Japan Synopsis
座頭市
Older, wiser but still a wandering loner, the blind, peace-loving masseur Ichi seeks a peaceful life in a rural village. When he's caught in the middle of a power struggle between two rival Yakuza clans, his reputation as a deadly defender of the innocent is put to the ultimate test in a series of sword-slashing showdowns.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Katsu Production
Action + Drama in Japan
444 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Action and Drama genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally itself).
The 1988–1990 Japan Window
Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally holds position #73 of 110 Japan films in the 1988–1990 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 1980s Japan Landscape
1989 was the decade’s peak output year for Japan — 44 titles released, including Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally. Bars below show how the 1980s stacked up year by year (280 total).
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 43 other Japan films in 1989.
The 765th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
34 audience reviews — more than 54% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 40th percentile among Japan films.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #3,304 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (28th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.5 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Action productions specifically: #1,291 of 1,714 (top 75%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Katsu Production, Shochiku |
| Runtime | 1h 56m |
| Release Date | February 4, 1989 |
| IMDb | tt0202152 |