Lead actress Meiko Kaji also is an accomplished singer, and she performs the song "Shura no Hana" heard in the film. When Quentin Tarantino used the song in his "Kill Bill" films, it sparked renewed interest in her music that inspired her to record and release new songs for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Along with its sequel, this movie served as one of the main inspirations for Quentin Tarantino's movies Kill Bill. La venganza (volumen 1) (2003) and Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), and its lead character, The Bride.
The film signals the end of two eras. On the one hand, it is set during the Meiji Period and thereby signals the end of the Edo Period of the shogunate and his daimyo. On the other hand, and as a result, Lady Snowblood's tale of revenge, although similar in premise to other chanbara (sword fighting) films, is in fact very different, as it does not feature the wandering ronin nor honorable samurai, which jidaigeki (period dramas) films set during the Edo period would be known for.