Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman

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.^[1] It is a crossover of the long-running Zatoichi series and the One-Armed Swordsman film series.

Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman (新座頭市・破れ!唐人剣)
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kimiyoshi Yasuda Hsu Tseng Hung
Screenplay by	Takayuki Yamada Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Story by	Kan Shimozawa
Produced by	Shintaro Katsu Wong Ming
Starring	Shintaro Katsu Jimmy Wang Yu
Cinematography	Chikashi Makiura
Edited by	Toshio Taniguchi
Production companies	Katsu Productions Wing Luen Movie Film Company
Distributed by	Dainichi Eihai Golden Harvest
Release date	13 January 1971 (1971-01-13)
Running time	94 minutes
Countries	Japan Hong Kong
Languages	Japanese Mandarin

Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	獨臂刀大戦盲侠
Literal meaning	New Zatoichi Break! Chinese Sword
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dú bì dāo dàzhàn máng xiá Yue: Cantonese Jyutping duk6 bei3 dou1 daai6 zin3 maang4 hap6
Japanese name
Kanji	新座頭市・破れ！唐人剣[a]
Transcriptions Romanization Shin Zatōichi: Yabure! Tōjin-ken

The Chinese edit of the film reportedly featured a different ending where Wang Kang was victorious in the final duel, rather than Zatoichi.^[2]

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