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Private Notes
Ichi wanders into a small mining town where a family that has for generations been labor bosses of the copper miners is displaced by a cruel boss, Yamagen, who has bought off a corrupt government official.
Ichi is charged with protecting a little boy & getting him safely to his father, who had already begun to look for the child for want of an heir. Soon gangsters realize there's a reward for finding the wealthy merchant's heir, so Ichi has to defend Taro from kidnappers who would ransom him.
On the anniversary of his mothers death, Zatoichi's oath prohibits him from drawing his sword from dawn till dusk. But when a Ronin and two yakuza kill a kind old woman, Zatoichi breaks his oath and must suffer the consequences.
Ichi end up in a town where a corrupt officer decides which yakuza gang gets to have the periodically moved Jizo statue & an hold the festival in their gambling territory, taking bribes from both sides while plotting their collective downfall.
A ronin named Murakami has found out about a medical procedure that might restore his sisters sight, but it is costly.To raise the funds, he takes assassination commissions from yakuza gangs who want Zatoichi killed.
A former whore and now drunk pickpocket, Osei, meets Ichi and believes that he is the killer of her yakuza brother. Having killed so many yakuza in the past, Ichi is unsure that he is the one. He makes a arrangement with her to throw away his cane sword if she will stop drinking. Osei agrees, seeing this as an opportunity to have her revenge and hires a swordsman to kill the unarmed blind masseur.
Ichi has managed to get himself stuck with "obligation for a night's lodging" & is going along with a small band of annoying gangsters to help their oyabun (boss) against a rival gang. With Ichi at their side, it's pretty much guaranteed that the rivals will soon be dead, unless they run away. Ichi hates to be used in this manner, but he is a stickler for the yakuza code, & he did accept food & lodging, so he has no choice.
Ichi stops the young prostitute Okiku from committing suicide by hanging herself with her obi belt from a tree's branch. But Okiku is indentured to the bordello, & to free her, Ichi wants to buy her papers to burn them. He gives the gangster boss a choice between accepting a bag of rocks as payment, or experiencing more of blind swordsman quick-draw action.
A woman dicer is traveling with a blind masseur who is posing as the famous Zatoichi with her instruction. The actual Zatoichi is passing by the same post town & is befriended by the very fraud, a man actually named Kobuichi, who Ichi had known during their mutual youth. The fraud has no idea his friend from his youth has grown up to be a famous swordsman, but he enjoys the chance to be a big shot in front of Ichi who was the cooler dude when they were young.
A sumo wrestler is impressed with the skills of the blind masseur Zatoichi. Not for his surprising swordsmanship but for his gambling skills. He begs Ichi to teach him to be a champion gambler, but Ichi tries to convince him to return home & not become part of the gamblers' world. As the lad has been depressed and cannot take care of himself, Ichi takes him on very reluctantly as an apprentice, & they adventure along the country roads together.
Ichi once again has a rural yakuza gang ticked off with him. He is caught between evading, being attacked, or killing multiple attackers. A marksman, Yashichi, is hired by the local gambler boss, Sahejii Ontake to take out Ichi from a safe distance. Ichi with a gunshot wound takes refuge with a physician, Geria, who had been collecting herbs in the region, assisted by Omiya, his daughter.
Osei is the only daughter of a gambling boss from Tamioka. When her father was killed by Boss Gonzo she pretends to be a young man & sets out with her sword on the road to vengeance.She meets the blind swordsman Zatoichi along the way. He assesses her situation pretty clearly, & warns her that among yakuza, a fair fight isn't likely. He seems to imply she won't be able to achieve her aim, but so far as Osei is concerned, until she either kills Gonzo or dies trying, she won't live a normal life.
Shinsuke of Kitsuura, a fishing village hararssed by the yakuza, has been released from prison after three years. Now a drunk, Ichi finds him and sobers him up and as he hates to incur a debt, he gives ichi a lottery ticket as payment for his assistance. When the ticket pays off, Ichi feels he did nothing to deserve a thousand ryo, so sets out to find Shinsuke at Kitsuura, & return the valuable ticket.
A woman is killed leaving Zatoichi to tend to her child. While journeying to town, Zatoichi and child run afoul of Yakuzas.
An act of mercy backfires on Zatoichi. After Zatoichi spares a man's life, the man is later killed by Yakuzas who pin the blame on Zatoichi.
After stealing rice from the government, Chuji hides from officials on Akagi mountain. Since he owes Chuju a favor, Zatoichi tries to help
Zatoichi visits a house in which a young woman is about to get married. But the local administrator causes suffering by putting her groom in jail.
Zatoichi aids a criminal who has just murdered a boss and gets caught up in his messy affairs.
It's the 3 year festival in Itabana and good food is in demand. Zatoichi's traveling companion recommends the restaurant Fukube, but the food doesn't measure up and he gives it a cutting review.
The widow of a yakuza boss wants to go clean and for her son to get an honest job. But the rival clan under her adopted son is complicating her move.
Zatoichi hears a couple expressing their undying devotion to each other. She sells herself into prostitution to pay her lover, Sentaro's debt. But Zatoichi's new prostitute companion is also waiting for Sentaro to come back.
A little boy offers Zatoichi room in his parents' inn. But the patriarch gets a loan from a swindler with eyes on more than a simple loan repayment.
A Goze (blind woman musician) is cast out of her association for falling in love with a man in violation of the Goze rules, but the man's family will not accept her.
Zatoichi tries to help a spoiled rich girl who is traveling alone but she is ungrateful for all the things he does for her.
After killing a yakuza boss, Zatoichi is stalked by his 2 remaining retainers. But all doesn't go as they planned.
Zatoichi returns to the home village that he left many years ago. The head priest there convinces him to end his violent ways and become a priest instead. Will his many enemies leave him in peace?
