A DAIEI CO. LTD. PRODUCTION
ZATOICHI'S PILGRIMAGE
Produced by IKUO KUBODERA
Original story by KAN SHIMOZAWA Screenplay by KANETO SHINDO
Cinematography by SENKICHIRO TAKEDA
Art Direction by YOSHINOBU NISHIOKA
Music by ICHIRO SAITO
Edited by TOSHIO TANIGUCHI
Starring:
SHINTARO KATSU
MICHIYO YASUDA TAKAHIKO TONO
ISAO YAMAGATA RYUTARO GOMI, JOTARO SENBA
HISASHI IGAWA, KUNIE TANAKA and MASAO MISHIMA
MANABU MORITA SABURO DATE, YUKIO HORIKITA
SHOSAKU SUGIYAMA YUSAKU TERASHIMA, SEISHIRO HARA
JUN KATSUMURA TOKIO OKI, RYONOSUKE AZUMA
KEIKO SONO, MASAKO MORISHITA KANAE KOBAYASHI
Directed by KAZUO IKEHIRO
I heard a scream and I turned to see
a lass of 17 or 18, a flower bud just bursting into bloom.
Beneath her hem, in sudden disarray, two shapely legs glowing white as snow.
Fore and aft, the brutish palanquin jockeys who bear her
are veritable red ogres, in nothing but loincloths,
their bodies covered with hair as thick as a bear's.
The man in front has his hand on her breast,
and as for the one in back,
he looks tickled pink by how she kicks and wriggles
and flashes a lewd grin from ear to ear.
Go on.
It was near the barrier gate on the Otsu-Kyoto road,
the time was just after noon.
We already heard that. Hurry up and get to the good part.
Scream as she might, there's not a soul to hear,
will the tender blossom fall, battered by this storm?
These are scary times we live in.
It's an age of the end of laws. The world runs rampant with rogues.
"Hold it right there!"
That's what I said.
What? You?
- Just when the story's getting good! - You really said that?
This is a true story.
Just so you know, I'm a man who respects the truth.
You went up to the red ogres and said "Hold it right there"?
Don't be rude. You sound like you don't believe me.
Why shouldn't I say it? - Well,
it's just that, no offense, but from the looks of you,
I wouldn't think you stood a chance against two red ogre palanquin jockeys.
"To know what's right and not to act betrays a lack of courage."
You shouldn't look only at the outcome when deciding what to do.
Hey, mister.
We caught a freak wind. I'm terribly sorry.
You should be more careful! We paid good money for this trip!
Our pilgrimage to Konpira nearly became a pilgrimage to hell.
I'm truly very sorry.
My money! My purse is gone!
It's him. He took it.
We have a purse snatcher!
I saw him. He snatched it!
You're calling me a purse snatcher?
I saw you take it. You took his purse.
Is that right? Then let me strip for you.
But if I'm clean, I'm warning you.
There it is!
It's my purse!
Thieving bastard!
- You're lucky. - Thanks.
That's right, I'm a purse snatcher.
I swiped his purse.
Except I messed up.
So this time I'll take it openly.
What you think of that?
No messing up this time.
I took your purse. You got a problem with that?
I took your purse, you dumb-ass!
What is it to you?
You got something to say?
What was that bit in your story a while ago?
I took this right in front of everybody here.
What are you gonna do, moron!
Asshole!
Piss off!
You can piss off too!
Shut up! Make him stop.
You swiped that man's purse right in front of everybody.
And you're bragging about it. That's really something.
I've been to a lot of places in my travels,
and never run across a man who's done something bad and bragged about it.
I suggest you give the purse back.
What?
I'm telling you you should give the purse back.
Who the hell do you think you are?
You must be that blind man they say is oblivious to the snake.
You're a purse snatcher.
A professional thief who steals people's money.
But if you fancy yourself a pro, you can't go around getting caught.
If that's the best you can do, you shouldn't be bragging about it.
I'll let you keep your other hand
so I suggest you practice real hard before you try it again.
Here you go.
I guess there are a lot of steps.
I'll just take it...
one step at a time, and I'll be at the top before I know it.
O Konpira,
you're a god, so I hope you'll understand.
Please listen to my prayer.
I've killed a lot of people, but I never wanted to kill even one.
I don't even know myself why I cut them down.
Maybe you could tell me.
Even the most evil of men...
become Buddhas when they die.
To pray for the repose of their souls,
I am going on a pilgrimage to the 88 Temples of Shikoku.
So I ask you, O Konpira,
to keep me from having to kill anyone on my journey.
This is my prayer.
Are you Zatoichi?
Yes.
I'm Eigoro from Serigazawa.
It seems, Mr. Eigoro,
that you come with drawn sword.
I don't know what it's about,
but you don't want to do this.
I don't recommend it.
Mr. Eigoro,
wasn't there something you needed to tell me?
Why did you try to kill me?
Did you want something?
TO KIRIHATA INN
I'll say good-bye here.
I don't really want to go with you.
Taro,
did you come back alone?
Who are you?
Are you Mr. Eigoro's kin?
Why didn't you move?
My brother was a fool.
I knew he'd get himself killed someday.
Why didn't you step away?
I know you could have killed me if you wanted.
Why didn't you?
I don't really know why,
but when I saw you, I just didn't feel like dodging out of the way.
Saw?
Can you actually see?
No, I can't see, but I can tell.
Okichi, your brother -
Close the door, Yasuzo.
- Where's Eigoro? - He hasn't come back.
Not to the boss's place either. What the hell happened?
I'm sure you have a better idea than I do.
Maybe he was too scared of Zatoichi and skipped out on us.
He's not a coward!
We know where Zatoichi's headed. Let's go find him.
If Eigoro comes back, tell him to get over to the boss's place.
Now you know.
A gangster named Tohachi in the next valley
sent my brother to kill you.
But he actually wanted my brother to get killed.
Eigoro played right into his hands.
Was there some reason
your brother had to do what this Tohachi said?
He knew what Tohachi was up to, and he went to kill you anyway,
even though you'd never done anything to hurt him.
All for 30 ryo cash. - Mister.
Where did you kill Eigoro?
Miss. Could you tell me who that man is?
I'm a farmer.
A man of honest living.
What kind of man is this Tohachi?
He's a thug who keeps the next valley under his thumb.
He has 50 or 60 horses in his pasture.
He's a gambler, and he's violent,
and he takes whatever he decides he wants.
And what does this Tohachi
have against me?
How did he find out I was traveling this way?
Ichi killed Eigoro. Just like I said.
Zatoichi's known far and wide
for his lightning sword.
He's not gonna go down easy.
Just look at our visitor here.
He tailed Ichi here to Shikoku to avenge his brother.
But tailing's the best he can do. He can't touch him.
So he winds up coming to me, asks me to kill Ichi for him.
I say fine, and send Eigoro to do it.
Eigoro starts after him this morning, takes his time finding a good spot.
Even so, he's gotta be done by noon at the latest.
But he hasn't returned.
That has to mean he got killed. Ichi killed him.
So you got what you wanted, boss.
That's right. I got what I wanted. I like getting what I want.
That's what I live for.
- Where do you think Zatoichi went? - Who cares?
He killed Eigoro. That's all that matters for now.
So shall we get going on that raid to Serigazawa?
Sit tight. There's no hurry.
Sorry to be so much trouble, Miss.
I'm the one who needs to apologize.
I did this to you.
I killed your brother.
It's only natural that you'd want to kill me.
I tried to stop him,
but he had debts and couldn't pull out.
It was just him and me.
So now I'm all alone.
I get the impression
your brother wasn't really a gangster at heart.
This house is the oldest house here in Serigazawa.
When my father was alive we had lots of hired hands
helping us run a large farm.
But...
after our parents died, my brother ruined us with his gambling,
and we lost all of our paddies and fields.
In the end, he'd borrowed 30 ryo from Gonbei, our village headman,
and he had to go to Tohachi for the money to pay him back.
I see.
So that's what was behind it.
What a beautiful moon!
It's almost full.
Tohachi saw my brother as standing in his way.
Why would he think that?
He wants to take over the land of this village for himself.
Must be a real greedy son of a bitch.
The people around here are afraid of Tohachi,
so they mostly just let him have his way.
But my brother said bad was bad, and he stood up to him.
Eigoro must have been a good man.
Yes, he could be foolish,
but I really admired him.
The land Tohachi has his eye on is very rich land.
It used to belong to my family.
Gonbei grows watermelons there now.
Most of the village's annual revenues come from that field.
If we lose that, it will take away our livelihood.
We'll have no choice but to do whatever Tohachi says.
Does your arm still hurt?
It's all better, thanks.
I'm so glad that you recovered quickly.
Actually, the way you swing the sword, you could never do much damage.
I almost fainted when I saw the blood.
You're not the only one.
I got a little light-headed myself.
For being such a weakling, I can get awfully riled up sometimes.
You know, Okichi.
I've been thinking
maybe I'd like to meet this Tohachi fellow once.
Hey! You got company!
When you enter someone's house, shouldn't you at least say hello?
My apologies. I'll be sure to do that next time.
You must be Okichi.
You're a good-looking wench.
And you must be Tohachi.
Looking at you, I can almost smell the horse manure.
I'm a horse trader. Of course I smell like horse manure.
What do you say? The smell isn't all that bad.
Wanna roll in the hay?
Horse manure turns my stomach more than pickled garlic.
I guess that puts me in my place.
Down to business, then. Your brother said he'd bump off Zatoichi
to pay off the 30 ryo he owed me.
I gave him great terms.
Said I'd forgive the debt whether he succeeded or not.
And just as I expected, he screwed up.
So now that Eigoro is dead,
Serigazawa will be my territory. That's what I came to tell you.
- You'll have to take that up with my guardian. - Guardian?
- A friend of my brother's. - Where is he?
Right over here.
Meet my guardian.
It's Zato -
Would you be Master Zatoichi?
That's what I go by.
Didn't you kill Eigoro?
Kill Eigoro?
Huh?
Then what are you doing here?
Eigoro and I are old friends,
so I stopped in to see him during my pilgrimage to the 88 temples.
He had to go on a trip three days ago,
and he asked me to look after things while he was away.
He told me I should watch out for a rowdy guy in the neighborhood
who smelled of horse manure.
That's me. I'm the smelly Tohachi.
You're the smelly Tohachi?
Well, well. My sincerest apologies.
Just so you know, I'm in charge here starting today.
In charge?
In charge of what? - This is now my territory.
What are you going to do? Rope it off or something?
You'll learn soon enough what kind of man I am,
but what it boils down to
is that whatever I say, goes.
Understand? - Yes, I do.
Let me ask you, then.
If I'm not mistaken, you have your eye on the watermelon field.
That's right. You're pretty quick.
Yes, I do tend to be.
Then tell me this, boss.
I believe that watermelon field belongs to Gonbei, the village headman.
Doesn't that matter?
Not a bit. My policy is to do whatever I damn well please.
Tell you what.
I'll show you right now. Come with me.
You got that?
From now on, I'm cultivating that field.
Now, now, this is all so sudden.
That is to say, from our perspective we'd like to -
how should I put it - somehow or other, perhaps we...
Oh, yes, we've just picked the season's first melons.
It's going to be a fine crop this year. Just look at them.
I have about 40 farms under my wing.
Once they're under my wing, they don't have to worry.
In other words, the weak are happier
when they put themselves under the protection of someone strong.
If they stay by themselves they can never stop worrying.
In time, I'll take all of Serigazawa under my wing. Got that?
Now, now, when it comes to matters of this kind,
it's always best to discuss things in an amicable fashion.
To hell with discussing.
If you disagree with me you'll have to fight me.
But I must protest.
I'm afraid I really don't go in for fighting.
Listening to you, all I want to do is knock your damn head off!
You heard what I had to say. I'm leaving. - Oh, but please.
You've come all this way. Stay for some watermelon.
I experimented with some new fertilizer this year, and the melons are very big.
Please stay and have a taste.
You certainly are an excellent shot.
Now, then. Please have a bite.
They're wonderfully sweet.
How in the world?
The melon's split in quarters.
You startled me.
You startled me, too.
You're amazing, Master Ichi.
Did you see me cut the melon?
No, but I sensed it.
I glanced over at you, and I just knew you'd done it.
You're really amazing.
Tohachi was absolutely astonished.
Thank you. Much obliged.
This feels great.
You must be tired. Have a nice long soak.
Wow, it's hot.
You're adding more hot water? I'll be getting out soon.
- Is it too hot? - It's hot enough. Thanks.
It's hot.
You must like long baths, Master Ichi.
Actually, I'm thinking I'd like to get out now.
Then why don't you?
Well, I may be blind, but you can see,
so I'm a little uncomfortable.
Oh, right.
Is Zatoichi here?
I have a message from Tohachi. Read it to him.
Understand?
It's a message from Tohachi.
I can't read it.
If you look at how Tohachi operates,
he basically claims by force whatever he takes a fancy to.
Right now, he's after my watermelon field,
but eventually he'll want to control all of Serigazawa.
We're just hardworking farmers, and none of us likes rough business.
So here's what I think.
You know that masseur staying at Okichi's?
He's called Zatoichi,
and he's apparently earned a name among gangsters all over Japan
for his extraordinary swordsmanship.
Do you follow what I'm saying?
You want to get him to take on Tohachi?
Good idea.
I agree. It's a great idea.
That's our village headman.
As they say, if you've got something that ails you, call a masseur.
Thanks for coming, Ichi.
I've known Eigoro a long time,
took him under my wing, and helped him out,
but I never knew he had a friend like you.
You make an interesting pair.
Did you intend to stick around as Okichi's guardian?
Of course he does, Boss.
Master Zatoichi's actually a bit of a letch.
He can't leave until he's made it with Okichi. Right?
They say blind men are great lovers.
Bull.
What can a blind man care about fair maidens?
Being blind makes him no less a man, so of course he likes women.
But he's got no way to know whether Okichi's a dreamboat or a dog.
Blind people depend on smell and their other senses.
He can tell by how she smells whether she's pretty or not.
So that must mean Okichi smells mighty fine.
Well, this has been a real feast of foods I'm not accustomed to.
I must thank you for a very fine dinner.
Come now.
I thought you might entertain us with a show of your swordsmanship.
You're not going already, are you?
I'm afraid listening to your banter has made me quite sleepy.
You never open your eyes all day long, and you're still sleepy?
He just wants to get back to the sweet smell of Okichi.
Ichi!
What's your hurry?
Her sweet smell's not gonna go anywhere.
What do you say to a little game of chance with me?
As a matter of fact, I have a weakness for games of chance.
When you play with me you're staking your life.
That's the only way to gamble.
So what'll it be?
Thirty ryo would serve nicely as incense money for Eigoro.
So you did kill Eigoro.
Good for you!
Very impressive. I've never met a man like you.
I do hope you'll stick around these parts.
That's my plan.
Hold on.
Walking in the dark can be dangerous. Get him a lantern.
A lantern for a blind man.
You have a wry sense of humor.
Not at all. You want people coming the other way to be able to see you.
Well, then. Thank you for a very fine dinner.
Visitor.
Yes, sir.
Did you not catch my drift?
I'm giving you a chance to shine.
A man with a lantern in the dark. You can kill him with your eyes closed.
Cut Zatoichi down and you can have the 30 ryo he's carrying.
Much obliged, Boss.
Hey, five or six of you, go with him.
In the darkness, I have the advantage.
Come at me from wherever you want.
The clouds are decked in colors
And Granny Teabag's sure to scold
The sun goes down o'er Kaya Mountain
Where with his horse and brushwood
Grandpa's so late to come down
The clouds are...
Okichi?
I wonder where she went.
Okichi? Where'd she go?
I'm not going to fall for that again. Did I scare you?
Give me your hand.
Thanks.
You have a nice voice, Okichi.
Watch out! Here.
That was close.
You know, at first I was scared of you.
But I stopped being scared, because I could tell that you were a good person.
I'm sure I'll always remember you.
- Always? - Always.
I mean, you're eventually going to have to leave, right?
Eventually, yes.
A fish.
I'd like to thank you, Okichi,
for being so kind to me, even after I killed your brother.
Out of consideration for me,
you haven't even said a word about your brother,
and I'm deeply grateful.
Master Ichi.
Okichi,
I know this can hardly make up for what I did,
but it's the money I won from Tohachi, as incense money.
Please take it and put up a proper headstone for Eigoro.
Thank you so much, Master Ichi. I'll accept it.
So you'll take it?
That takes a heavy load off my mind.
But now,
let's put all that behind us and forget.
I've already forgotten.
The water's so pretty.
I think I'll take a dip.
I keep forgetting that you can't see.
It feels great! Nice and cool!
Maybe I'll go in, too.
Ichi!
Yikes! It's cold!
Let go, Ichi!
The man killed your brother!
How long do you intend to let him stay?
It was my brother's own fault. He'll leave when he wants to leave.
You know Tohachi and his men are gonna come after him.
If he's here with you, you could get hurt.
Tohachi wanted to get rid of Eigoro so he could take this place
so he's not going to leave me alone anyway.
- Okichi, I want you to go away with me. - Where?
I don't care. Somewhere across the Inland Sea.
You want to leave Serigazawa?
What can a farmer do if he abandons his farm?
It's the only way to keep you from getting hurt.
I...
want to stay here.
First, you're ordered to present yourself to the boss by noon tomorrow.
You're to be his wife.
Second, you're ordered to hand over this house by noon tomorrow.
Starting tomorrow, Boss Tohachi will rule Serigazawa.
Hey, Zatoichi! The boss says he can't let you live.
Your days are numbered.
Okichi,
it seems the moment of truth has come.
Tohachi says he's going to take over the village tomorrow.
Is that what you all want?
Are you going to just stand by and watch?
Is there some reason
you want to let that brigand keep throwing his weight around?
Not at all.
I'm just against the use of force.
I don't believe in settling things by physical strength.
But if we don't fight back, he'll take the village away from us.
He who lives by the sword, perishes by the sword.
That may well be true,
but once you let him take over the village,
isn't it all over for you?
In any case, I can't approve of the use of force.
The village headman is right.
You shouldn't settle things by fighting.
I agree with Kin'emon.
We're farmers. Fighting isn't our way.
I'm with Gorobei. We're just farmers. We're too weak.
Then why not pool your strength?
You're still young, so I'm sure you have different ideas from the old folks.
Even the weak can become strong if they band together.
I truly believe it. Don't you agree, Yasuzo?
Don't you?
What're you doing, Yasuzo? It's time to eat.
Tohachi would crush us no matter how many people we got together.
Spineless coward!
How'd it go?
I gave her your message. Zatoichi was there, too.
All right. Tomorrow's the showdown.
We finally get to shake things up again.
Things could get sticky if the villagers band together behind Zatoichi.
It'll never happen. That weasel Gonbei's too crafty for that.
We'll let Master Zatoichi take them on.
I don't know if he can win,
but if he does, then we win, too.
But if he goes down, it has nothing to do with us.
So we can still sit down and negotiate with Tohachi.
It's perfect.
You know, Okichi,
when the trouble belongs to somebody else,
you can pretend not to see it for as long as you want.
If it's somebody else's problem,
even I can close my eyes to it for decades on end.
Of course, in my case, I can't see it even with my eyes open.
But this time,
I did see it somehow.
It's funny isn't it, Okichi,
how sometimes
you get drawn into something, and there's no going back.
In this world, you meet good people and bad.
The bad ones will scowl at you
and go about their evil deeds in broad daylight.
But the ones who seem good
may smile at you,
but you don't often see them doing good deeds.
Let me ask you something, Okichi.
This face of mine, what kind of face is it?
It's a good face.
It is, huh?
I suppose that means I have to do something good.
I can't escape Tohachi anyway.
Whether I put my life on the line for the village,
or just try to quietly slip away, he's going to come after me.
I don't know if I can beat them,
but I think it's time to roll the dice.
No.
The villagers want to have it all without lifting a finger.
You shouldn't risk your precious life for no-good weasels like them.
Okichi,
I can't...
I don't want to give up my faith in people.
So the question is,
when they see the gamble I've taken,
will the people of this village
still be able to sit smugly by like weasels?
But if you die,
what's going to happen to me?
Okichi.
Listen.
In case it turns out I never see you again after tomorrow,
I have 10 ryo here.
I want you to use this money to go to a place by the Tone River.
Near the mouth of the river
there's another village called Serigazawa, just like here.
And in that village
there's another girl named Okichi, just like you.
I want her to...
I want you to tell her this from me:
Ichi killed an awful lot of men.
As I told the god Konpira,
I never wanted to kill even one person.
But I've bloodied my hands.
I've bloodied my whole body.
For someone like this Okichi,
who's so pure, and pretty, and free of any stain,
if a man like me were to defile her, the gods would never forgive me.
All right, Okichi?
I want you to give this message to that other Okichi.
I'm sure this other Okichi
will say that she loves you, even with the blood on your hands.
I know she will.
I know it.
It's grown all dark.
Let's go!
Miss,
you must not come outside.
Ichi!
Looks like you're alone.
So nobody was willing to back you up.
All the shutters are tightly closed.
You're alone. All alone.
So I win.
All right.
Let's get this done.
He's blind. Take your time and wear him down.
Damn it!
What are you waiting for? Go after him!
Somebody go around back!
Mr. Gonbei! Are you going to let Master Ichi die?
Mr. Gonbei!
Master Ichi's in trouble! You've got to help him!
Please! Open this shutter!
Mr. Gonbei! Everybody!
I beg you! You've got to help!
He's not here. Where the hell did he go, damn it?
Look again!
Master Ichi's doing this for all of us!
Please come out and help!
Yasuzo! Why won't you come out?
Why won't you help Master Ichi?
Don't be a fool, Yasuzo!
You have no excuse not to come out! Even if you're the only one!
You're still young! You have to come out and help!
Yasuzo!
Don't do it, Yasuzo!
You'll only get yourself killed!
I'm here to help, Master Ichi!
I want you to know, Yasuzo. You live by your death.
The whole village was watching!
Tohachi!
Looks like you lose after all.
Horseshit!
It's not over yet!
I'm still standing, aren't I?
I wanted to say good-bye
one more time.
All right.
Good-bye.
THE END