Anecdotes

This is the eighth of 26 films to star Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi.

While Zatoichi is repeatedly referred to as a masseur in the English subtitles, the Japanese term Anma would be more correct. Anma was both the term used for the practice and the generally nomadic practitioner of Japanese massage. In fact, edicts were passed so that massage was solely a vocation for the blind, forbidden to be learned by any with sight.

While this is the eighth Zatoichi film, it is only the second Zatoichi film to be directed by Kenji Misumi, since his work upon the first film in the series, 'Tale of Zatoichi' (1962).

Zatoichi's katana is a shikomizue. This is a sword which is concealed within a wooden cane, thus the cane itself is both handle and scabbard.

This film is part of the jidai-geki genre, which translates to 'period drama'. It is also a 'chanbara' (sword fighting) film.