements that make this movie stand out as one of the very best entries in the franchise. First of all, the combination of Hong Kong and Japanese cinema is fantastic. Perfectly choreographed sword fights meet elegant martial arts combats. The fight sequences are beautiful to watch but also include some bloody and brutal elements here and there to spice things up efficiently. The movie almost equally uses Japanese chambara and Chinese wu xia techniques. The two protagonists are also very famous in their respective countries and represent how seemingly disadvantaged outsiders can rise to heroism. Zatoichi and Wang Kang could be described as soulmates which makes their fates even more tragic. Secondly, the movie has a very strong message. If you overcome the language barrier, you will realize how close people actually are. The film promotes a message of communication, cooperation and respect. Thirdly, the movie also has an intriguing story as it deals with topics such as authority, distrust and manipulation. There are a lot of betrayals and conspiracies happening throughout the film that keep it very interesting until the very end. Few movies in the franchise have such a fluid pace and are entertaining to watch from start to finish without any lengths.

There really isn't much to criticize about this movie that should appeal to chambara and wu xia collectors and fans alike. The supporting characters could have been a little bit more fleshed out but that's the only element that could have been improved.

Overall, Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman is a highlight in the Zatoichi franchise and will please fans of old date as much as those who are rather fans of the Shaw Brothers character. This movie combines Chinese and Japanese cultures perfectly. In addition to being highly entertaining, this film has a positive message that still matters nowadays. This movie has therefore aged very well but also has the classic structure of a Zatoichi movie that fans like so much. This film is equally innovative and traditional which makes it particularly enjoyable. Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman should appeal to a wide audience and deserves more acclaim and attention that it has gotten so far. While the combination of Zatoichi and Yojimbo a year earlier was a mismatch, the combination of Zatoichi and Wang Gang is a perfect match. Give it a try!

I haven't seen a bad Zatoichi movie yet!

This movie has the standard lost child and yakuza; however, it also has a conflict between two forces of good. It's very frustrating for those of us who like black and white battles. It also humanizes the characters (as if Zatoichi could be more humanized).

No spoilers here. If you've enjoyed other Zatoichi's, you won't be disappointed by this one.

One of the more accessible films in the series due to its simpler story (two heroes ally themselves against an evil but then find themselves on different sides due to a mis-understanding). Though the Zatoichi films often vary in style and in tone, the themes (treat others as you would wish to be treated, be true to your word, gamble within your means, etc), remain constant. Here, the language barrier between Zatoichi and The One-Armed Swordsman (one is Chinese, the other Japanese), is a theme that will have had a greater resonance for its native audience rather than those in the west, but the story works well just as a straight-forward adventure yarn. Shintarô Katsu is as reliably great as ever. By turns dynamic and exacting with the sword, warm of heart with the just and needy, steely and unmerciful of the greedy and vindictive. Zatoichi is one of the great movie heroes. Shintarô Katsu, one of the great heroic actors. If you haven't seen these films then you could do worse than start here.