This final installment caps the long-running series with a more dignified drama-focused entry as Zatoichi once again tries to seek justice for the oppressed.

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After nearly four years, I’ve finally completed the 25-film Zatoichi series, most of which I watched during the Covid-19 pandemic.  This final entry, titled Zatoichi’s Conspiracy (which to be honest has little relation to the plot), sees Kimiyoshi Yasuda return to the director’s chair for the sixth time with arguably the most dignified instalment of the lot. 

Here, Zatoichi returns to his hometown to find one of his childhood friends, in collusion with the higher authorities, oppressing the townsfolk. Forced to pay excessive taxes, the farmers are aggrieved by their torrid situation until the blind swordsman decides that enough is enough. 

“What I sensed through my fingers wasn’t exactly agreeable.”

Takashi Shimura (a familiar face in a number of Akira Kurosawa works) has a supporting role as an old man who, together with his late wife, used to take care of Zatoichi decades ago.  Yasuda’s approach to Zatoichi’s Conspiracy is more drama-focused with hardly any action in the first half, which is unlike most other entries in the series. 

As such, the film is more interesting to watch as we follow Zatoichi as he navigates small-town politics like a pro.  With so many years of experience under his belt, there is nothing that would faze the master swordsman, who has come to realise that violence is the only response to those who intimidate others. 

Because this is the last film, there is an air of melancholy to the proceedings, particularly how after all this time, Zatoichi still continues to wander from place to place, unable to accept a life of domestic stability. 

Grade: B+

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Trailer: