By the time 1964's Adventures of Zatoichi hits theater, the series is in full swing. Katsu Shintaro is at home in the lead role, playing Ichi the blind masseur/master swordsman, Ichi-mania is sweeping Japan, and the series becomes a certified blockbuster (this, the ninth installment of the series, was the fourth Zatoichi film made that year). Life is good for Daiei pictures and everyone involved.

By this point, the series had developed an almost comforting sort of familiarity—Zatoichi wanders into a new town, finds corruption (usually in the form of local yakuza or politicians), and winds up embroiled despite his desire to generally steer clear of trouble. All of this leads to an inevitable showdown wherein the masseur will draw his lethal cane sword and kill hordes of evildoers—all before moving on to his next adventure. Occasionally, he finds a woman—although he's destined to never find lasting romantic involvement.

These concessions to familiarity are part of what makes Adventures of Zatoichi so interesting. For while all the standard narrative tropes are present and accounted for in this outing (lots of bad guys led by an evil intendant, a pretty young woman who needs Ichi's help, and lots of swordplay), this also marks something of a new direction for the series. out of