Fight Zatoichi Fight

Fight, Zatoichi, Fight is the eight installment and the third of four films that were released in 1964. Once again, Kenji Misumi (The Tale of Zatoichi) is at the helm in this film that largely concerns Zatoichi getting an infant back to his village when his mother is killed by mistake-the assassins were trying to kill Zatoichi, who gave up his palanquin to the women traveling with her infant son. He employs the help of a female pickpocket thief Ko (Hizuru Takachiho) to get the infant home-while fending off attacks on his life which cause him less problems than changing diapers and feeding the infant. There are some cinematically inspired scenes throughout: one where a woman sings to her child and Zatoichi and the child listen framed by a bridge in the wilderness, another where an overhead shot witness the carnage of a fight when assassins attack Zatoichi while he is changing a diaper. The inevietable impressive swordsmanship scene occurs when Zatoichi is gambling and exposes loaded dice by slicing them in half and while simultaneous cutting them free from a hiding place in a basket above the game. The final battles has a band of hired men with torches trying to distract Zatoichi, but are dispatched as always.