# Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (座頭市あばれ凧)
**Zatoichi's Flashing Sword** (座頭市あばれ凧, *Zatōichi Abaredako*; also released as *The Sword of Zatoichi*) is a 1964 Japanese chambara film directed by Kazuo Ikehiro and the seventh entry in the long-running Zatoichi series starring [Shintaro Katsu](https://www.edgepedia.org/shintaro-katsu) as the blind masseur and swordsman.[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/7214) • [2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese title | 座頭市あばれ凧 (*Zatōichi Abaredako*), English titles *Zatoichi's Flashing Sword* and *The Sword of Zatoichi*[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/7214) |
| Release | July 11, 1964, Japan; 82 minutes; color; CinemaScope (2.35:1)[3](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=21423) |
| Series position | Seventh of the 26 Zatoichi films made from 1962 to 1989[1](https://jfdb.jp/title/7214) • [4](https://godzillacineaste.net/films/zatoichis-flashing-sword-1964/) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro; screenplay by Minoru Inuzuka (with Shozaburo Asai also credited); original story by Kan Shimozawa[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) |
| Studio | Produced and distributed by Daiei (Daiei Kyoto)[3](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=21423) |
| Lead cast | Shintaro Katsu (Zatoichi), Naoko Kubo (Okuni), Mayumi Nagisa (Oshizu)[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) |
| Notable action set pieces | An underwater duel and a nighttime clash staged against fireworks[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Zatoichi is shot with a gun at a post town on the Koshu road by Seiroku, a wandering yakuza eager to make his name by killing the famous swordsman.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) An unknown benefactor saves his life and even leaves money for his treatment, and Zatoichi sets out for the town of Kajikazawa to find and thank this person.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) • [1](https://jfdb.jp/title/7214)
Kajikazawa is divided by the Fuji River between two rival bosses, the mild-mannered Bunkichi of Tsumo and the grasping Yasugoro of Takeya, nicknamed "Kikkyasu" (stuttering Yasu).[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) Bunkichi has invited the Edo fireworks master Kyubei to stage fireworks on the riverbank for the local people, and has sent his elder daughter Okuni to meet him; it is Okuni who saved Zatoichi.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) Learning this, Zatoichi thanks her and settles into Bunkichi's household posing as an ordinary masseur.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/)
Yasugoro, whose sister is the local magistrate's wife, uses that connection to press claims on Bunkichi's territory, while Bunkichi restrains his hot-blooded men rather than fight.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) Seiroku returns home to Bunkichi's family, astonished to find the man he shot living there; Zatoichi, blind, has no way of knowing that Seiroku is his attacker.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) When Yasugoro traps and captures Seiroku, Zatoichi infiltrates the Takeya house and rescues him. Yasugoro then learns that the masseur who freed Seiroku is the notorious Zatoichi and petitions the magistrate's office for his arrest; Bunkichi, concerned for Zatoichi, sends him away without explaining why.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/) As soon as Zatoichi is gone, Yasugoro's gang, led by the ronin bodyguard Shikoku Ten'gen, storms the Bunkichi house and cuts down Bunkichi and Seiroku. The film ends with a furious Zatoichi descending on the celebrating Yasugoro household.[2](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/)
## Production
The film was made at Daiei's Kyoto studio, produced by Masaichi Nagata, with cinematography by Yasukazu Takemura, art direction by Yoshinobu Nishioka, editing by [Takashi Taniguchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/takashi-taniguchi), and original music by Sei Ikeno.[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) • [3](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=21423) Ikehiro's prior series credit was the sixth entry, *[Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold](https://www.edgepedia.org/zatoichi-and-the-chest-of-gold)* (1964), which preceded this one in release order.[4](https://godzillacineaste.net/films/zatoichis-flashing-sword-1964/) The screenplay adapts a short story by Kan Shimozawa, the novelist who created the [Zatoichi](https://www.edgepedia.org/zatoichi) character.[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) • [4](https://godzillacineaste.net/films/zatoichis-flashing-sword-1964/)
## Action and style
The film is noted for inventive set pieces. [The Criterion Collection](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-criterion-collection) synopsis highlights a stunning underwater duel and a nighttime clash set against fireworks.[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) Japanese reviewers describe Zatoichi cutting two flies in half with his cane sword in the opening scene, fighting submerged in the river where his opponents cannot see his hands, slicing a lit candle, and a guerrilla-style sequence in which he picks off enemies one by one after infiltrating their base at night.[6](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/review/) • [7](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/012336) One retrospective review counts fights staged in the river, in shadow alone, using the hoops of a tub, in a narrow corridor by candlelight, and across rooftops under fireworks.[8](https://www.ne.jp/asahi/gensou/kan/eigahyou71/zatouichiabaredako.html)
The film also departs from the series' earlier tone. It was made after the series moved from black-and-white to color, and one Japanese retrospective calls it a highly polished entertainment film and a peak of the color-era series, with a comic first half and a clear-cut conflict between the benevolent Bunkichi and the greedy Yasugoro.[8](https://www.ne.jp/asahi/gensou/kan/eigahyou71/zatouichiabaredako.html) A viewer review on Filmarks notes that Zatoichi's sword is normally defensive, waiting on the opponent's initiative, but here his enemies' cruelty drives him to attack first, giving Katsu a different physical register than usual.[9](https://filmarks.com/movies/28366)
## Place in the series
*Zatoichi's Flashing Sword* sits between *Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold* (1964), which preceded it, and *Fight, Zatoichi, Fight* (1964), which followed.[4](https://godzillacineaste.net/films/zatoichis-flashing-sword-1964/) The film is available in the Criterion Collection's *Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman* box set.[5](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword) Japanese databases list the theatrical release date as July 11, 1964,[3](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=21423) while one English-language film database gives July 10, 1964.[4](https://godzillacineaste.net/films/zatoichis-flashing-sword-1964/)
## References
1. [座頭市あばれ凧, JFDB (Japanese Film Database)](https://jfdb.jp/title/7214)
2. [座頭市あばれ凧 : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/)
3. [座頭市あばれ凧, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=21423)
4. [Zatoichi's Flashing Sword, The Godzilla Cineaste](https://godzillacineaste.net/films/zatoichis-flashing-sword-1964/)
5. [Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964), The Criterion Collection](https://www.criterion.com/films/28306-zatoichi-s-flashing-sword)
6. [座頭市あばれ凧のレビュー・感想・評価, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/36687/review/)
7. [映画 座頭市あばれ凧, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/012336)
8. [座頭市あばれ凧, 映画評index](https://www.ne.jp/asahi/gensou/kan/eigahyou71/zatouichiabaredako.html)
9. [座頭市あばれ凧の作品情報・感想・評価, Filmarks映画](https://filmarks.com/movies/28366)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released 1960s and 1970s*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license