I rarely watch
old films, in fact I do not attend movie theaters at all these days. I am so
immersed in online content such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube and so on that I
often neglect and dismiss the masterful works that old cinematographers were
able to capture when the Internet was impossible to be even fathomed of.
However, this film opened my eyes to the gems that are Japanese film.
The tale of Zatoichi is about a man
that is blind who use to be a masseuse, that turned into an excellent swordsman
through his hard training and work ethic which unfortunately we do not get to
see in the film.
The plot goes like this, there are two rival gangs that
bitterly hate each other (or at least the boss of the gangs), and in each of
the gangs there is a proficient swordsman: Ichi which is short for Zatoichi is
on one gang, and Hirate who is disgraced but still a formidable samurai rests in the
other gang. The entire film is about how these two rival gangs scheme against
each other to get the upper hand, and it is like a game of chess where the
Queens of the two gangs would be the blind swordsman, and the disgraced
samurai. There is a hint of romance within the film however it does not affect
the film entirely. There are a lot of points we can discuss about for this film
such as the tactfulness or wit of the blind swordsmen who seems to outsmart
everyone despite the fact that he has a daunting disability. Also, the notion
of how foreshadowing was used when the two main characters initially met at the
lake. However, today we will delve into the concept of respect and honor which
was a key factor during the timeline of Japan set in this film.
Honor and respect is a trait we often
see is lacking in this day and age, however there is an overwhelming difference
if we look at the way people acted in films within Japan during the 1960s, and
also we can go as far as to say it is still that way, since the Japanese people’s
unwritten doctrine is founded on being polite and honorable. We definitely see
that when we look at the films were created during this era. We often
saw the constant bowing of heads when two people meet which is a sign of
respect. We also saw the nonstop self-sacrificing attitude the women imparted
to the men. In addition to that we can’t forget the concept of how the Japanese
men tirelessly work for the benefit of the family even though he would rarely see
his children or wife during his lifetime since work was the primary importance
in their lives. These are all the aspects of honor and respect we saw in the
other films but let us pay attention to how the same principle applies for the
Tale of the Blind Swordsman.
Ichi and Hirate knew that their gang’s
boss was bitter rivals, however they casually met with each other. There was an
instance where Ichi was dead in the middle of enemy territory with rival gang
members surrounding him, but Hirate and Ichi had this pre-acknowledged respect
that told them they would look out for each other, and look out they did. This
absurd or even foolish level of respect they had for each other can be
correlated to the gang members in today’s times. You probably heard of the
phrase “stiches gets stiches”, which seems foolish to some, however to others
it is the ultimate level of respect and honor. This was the case between Ichi
and Hirate, so much so that when the two inevitably had to duel at the end,
Ichi wept a respectful tear, which was hugely significant due to the fact that he
was blind. Also he gave the money that was earned to fight in the war, to the
proceedings of the samurai’s proper burial. Again, we often see the lack of
respect and honor we see in this self-serving world. However, after watching
this film people may come to understand the very thing this piece was designed
to illustrate, which is of respect and honor in the highest magnitude.
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