The Zatoichi TV Series

Following an eleven-year, 25-entry run of feature films, Shintaro Katsu would continue to portray the blind swordsman for over a hundred additional television episodes (before returning for one final movie years later). The show basically follows the same formula we'd later see with Bill Bixby in The Incredible Hulk: a vagabond wanders into town, gets entangled in some local conflict, and is eventually forced to unleash his deadly alter ego before walking away to somber music. I'm a total sucker for it.

Zatōichi Monogatari

26 episodes

Originally aired from October of 1974 through April of '75, Thursday nights at 8:00 on Fuji TV.

Episode 01

Oct. 3 1974

A Challenge of Chance

のるかそるかの正念場
Written by Hajime Takaiwa
Directed by Kazuo Mori

Ichi befriends a fellow traveler before finding himself in a copper-mining town that's being terrorized by a new crime boss and that boss's rifle-toting enforcer.

Watched on Feb. 4 2025

Kazuo Mori had also directed four of the original Zatoichi films, as early as the series' first sequel (12 years prior). As such, this episode feels especially at home among the more morose, less campy entries in the series. The deaths and suffering are framed heavily here (much more so than they would have been on Western broadcast television at the time), and it's a pretty strong start in terms of stakes and tone.

Most Zatoichi stories can be broken down into two categories based on whether he's highly underestimated or if word of the deadly blind masseur had preceded his arrival. I usually prefer the former, but this is definitely on the latter end of that spectrum. (The next episode makes it look like we'll have a variety to look forward to though.)

This isn't my first time to start the series, so I'd seen this episode a couple of times in the past. It's a good one, and it sets promising expectations for the rest of this watch.

Episode 02

Oct. 10, 1974

The Flower that Bloomed with the Lullaby

子守唄に咲いた女郎花
Written by Kin'ya Naoi
Directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda

Ichi reluctantly agrees to escort a recently orphaned child cross country, while a local crime boss and a Raising Arizona-esque couple of lovebird ne'er-do-wells have their sights on doing the same instead.

Feb. 7 2025

It's less of a road-trip story than it sounds. Most of the time is spent in town, establishing this week's players and stakes. As such, the actual journey ends up relegated to a third act montage.

As a director, Kuroda is known for his special effects (as seen in the very rad looking Yokai Monsters trilogy) and action sequences (showcased in the finale to the Lone Wolf and Cub film series). There aren't a whole lot of opportunities for either here, but multiple scenes are presented in a visually striking way. One of note is the mid-slurp slaying of a group of would-be kidnappers at a starkly-lit, late-night noodle stand.

Another choice that stuck with me here was the decision to make the crooked couple almost utterly unlikeable. That way, when Ichi does ultimately show generosity toward them, it further solidifies the character's gambler with a heart of gold appeal.

Episode 03

Oct. 17 1974

A Memorial Day and the Bell of Life

祥月命日いのちの鐘

Written by Niisan Takahashi
Directed by Shintaro Katsu

All while trying to observe a vow of non-violence on the anniversary of his mother's death, Ichi must deal with the aftermath of a slain yakuza matriarch as well as a cocky, young ronin insistent on facing him in duel.

Feb. 9 2025

Katsu takes the director chair himself this go round, and we're treated to a quirky, heartfelt deviation from formula.

We start with a heavy implication that an elderly woman Ichi is talking to might actually be his (otherwise long-thought to have been deceased) mother. And just as you think that's going to be the main plot point… a group of hired ronin arrive and kill her off. Ichi manages to intervene (saving her adult son), but is abruptly interrupted when a bell rings, marking a 12-hour period of non-violence he observes each year on the anniversary of his mother's death. That vow is further complicated when he is eventually saved by one of the attacking ronin who'd been spared by that morning bell and later, when they paths with the daughter of one who hadn't been so lucky.

A strong recommend, this episode offers a rare sprinkling of Ichi's backstory, a charismatic, lead-worthy side character, and a multi-faceted critique of the web of vengeance. Plus, there's even a group of Any Which Way You Can-style buffoonish ruffians thrown in for laughs.

Episode 04

Oct. 24 1974

The Kannon Statue that was Bound

縛られ観音ゆきずり旅
Written by Shôzaburô Asai
Directed by Kenji Misumi

Two rival clans squabble over the relocation of a statue. Elsewhere, Ichi tries to reunite an ex-convict with her young daughter.

Feb. 11 2025

Probably among the most feel-good Zatoichi stories out there, this is a rare instance where everything works out in the end, and even Ichi leaves satisfied with the good he has done.

On top of that, there's an extremely humorous plot point in which a young conman (who goes through a full character arc of his own), keeps trying to hire Ichi, unaware of who he is, to impersonate himself. As Ichi plays along, we get a great twist on the impersonator from 1965's Zatoichi and the Doomed Man, which, lo and behold, shares the same screenwriter! I'll have to keep an eye out for Asai's name in future credits.

Speaking of film alum, it's worth noting that this is the only episode to be directed by Kenji Misumi, the director of the first Zatoichi film (and five others, many of which consistently rank among the most well-regarded entries in the series. It is also sadly Misumi's final directing credit, as he would pass away the following year). away afterward Knowing that, I'm curious how much (if any) of the episode's sympathetic portrayal of the formerly imprisoned had been informed by the two and a half years he had spent as a prisoner of war in Serbia. For such an accomplished director, he (even among his generational peers) seems to have led an exceptionally challenging life.

Episode 05

Oct. 31 1974

The Heartless Man, Touched by Compassion

情知らずが情に泣いた
Written by Ichiro Ikeda
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda

An inept father can't stop trying to sell his daughter to a brothel. Meanwhile, a stoic and formidable swordsman is reluctantly selling his services in the hopes of affording medical treatment for his recently-blinded younger sister.

Feb. 13 2025

An ongoing theme in the Zatoichi mythos is hardship following him wherever he goes and how he can't stick around without spreading that hardship around. That said, a lot of of the series' appeal is seeing him, through either skill or wit, solve otherwise unsolvable problems (like in last week's episode). Even when a tragedy can't be avoided, it usually hits when a loss in the B plot is necessary for a win in the A plot.

This episode offers neither of the above. The victims of plot A are left a hair's breath away from being in the same situation Ichi had found them in to begin with, whereas those of plot B are left much, much worse. Lacking even the comic relief we'd been getting lately, The Heartless Man, Touched by Compassion is a real no-holds-barred punch to the gut…

…but it does give us the second arm flying off that we've seen so far, and a slightly more convincing hanafuda scene than what we saw in Episode Two.

Episode 06

Nov. 7 1974

Pouring Rain

どしゃぶり
Written by Seiji Hoshikawa
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

Ichi tries to find out why a woman he meets is holding a grudge against him. Meanwhile, yet another girl is at risk of being sold to a brothel, and the local crime boss has hired a deadly assassin to handle the meddlesome masseur.

Feb. 17 2025

Not too long into the episode, we learn that Ichi has killed the woman's brother, a kid who'd only entered crime to try to buy her her way out of a brothel contract. Zatoichi films typically average a kill count well into the dozens each, (most of them nameless, lineless goons). However, this sympathetic portrayal of sword fodder is similar to that seen in 1963's Zatoichi the Fugitive, which Hoshikawa also has a screenplay credit on. In both, an irresistibly large bounty on Ichi's head leads a below-average swordsman, desperate for the money to help a family member, find a quick and predictable death instead. Unlike the film, this episode goes a step further by having the kill happen offscreen, and one Ichi doesn't even remember.

I'd like to track down some of the writer's other work to see if these themes appear in them as well. The first six films in the Sleepy Eyes of Death series might be a good start.

There's also some light humor when Ichi works at the inn, great tension building as the assassin hired to kill him is also a guest there, and a pretty stunning climax that pits a swordless Ichi, amidst a muddy downpour, against a(nother) slew of goons. Although a little more show instead of tell for the assassin's build up would have been nice, he is the C-plot squeezed into this episode's 44-minute runtime, so it makes sense that it's done the way it's done.

Episode 07

Nov. 7 1974

A Bird Lands on Ichi

市に鳥がとまった
Written by Ichiro Ikeda
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

A bird keeper stands between a couple of rival gangs and a plot to pouch fowl.

Feb. 20 2025

Meet Hanpei Misawa, the Bird Keeper; a master swordsman who proudly claims to have never taken a life, but instead opts to fight poachers with a birdlime-tipped length of bamboo (a sticky, often illegal, substance spread on branches to trap small birds). With his stoic, peaceful demeanor, the fluttering friends on his shoulder, and his unique weapon, this guy's basically an A-list Samurai Shodown or Last Blade character (who just happens to have only appeared on a single episode of a television program).

This is also the second story so far written by Ichiro Ikeda, (the other one being the dismally depressing Episode 5). At first, I was surprised that these two, such tonally opposite takes came from the same writer. But it actually makes a lot of sense. Both are highly critical of Ichi's propensity for violence. Although that episode focused on failures despite his skill (i.e., being good at a bad thing will only lead to bad results); this one goes as far as to say he's not even that skilled to begin with by introducing a character who is so effective at solving conflicts that he does so without blood on his hands. That difference in growth is further echoed by Ichi's clumsy handling of a naive admirer, as both of them look like bickering children compared to Misawa.

Between the extremely memorable ronin of the week, the makeup effects of the birdlime stuck to gangsters' hands and faces, and the deft characterization, A Bird Lands on Ichi makes the cut for any short list of must-see Zatoichi tales.

Episode Ranking

…from those I would recommend the most to those I would the least.

s01e03 A Memorial Day and the Bell of Life

A true pleasure with a unique premise and great balance of light-heartedness and gravitas.

s01e04 The Kannon Statue that Was Bound

A feel-good episode where we get to see Ichi take a rare win.

s01e07 A Bird Lands on Ichi's Head

Features the bird keeper, an exceptionally appealing and unique supporting character.

s01e02 The Flower that Bloomed with the Lullaby

Visually striking, but marred ever-so-slightly by a less-than-convincing Ichi plays cards scene.

s01e06 Pouring Rain

Memorable supporting cast and set pieces, but lacks room for its three intersecting plots to breathe.

s01e01 A Challenge of Chance

A strong start to the series that sticks close to the core formula structure-wise.

s01e05 The Heartless Man, Touched by Compassion

Way too much of a downer.

About this Page

Goals and guidelines for the contents of this page.

The above is a watch log. After each episode, I select a screen capture, write a synopsis, and add a little reflection. Since director and screenplay credits are available for individual episodes, I'm including them, and might use them as a lens to compare episodes to each other, the film series, or related bodies of work. That said, these are all studio pros, many of which already had a ton of credits under their belt by this time, with only a fraction of that work currently accessible, and even less of it English-subbed. Plus, I wouldn't even consider myself an armchair cinephile, so take anything I've written with a heavy grain of salt.

My primary goal in writing these is to help me consume media with more intention (as opposed to binging and forgetting, which I'm prone to do otherwise). I'm also hoping it can be a resource I can return to in the future to help me remember which episode is which, informing my screen grabs and writing.

Notes

Episode Titles: There are multiple English-language titles online. I'm using the ones currently on wikipedia and IMDB.

Credits: Credits are pulled from the Japanese wikipedia page for the series. The page I link for each director/writer credit is chosen on a whim, based on which source seemed the most relevant/helpful at the time. These sources may be Japanese-language which I've accessed via browser translate.

Romanization of Names: I'll try to keep the romanization of names consistent within this page first, and with the source I'm linking to second.

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The Zatoichi TV Series

Zatōichi Monogatari

Episode 01

Oct. 3 1974

A Challenge of Chance

のるかそるかの正念場Written by Hajime TakaiwaDirected by Kazuo Mori

Episode 02

Oct. 10, 1974

The Flower that Bloomed with the Lullaby

子守唄に咲いた女郎花Written by Kin'ya NaoiDirected by Yoshiyuki Kuroda

Episode 03

Oct. 17 1974

A Memorial Day and the Bell of Life

祥月命日いのちの鐘

Written by Niisan TakahashiDirected by Shintaro Katsu

Episode 04

Oct. 24 1974

The Kannon Statue that was Bound

縛られ観音ゆきずり旅Written by Shôzaburô AsaiDirected by Kenji Misumi

Episode 05

Oct. 31 1974

The Heartless Man, Touched by Compassion

情知らずが情に泣いたWritten by Ichiro IkedaDirected by Kimiyoshi Yasuda

Episode 06

Nov. 7 1974

Pouring Rain

どしゃぶりWritten by Seiji HoshikawaDirected by Tokuzō Tanaka

Episode 07

Nov. 7 1974

A Bird Lands on Ichi

市に鳥がとまったWritten by Ichiro IkedaDirected by Tokuzō Tanaka

Episode Ranking

s01e03 A Memorial Day and the Bell of Life

s01e04 The Kannon Statue that Was Bound

s01e07 A Bird Lands on Ichi's Head

s01e02 The Flower that Bloomed with the Lullaby

s01e06 Pouring Rain

s01e01 A Challenge of Chance

s01e05 The Heartless Man, Touched by Compassion

About this Page

Notes

のるかそるかの正念場
Written by Hajime Takaiwa
Directed by Kazuo Mori

子守唄に咲いた女郎花
Written by Kin'ya Naoi
Directed by Yoshiyuki Kuroda

Written by Niisan Takahashi
Directed by Shintaro Katsu

縛られ観音ゆきずり旅
Written by Shôzaburô Asai
Directed by Kenji Misumi

情知らずが情に泣いた
Written by Ichiro Ikeda
Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda

どしゃぶり
Written by Seiji Hoshikawa
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka

市に鳥がとまった
Written by Ichiro Ikeda
Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka