Shiranui Kengyo - Born without
eyesight, Ichi learns from childhood how to turn his handicap to his own
advantage, scheming money and sake from gullible passers-by in order to support
his penniless mother.
As a young man he is trained as a masseur at a school for the
blind, led by the Shiranui Kengyo, one of the land's most respected masseurs and
acupuncturists, who counts the shogun himself among his clientele. Despite being
far from the most talented pupil in school, Ichi has a burning ambition to
succeed the Kengyo, but the venerated one only derides him for being
foolish.
Ichi's talents for schemes, however, have only improved since
his childhood days. Never hesitant to pick the purse off a dead man or take
advantage of a damsel in distress, he lives off the healthy proceeds of his
crimes. He becomes an expert manipulator, whose power only grows when he falls
in with a trio of bandits that start acting as his strongmen.
An exceptional performance from Katsu Shintaro who imbues his
otherwise reprehensible character with so much humanity that we are all too
willing to follow him on his treacherous path.
Director: MORI ISSEI
Stars: KASTU SHINTARO, NAKAMURA TAMAO, KONDO
MIEKO
1960 - JAPANESE with OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES - B&W -
16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN - 91 MINUTES
