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Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971), directed by Hsu Tseng-Hung, starring Shintarō Katsu and Jimmy Wang Yu.

01/13/1971 BR Action, Adventure and Drama 1h 34m

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Synopsis

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.

  • 森田富士郎Cinematography
  • 牧浦地志Cinematography
  • Hsu Tseng-HungDirector
  • Kimiyoshi YasudaDirector, Screenplay

Zatoichi: A Série de Cinema

The franchise in release order. 26 films.

About the film

Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (Japanese: 新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣; Chinese: 獨臂刀大戦盲侠), also known as Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman and The Blind Swordsman Meets His Equal, is a 1971 chambara-wuxia crossover by Japanese film director Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Chinese film director Hsu Tseng Hung. A Japanese-Hong Kong co-production, the film stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi and Jimmy Wang Yu as the "One-Armed Swordsman" Wang Kang. It is a crossover of the long-running Zatoichi series and the One-Armed Swordsman film series.

The Chinese edit of the film reportedly featured a different ending where Wang Kang was victorious in the final duel, rather than Zatoichi.

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Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (Japanese: 新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣; Chinese: 獨臂刀大戦盲侠), also known as Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman and The Blind Swordsman Meets His Equal, is a 1971 chambara-wuxia crossover by Japanese film director Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Chinese film director Hsu Tseng Hung. A Japanese-Hong Kong co-production, the film stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi and Jimmy Wang Yu as the "One-Armed Swordsman" Wang Kang. It is a crossover of the long-running Zatoichi series and the One-Armed Swordsman film series.

The Chinese edit of the film reportedly featured a different ending where Wang Kang was victorious in the final duel, rather than Zatoichi.

Plot

While traveling the Japanese countryside the blind masseur Zatoichi (Shintaro Katsu) comes across the One-Armed Swordsman, Wang Kang (Jimmy Wang Yu), who is in hiding and protecting a child from a corrupt Japanese priest and a group of yakuza. Zatoichi and Wang Kang, each from very different worlds yet heroic swordsmen in their own right, at first seem to get along but a language barrier and a series of misunderstanding leads Kang to distrust Ichi. Soon the two heroes are at each other throats while each attempts to stop the true villains from taking the child.

Cast

Shintaro Katsu as Zatoichi

Jimmy Wang Yu as Wang Kang

Yūko Hama as Osen

Michie Terada as Oyone

Kōji Nanbara as Kakuzen

Tokue Hanasawa as Yosaku

Shinsuke Minami as Henoichi

Shirō Itō as Shinshichi

Toru Abe as Boss Tōbei

Wang Ling as Li Yumei

Cheung Yik as Li Xiangrong

Production

Yoshinobu Nishioka - Art director

References

External links

Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman at IMDb

Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase

Unseenfilms

Text from Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatoichi_and_the_One-Armed_Swordsman

Trivia

Production

More about this film

Set in

  • Japan

Preceded by

  • Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival

Followed by

  • Zatoichi at Large

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What is Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman about?

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman: 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 mix…

Who directed Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman?

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman was directed by Hsu Tseng-Hung and Kimiyoshi Yasuda in 1971.

Who stars in Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman?

The cast of Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman includes Shintarō Katsu, Jimmy Wang Yu, Yuko Hama, Michie Terada and Kōji Nanbara.

How long is Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman?

Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman runs for 94 minutes, or 1h34.

What is the correct order of the Zatoichi: A Série de Cinema films?

The Zatoichi: A Série de Cinema franchise has 26 films in the catalogue. In release order: O Conto de Zatoichi; O Conto de Zatoichi Continua; Novo Conto de Zatoichi; Zatoichi, o Fugitivo; Zatoichi, O Samurai; Zatoichi e o Baú de Ouro; Zatoichi e a Espada Brilhante; Lute Zatoichi, Lute..

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Page updated on 09/09/2026.

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