The unlikeliest of hero-swordsmen—blind and living on the bottom rungs of a rigid social order—Zatoichi is one of post-war Japan’s most popular characters, the central protagonist in a long-running series of movies. An itinerant gambler and masseuse, Zatoichi roams a country apparently teeming with vicious gangs and corrupt officials. His unassuming and seemingly harmless bearing allowed him to mingle with both the dispossessed and the powerful. Just as Robin Hood had his bow and arrows and the Lone Ranger had his revolvers and silver bullets, Zatoichi has his own trademark weapon: a straight-edged blade concealed in his cane. The character possessed an enduring appeal that rivals James Bond: Shintaro Katsu played the title role in no less than 26 movies—he was 31 years old when he began the role in 1962 and almost 60 when the last movie was released in 1989.
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