Episode 38 – Spotlight on... Zatoichi

This time Jonathan Wroot, senior lecturer in film studies, joins James and Andy to chat in detail about the topic of his new book, Zatoichi! As well as the various influences and successors. And yes, we chat Rutger Hauer too!

This episode’s handy timecodes

00:00:44 - Episode introduction 00:02:12 - Before we start, how did our guest get into Asian film? 00:06:05 - Kitano's Zatoichi, was it a remake? 00:13:10 - Let's go back to the start  00:17:08 - How star Shintaro Katsu's previous work fed into the film series 00:20:22 - Zatoichi begins 00:25:05 - A minor diversion on Shintaro Katsu's brother 00:29:09 - Something for everyone, the Daiei way 00:30:23 - How wacky did the films get? 00:32:46 - Are there roots to disabled swordsmen? 00:38:14 - The Marvel connection 00:40:45 - Good ol' Westerns 00:45:34 - Zatoichi The Last 00:47:54 - The female versions 00:52:13 - Let's talk about Rutger (and other influences) 01:07:26 - Recommendations on where to start 01:15:43 - Outro

Jonathan's book, The Paths of Zatoichi, is available now from rowman.com/lexington. Use discount code LXFANDF30 and get 30% off!

Music played on the show:  Zatoichi’s Lullaby, sung by Shintaro Katsu. The most commonly known version of the Zatoichi theme song, which first turned up in Zatoichi and the Fugitives (#18).

Festivo – the musical number from the end of Zatoichi 2003, written and composed by Keiichi Suzuki.