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Zatoichi and the One-Armed Swordsman
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Wikipedia article
, also known as 'Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman' and 'The Blind Swordsman Meets His Equal', is a 1971 Japanese-Hong Kong 'chambara' / 'wuxia' crossover by Japanese film director Kimiyoshi Yasuda and Chinese film director Hsu Tseng Hung. The film stars Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi and Jimmy Wang Yu as the "One-Armed Swordsman" Wang Kang.[http://unseenfilms.blogspot.com/2014/02/zatoichi-meets-one-armed-swordsman-1971.html Unseenfilms] It is a crossover of the long-running 'Zatoichi' series and the 'One-Armed Swordsman' film series.
The Chinese edit of the film reportedly featured a different ending where Wang Kang was victorious in the final duel, rather than Zatoichi.
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 swordsman 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
*Yko Hama as Osen
*Michie Terada as Oyone
*Kji Nanbara as Kakuzen
*Tokue Hanasawa as Yosaku
*Shinsuke Minami as Henoichi
*Shir It as Shinshichi
*Toru Abe as Boss Tbei
*Cheung Yik as Li Xiangrong
*Wang Ling as Li Yumei
Production
* Yoshinobu Nishioka - Art director
References
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