Original subtitles

ADAIEI CO. LTD. PRODUCTION

ZATOICHI ANDTHE CHESS EXPERT

Original stor y b y KAN SHIMOZAWA Screenpla y b y DAISUKE ITO

Starring:

SHINTARO KATSU

MIKIO NARITA, CHIZURU HAYASHI, KANEKO IWASAKI

Directed b y KENJI MISUMI

Excuse me,

boatman,

how much is the f are to Miura?

The f are?

Exactl ywhat the sign sa ys.

I justwondered i f you might give hal f o f f or something

to children and the ph ysicall y impaired.

Wh y should I give a sturd y-looking man like you a special discount?

What kind o f stone-hearted rule

makes no allowance f or the ph ysicall y impaired?

Those are the regulations.

I f you don't like it, you don't have to ride.

Move along, will you? You're holding up the others.

I f you can't treat crippled f olk better than that,

don't be surprised i f the gods throw a storm at you and capsize your boat.

Watch out!

Thanks. That was close.

Thank you ver y much.

I'm much obliged to you, sir.

I guess the world isn't f illed entirel ywith demons.

Ouch.

Man y pardons.

He y, help him aboard.

Much obliged.

All aboard!

All aboard!

Wait f or me. Wait f or me.

Damn!

Wejust missed it.

The boat f rom here to Miura

runs onl y once ever y f ive da ys.

So we eitherwait f our da ys, orwe go b y land.

Ino,

you're sure you saw Tane?

I alread y told you, I didn't actuall y see her.

I saw her straw hat hanging outside the window at an inn in Chikura.

When I later asked at the desk, the y told me she'd le f t.

She said she was going to take the f err y f rom Tate yama to Miura.

So assuming it reall ywas Tane,

the question is how f ar do we tr y to pursue her?

What do you think?

Uh-oh. Looks like we're too late.

Too bad. Too bad.

What a shame!

When will the next boat be?

Not f or f our da ys?

You could cross to Uraga instead. Where are you headed?

- Hakone. - Going to take the waters?

In that case,

I'd suggest going b y land to Edo and taking the Tokaido highwa y.

It ma y be the long wa y around, but you won't have to wait.

What do you think? - That's probabl y a good idea.

I f you wait here and a storm rolls in,

a f ive-da ywait could easil y become ten.

Ever y bod y read y?

I'd like to join you, i f I ma y.

And I wonder i f you'd be so kind as to let me take the dice cup.

I dabble a little.

Are you sure you can handle the cup like that?

Well, you see,

I don't have much o f an e ye f or most amusements.

Don't have much o f an e ye? That's f unn y.

But f or some reason, I can see the dice in a cup.

What do you sa y?

Don't you think it's worth seeing what I might be able to do?

Go ahead. You take the cup.

Thank you ver y much.

Here you go.

Now ever y one, don't f orget I'm blind.

I ask you to overlook m y clumsiness.

Is ever y one read y?

Place your bets.

Ah, yes, excellent handling o f the cup.

All right, I sa y even.

- Even. - Odd.

Is that ever y one?

You've got 1 75 mon on even.

And 50 mon on odd.

Is that all people are betting?

Ver y well.

What do we have?

Three and six, odd.

Here you go. You've won 1 25 mon f or starters.

I guess you reall y can see what's in the cup.

- Then, ma y I continue? - Go ahead, go ahead.

All right, ever y bod y read y?

Place your bets ever y one.

You're sure you want us to bet on this?

Oh, yes, absolutel y. Place your bets.

Go ahead. Place your bets.

This is amusing. I think I'll bet too.

I'm betting on even.

Even.

Huh? Ever y bod y's betting on even?

No one wants to bet on odd?

No one wants odd.

300, 21 5, 21 0, 200, 250, 1 50--

all on even.

So altogether that's one kan and 325 mon.

M y, m y, you've all reall y raised the stakes this time.

I like that.

What do we have?

Five and one, even.

Did you sa y even?

No question about it.

So it's even. That's a surprise.

I guess I can't reall y see the dice a f ter all.

It was even.

I f I ma y,

I was in f or 300,

so I get 600 back.

- He y, I was in f or 200. - Relax. You'll all get yours.

What do you sa y, mister? Read y to call it quits?

No, no. I have more.

Hold on just a second.

Here it is.

M y goodness! Twent y- f ive r y o!

Please now,

ever y one loosen up your purse strings.

Here are the dice.

And here's the cup.

Ever y bod y read y?

Here goes.

All right, place your bets. No need to hold back.

All right, I'm going f or broke this time.

Even.

I'm betting on even, too.

- All right, even. - Even.

Three hundred on even.

Ever y bod y's betting on even again.

Wh y doesn't an ybod y bet on odd?

I guess sometimes the wind blows a certain wa y,

and that makes ever y one pre f er the same bet.

Because o f the wind, you sa y?

Well, i f you're all sure there are no mistakes,

Iet's see what we have.

Naught y dice! When did you jump out o f m y sleeve?

He y! What're you--

What do we have?

Even or odd?

So it's odd?

I guess the dice didn't f eel that wind.

That means all this comes to me.

Thank you ver y much.

Hold it, hold it.

Hold it a second. - Is there a problem?

Something's not right here.

The dice came up odd, didn't the y?

That means I win.

What happened to those dice you put in your sleeve?

The y're still right here.

You tricked us, you son o f a bitch.

Me?

He y, ever y one, this gu y's a pro at sleight o f hand.

Don't think you can get awa ywith that "jumped out o f m y sleeve" crap.

You deliberatel y made those two dice f all out o f the cup.

This bastard used f our dice to pla y a trick on us.

Now hold on just one second.

Are you telling me

you all bet on the dice that were outside the cup?

What kind o f dice game would that be?

When you're gambling with dice,

you're supposed to bet on the dice in the cup.

Isn't that right?

You son o f a bitch.

Damn you!

Do you people think

you can take advantage o f me because I'm blind?

Now then, miss,

I believe you tucked some treasure awa y in a sweet little spot.

Bastard!

I f you're that attached to the mone y you lost

you can have m y show mone y as your banker's f ee.

Blind man.

You handle yoursel f ver y well.

Sighted people are alwa ys tr y ing to take advantage o f me,

and giving me a lot o f grie f.

I f I'm not mistaken,

aren't you the kindl y samurai who rescued me

when I nearl y f ell in the water?

Hardl yworth y o f the name, I'm a f raid.

So you pla y chess, do you?

As a matter o f f act,

I'm reall yver y f ond o f chess m ysel f.

Perhaps you would let me challenge you to a match?

Sure.

Great. Thanks.

So tell me, what name do you go b y?

M y name is Ichi.

Isn't Ichi what the y call

an y blind masseur o f a certain rank?

In m y case, it's also m y real name.

Well, then,

i f your real name is Ichimatsu, the y call you Matsu no Ichi,

and i f it's Ichitaro, the y call you Taro no Ichi.

That's true,

but I was alwa ys just called Ichi f rom the time I was little

so Ichi is reall y the onl y name I know.

In otherwords,

you're just plain old Ichi.

All right, then.

Plain Old Ichi.

Let's seewho goes f irst. Throw these pieces.

We're not going to f orget this, you son o f a bitch!

Bishop to f ive-seven.

M y surname is

Jumon.

-Jumon? - Actuall y,Jumonji.

Given name, Tadasu.

MasterTadasu Jumonji.

That's an unusual name.

It's an assumed name.

Perhaps f or a man on a mission o f vengeance?

Wait a second.

This move will just get me captured.

Well, never mind.

Gold to f ive-seven.

You're not going to get me that easil y.

So you f end o f f disaster b y the skin o f your teeth.

I suppose I'll strike right back then.

Rook to same.

Plain Old Ichi,

you seem to have slipped up.

Wait, I take it back.

That's not allowed.

We agreed on that at the beginning.

Checkmate.

ENOSHI MA

STRI KE STRAW HAT, 1 0 MON BREAK PLATE, 20 MON

WITH GENUI NE BLADE, 1 00 MON

The colors blossom

Scatterand f all

But a f terspringpasses

The y f I ourish again

That's right

Birds soar high

In the blue sk y

Boss, a travel i ng masseur was passing b y, so I stopped him.

Here you go.

Masseur.

The boss o f the Ban yu f amil y is a sworn brother o f mine.

And I hear you had a little run-in with some o f his men

aboard the boat f rom Tate yama.

The Ban yu f amil y?

I see. So those f ellows belonged to the Ban yu f amil y.

Is that right?

Perhaps we did have a tin y little encounter.

So it reall ywas you. Well, well.

You son o f a bitch.

I f I don't repa y your kindness, I'll be f ailing m y dut yto m y brother.

Just a tin y little pa yback.

Take that!

Don't tr y to resist.

We're not asking you to pa ywith your li f e.

We just want to make sure you don't pla y that trick again.

Are you all right, Miki?

EJIMAYA

I beg your pardon.

Is she hurt?

ENOSHIMA MISAKIYA INN

Bishop to two- f our.

Bishop to two- f our.

I see.

So you strike onl ywhen you have no other choice.

Othe r w ise, you never draw your sword.

That's right.

I tr y to avoid needless killing.

And you? Do you take a di f f erent approach?

I kill to kill.

Silver to f our- f ive.

Silver to f our- f ive.

All right. Rook to seven- f our.

You kill just f or the sake o f killing?

No.

I kill to win.

To de f eat an yone stronger than me.

To de f eat an yone stronger than you in swordsmanship?

Not just swordsmanship.

Even in something like chess?

Even in chess,

depending on time and circumstance.

You sound like a dangerous man.

Wait a second.

This isn't reall y an even contest.

Since you can't see the board

and I can,

it can't be a f air f ight.

All right.

I'll pla ywithout looking at the board either.

That'll make us even.

Let's see.

Pawn to f ive- f our.

Pawn to f ive- f our?

Pawn to f ive- f our, you sa y.

Pawn to same.

Pawn to same, is it?

Gold to seven-seven.

Gold to seven-seven.

I n that case, let's see.

Pawn to three-six.

Pawn to three-six?

Rook to f ive-nine.

Ichi,

you're amazingl y quick.

I f igured the ywere a f ter me,

but it appears I was wrong.

Were the y both Ban yu men?

So it would seem.

Well, sooner or later

that game probabl y would have ended up a draw

since I was pla ying blind f olded.

I f I had won,

would that mean you'd have to cut me down?

I don't kill opponents I like.

I f I killed them,

there soon wouldn't be an yone I liked le f t.

Somebod y, please!

Please tell me where I can f ind a doctor.

This child is running a high f ever and having convulsions.

I'm a f raid she's going to die. I need to get her to a doctor.

Someone please tell me where I can f ind a doctor!

Excuse me.

Good grie f!. She's burning up.

The doctor's a long wa y awa y and it's late,

so he's not much use in an emergenc y.

But we happen to have a shaman here tonight

to exorcise one o f the maids who's been possessed b y a f ox.

The woman used to be a doctor o f the Chujo School,

so perhaps we can ask her to take a look at the girl.

Yes, please.

How does she look?

It's clearl y a case o f tetanus.

The poison got in through herwounded f oot.

Tetanus can be f atal.

I f it's not treated in time, the child could die.

Then please tell me,

what's involved in treating it?

First is medicine, second is medicine, and third is pra yer.

We beg you, O great god Okuninushi, O great god Sukunahiko,

please bring your powers to bear and heal this child.

And the medicine?

I f we can get it quickl y, the child will sur v ive.

But I'm a f raid this medicine--

Yes?

I knowwhere it can be obtained, but--

How much does the medicine cost?

For a f ull round, it'll be this much.

I'm sorr y , but I'm blind.

Please go ahead and sa y the amount aloud.

A f ull round costs f ive r y o.

There's a druggist in Odawara called Tochinkowho has it.

It's a power f ul medicine imported f rom overseas.

Five r y o.

Master! She's turned violent again!

The f ox must have possessed her again.

Please hurr y back to her, Widow Tarozaemon!

Ma'am, please set your mind at ease.

I will obtain the medicine f or her.

Thank you, sir,

but I could never ask you to do that.

You mean you want to let her die?

She got hurt because o f a scu f f I e I was involved in.

No. You mustn't.

It's nothing, reall y. These f ingers o f mine

can earn the cost o f the medicine in no time at all.

Excuse me, then.

Where are you going?

I understand some o f the pilgrims at IwamotoTemple

Iike to pla y a little dice amongst themselves.

Butwhat i f the Ban yu men decide to come a f ter you again?

Not toworr y .

I'll go along as Master Ichi's bod yguard.

I'll make sure nobod y la ys a f inger on him.

Shall we go?

See you later.

Here goes then.

Just so you know, I have more mone y here.

This is all the mone y I have to m y name,

so bet however much you want.

How much you got there, mister?

About f our kan 500.

Four kan 500? Wow! This blind man's got balls.

This is no time f or us sighted f olk to be timid. Even.

700.

One kan 200.

- 500 - One kan.

- I'm in f or 800. - 500 more to go.

I'll put in 200.

I'll take the rest.

We've got it. Four kan 500, all on even.

Huh? You're all betting on even?

That's right, all on even.

No one wants to bet on odd?

Wh ywould we bet on odd when--

All the mone y's on even.

Ver y well.

Let's see what the dice sa y, then.

Naught y little dice.

Hold on a second. What're you doing with those?

The y must have f allen out o f m y sleeve.

You've got to be kidding!

Kidding?

I thought this was a game o f dice.

In a game o f dice, you bet on the dice in the cup.

Wh ywould an yone bet on dice outside the cup?

That'd be a prett y sill y game.

But you--

Did you think you could take advantage o f me because I'm blind?

Now then,

I believe you all placed your bets on even.

Let's see what we have, shall we?

Thank you ver y much.

Wait. It's even.

Even?

That's right. Same as the other dice.

Three and one, even.

Are you convinced now?

Let's divv y this up then.

I was in f or 800.

Wait your turn.

M y bet was one kan 500.

One kan 300 over here.

I don't get it.

I've been in this racket a long time,

but I just don't get it.

It seems unlike you, to be dwelling on it so endlessl y.

Pull yoursel f together.

All you have to do is get some new capital,

come back tomorrow and win f air and square.

The question is how to get that capital.

I have a wa y.

The f air at Yug yo Temple in Fujisawa starts tomorrow.

I'll let you have the space I reser v ed. You'll make ten mon per head bashing.

You can earn your capital there.

You want me to sit in your place

and get bashed on the head f or ten mon a pop?

So that's it.

That's wh y you chose an alias that means ten mon.

Because you go around letting people bash you on the head f or that much.

That's ver y clever.

No, you're not going to sit there and get your head bashed.

We'll tr y something di f f erent.

Such as?

That.

Wow! That's amazing.

Here! Catch that!

All right. Ever y bod y read y? Here goes.

Place your bets.

Even.

That's 1 5 kan on even. An y others?

An yone f or odd?

Odd.

What do we have?

Five and two, odd.

TOCHI NKO

Here you are, sir.

Uncle Ichi.

He y there.

You're awake.

How's your f ever?

It's all gone.

Good. Then you're going to be all right.

Once the f ever breaks, you know you're oka y.

I have an idea.

Let's go to the hot springs in Hakone.

The y sa y the waters there are good f or an ything that ails you.

Oka y.

I'm so glad you got better so quickl y.

You're a luck y girl.

Uh-huh.

Uncle Ichi.

Uncle Ichi.

What is it?

Uncle Ichi.

What is it?

Uncle Ichi, thank you.

ENOSHIMA

ODAWARA

HAKONE

Excuse me, gentlemen.

Don'tworr y about it.

Hold it.

Don't move.

Are you speaking to me?

Don't move. Sta y right where you are.

Now pull back your right f oot ver y slowl y.

Look at this. That was close.

Oh, wow. Thank you ver y much.

Be care f ul now.

I'm ver y grate f ul, sir.

That was luck y.

- You're not kidding. - You've got to be care f ul.

You never know what dangers might be lurking around when you can't see.

He y, Roppei.

Let me give you a hand.

Thanks, but I'll be just f ine.

It's slipper y .

You're ver y kind.

I f you don't mind, then.

Thanks.

You have a ver y nice master.

Thank you, sir.

Ma y I?

Did you take little Miki to the baths?

Yes, itwas her f irst time.

She's going to be f ine, all thanks to you.

Do come in.

I haven't had a chance to ask you this be f ore now,

but what brings you to the road?

Are you on a pilgrimage o f some kind?

I'm sorr y . I didn't mean to pr y .

No, I don't mind.

Little Miki's f ather

was a close relative o f mine.

He ser v ed at a shrine on Mt. Tsukuba, but--

Ser v ed at a shrine? You mean he was a priest?

Yes.

But then somehow or other

he got caught up in this.

Oh, I'm sorr y .

I suppose you mean this?

Yes.

He went bad.

In the end he got tangled up in a tur f war

and got himsel f killed.

Whatwas his name?

Shoda yu Tsukuba.

Shoda yu Tsukuba.

I'm sure you've never heard o f him.

Hewas just one o f the thugs killed in the f racas.

There's no reason an yone would know his name.

Hewas a common thug hardl yworth more than a piece o f trash.

His wi f e had run out on him,

so this child, whowas with a f oster f amil y, was le f t all alone.

And I'm her closest relative.

I see.

And then?

I had never had an y luck f inding a husband,

and I was working at Monzencho on Mt. Tsukuba at that time.

Hello?

Do you know it?

Yes, a town bustling with pilgrims to Mt. Tsukuba.

Hello? Can somebod y help me?

That's right. I was working as a maid in a tea house there.

But I decided I'd take care o f the child m ysel f.

I taught her to sing and dance a little, and--

Cansomeone help me?

Is an y bod y here?

Please excuse me a minute.

Who's there?

Would you know where the innkeeper is?

I'm sorr y . I'm a f raid I don't.

I was directed here at the Kamasaku Inn up the wa y.

Two o f their guests,

Tomonoshin Sagawa and his ser v ant Roppei,

apparentl y came down here f or the baths.

I need to see them immediatel y about a ver y urgent matter.

Well, the baths are right down these stairs,

but since there's no one at the desk, I don't know--

But I suppose I could go and check f or you m ysel f.

I'm much obliged.

I f ound them.

Is that you, Kume?

Wh y are you dressed like that?

The road can be a dangerous place f or a woman.

I thought I'd run into f ewer problems i f I dressed like this.

But tell me, brother, how are you f eeling?

At one point, I nearl y gave up hope,

but Roppei took good care o f me and pulled me through.

We were low on f unds, the illness was dragging on

and I reall y didn't know what to do.

That's wh y I sent you the messenger.

Sorr y to have made you worr y .

And what about the person you were looking f or?

Nothing?

No leads at all?

Would you have a straw hat or raincoat?

A straw hat!

Here, sir.

Please take this.

Thank you.

You're ver y kind.

KAMASAKU

It was ver y kind o f you to lend us this.

Don't mention it. It was nothing.

The young miss asked me to conve y her thanks too.

The young miss?

That is, I mean,

the master's recover y at long last

must be due to the e f f icac y o f the waters here.

But it certainl y does get cold here in the mountains, doesn't it?

Yes, it certainl y does.

I think there was a scene in the pla y Revenge at Hakone

where one o f the characters sa ys,

"We're deep in the mountains here where snow comes be f ore the leaves f all.

You must have been unbearabl y cold."

That's right. That's exactl ywhat this is.

We're at least hoping to leave be f ore it snows

and head f arther south where it's warmer.

Now that m y girl is f inall y on her f eet again,

I expect we'll be leaving soon too.

Oops, I mustn't be dawdling here.

I need to get m y hundred pra yers in be f ore the rain starts again.

Pra ying f or your master's recover y ?

That's right.

Seems like there was something else he asked me to do.

What could it have been?

That's it! The blind acupuncturist.

M y master sa ys your treatment worked wonders.

He'd like you to come and give him another.

Is that right?

- Can you go right awa y? - Sure.

Please do, then. Thanks.

Please give him m y regards.

Thank you f or your business, sir.

Sorr y ,

but I happened to overhear.

You sa y you expect to be leaving soon?

Yes.

We can't go on rel ying on your hospitalit y f orever.

What happened was all m y f ault to begin with.

Haven't I told you that you mustn't f eel that wa y?

Forgive me.

Please.

Couldn't you put o f f your departure a little longer?

You see, I'm concerned about how you two will get b y on the road,

and I'd like to be able to give you three or f ive r y o f or your travel needs.

Othe r w ise,

I know it's going to weigh terribl y on m y heart.

That's ver y good o f you,

but it's not as i f you hurt the child with your own hands.

What?

I told you not to sa y that.

I'm sorr y .

Forgive me.

The thing is,

I'm f ond o f Miki.

Fond?

I'm ver y f ond o f her.

O f Miki?

Master Ichi?

Onl y her?

Onl y her?

Auntie Tane,

it's raining again.

HUNDRED-PRAYERSTONE

Excuse me,

but could you not make noise while I'm doing this?

You don'twant to startle me at thewrong moment. Right, miss?

Miss?

Can you see?

Not at all, sir.

I'm blind.

Are you telling me a blind man sees men as women?

No.

A blind man sees men as men and women as women.

We see with the e yes o f our heart.

And in the e yes o f your heart, Kume is a woman?

Indeed, sir. Not onl y is she a woman,

she is a ver y beauti f ul woman.

As i f you could tell.

No, it's true.

Now then,

we have a young lad y dressed as a man--

Oh, I see.

So that's the stor y .

What?

What's the stor y ?

The stor y that I see with the e yes o f m y heart

is a stor y o f revenge.

You are on a mission o f vengeance.

What?

- Master! - Some o f f icers f rom Odawara.

The y sa y the y're investigating a crime.

A man was killed on the temple grounds

while conducting a hundred-pra yer ritual.

It seems the man ma y be the retainer

o f a samurai sta ying at this inn.

Roppei! Roppei!

There's no sword wound. He appears to have been strangled.

The marks on his neck suggest the use o f some kind o f string orwire,

but it's hard to sa y exactl ywhat.

Go white, go white.

Go red, go red.

Go black, go black.

Quiet!

I f you don't simmer down, I'll--

What's this?

It's a f I oat. For f ishing.

A bright red f I oat.

Bright red?

Was it a present f rom someone?

No, we f ound it in the pond at the temple.

Begin.

In east--

No, that's wrong. We're starting at two.

You started at three just now.

One more time.

One and--

In eastern

Kazusa

Oh, m y, the rain's splashing in again.

When's it going to end?

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Is something wrong?

No, ever y thing's f ine.

The bath f elt great.

Good to hear.

How about a match?

Win, lose, lose.

You have two losses to onl y one win.

Ma ybe we should leave it that wa y.

It could get scar y f or me i f I start winning.

I f something doesn't sit well with you,

there's no telling when you might decide to draw that sword.

Oh, that's right. I almost f orgot.

I had one more order f or a massage.

It's so nice to have work.

You seem to be doing a brisk business in this town.

Yes, thanks.

You know, Ichi,

ever since we started traveling together,

I've been practicing seeing things with m y e yes closed, like you.

I suppose that's one wa y to pass the time.

I think I'm getting so I can see what's going on behind m y back.

What did you hide a while ago?

Even i f you grow e yes in the back o f your head,

the ywon't do you much good i f the y're cross-e yed.

I f you thought I hid something when I didn't,

I think you've still got a long wa ys to go.

So certi f ication b y the "Plain Old Ichi School" remains a distant dream.

Too bad.

Well, I'll be o f f towork then.

Uh-huh.

Sir, the acupuncturist f rom a while ago is here.

He sa ys he thinks he le f t something behind in your room.

Thank you.

Much obliged.

This is reall y quite a storm we're having.

The young lad y isn't here?

She's at the cit y commissioner's o f f ice in connection with Roppei's killing.

So what was it you're missing?

Here it is. It's just one o f the tubes I use.

I f I ma y, sir.

Perhaps it's not m y place,

especiall y a f ter an acquaintance o f onl ythree treatments,

to be asking such a question.

What is it?

Is there some particular reason wh y your retainer Roppei

would meet such a terrible end?

Wh y do you ask?

One problem with blind f olk,

especiall y those o f us who are masseurs, is that we have a keen nose.

Roppei was the onl y one--

the onl y one who knew the f ace o f our enem y.

Knowing neither name nor an ything else about our f oe,

we needed Roppei to identif y him.

Neither I nor Kume ever saw him.

That has to be wh y he killed Roppei.

I can't think o f an y other explanation.

Is your enem y still in this town, then?

He obviousl ywas here when Roppei was killed.

Whether he still is--

But so long as you and your sister are here,

wouldn't he stick around so he can kill you?

What would he gain f rom killing us?

We no longer have an ywa y to recognize him,

even i f we come f ace to f ace with him.

To kill us nowwould be a purel y gratuitous slaughter.

I seewhat you mean.

I f that itch y nose o f yours has been satis f ied,

please be on yourwa y.

Might I perhaps ask just one other thing?

I f I ma y ask,

what is the origin o f this vendetta?

Chess.

Chess. It all started over a game o f chess.

When m y f ather was traveling with Roppei,

he became acquainted with a samurai who liked chess.

It's an embarrassing stor y,

but a f riendl y wager somehow turned sour.

I don 't know who drew his sword f irst,

but in an y case, m y f ather was killed.

That's wh y onl y Roppei knew who our enem y was.

Now that Roppei is dead,

we have no means at al l to identif y the killer.

Without avenging our f ather's death, we can't return home.

Our f amil y name will be rubbed out,

and Kume and I will be doomed to wander f orever through other f ie f s.

There's absolutel y nothing we can do.

You reall y have no other clues about your f ather's assailant?

Not even some f I ims y straw f or a drowning man to grasp?

We know the man is an uncommonl y quick chess pla yer.

Other than that, nothing.

No.

Welcome back, miss.

Are you all done at the commissioner's o f f ice?

Yes. I'm sorr y it took so long.

Actuall y, there's one other thing about how the man pla ys chess.

According to Roppei,

when he has his opponent cornered and he's down to his last move,

he has a habit o f rubbing his f ingers across his nose like this.

Welcome back.

Thanks.

I'm still not having an y luck.

I just keep losing.

This town must be bad luck f or me.

As soon as the weather breaks,

Iet's pack up and head on over to the other side o f Hakone Pass.

We can go to Mishima or Numazu.

When m y luck returns and I have a chunk o f mone y in hand again,

we can go our separate wa ys.

Sa y,

I f igured the kitchen would complain i f itwas too late,

so I went ahead an ordered some sake f or you.

Wonder f ul! Excellent idea.

Let's get right to it.

It was an odd set o f circumstances that brought us together,

but now that it's time f or us to part,

I f ind m ysel f f eeling a little wist f ul somehow.

Thank you.

Let's f igure on leaving the da y a f ter tomorrow.

You know,

instead o f onl y as f ar as Mishima or Numazu,

couldn't we go on traveling together be yond that too?

Don't be sill y.

No, reall y. Miki and I will take care o f ourselves.

And I promise we won't become a burden.

You have to understand, Miss Tane.

The man you're looking at is dirt.

And ever y one who comes close to him or touches him,

in one wa y or another gets muddied b y that dirt.

There's nothing I can do about being dirt m ysel f,

but I don't want you to get mired in m y dirt.

You're--

You're too--

I'm too what, Master Ichi?

Have you--

Have you ever been close with a woman?

Uh-huh.

You have?

Uh-huh.

Even now, she is close to me.

What's she like?

Well, I'm blind, so I can't see her,

but she has two ears,

two e yes,

a nicel y shaped nose,

and a sweet little mole.

That's right. Right here.

Her name is Tane, too,

but she died a long time ago.

She has the same name,

but she's di f f erent.

She lives on f orever in here,

deep behind these e yes.

I hate her.

But f ine, let her sta y there f orever, deep behind your e yes.

You're going to remember me f orever, too.

Or is f orever asking too much?

Then at least

f or a week or two.

At least you'll remember me

as the otherTane, not the one who died.

At least until that bite on your hand stops hurting.

We've combed ever y town along the highwa y,

and we still can't f ind her.

I wonder i f she took some side road along the wa y.

In that case,

that Zatoichi gu y she was f ollowing must have le f t the highwa y,

or else she lost track o f him somewhere.

Ma ybe we just overlooked that straw hat o f hers somewhere.

We've come this f ar.

Just to be sure, let's go as f ar as Hakone Pass.

I f we can't f ind her b y then,

we'll give up and go home to Shimosa.

TANE

So you started f ollowing Zatoichi at Chikura Hot Springs,

and you were still with him on the boat across the channel,

but you lost track o f him when you came ashore at Miura?

That's right.

And the man you've been traveling with since then,

he's a di f f erent blind man?

You're sure about that?

Zatoichi's the man who cut down Shoda yu Tsukuba.

How could I f orget the man who killed m y husband?

The man I'm with now goes b yjust plain Ichi.

He's a traveling masseur.

I f you don't believe me, just ask Miki.

That's all right.

We'll know him when we see him.

We're not the onl y ones whowantZatoichi dead.

There's a whole lot o f mone y on his head.

We can't a f f ord to take him lightl y.

Masterlchi.

Masterlchi.

I have to tell you someth--

I drew m y f ortune at the temple

to see whether this is a good time to start a trip.

I mean, I wanted to be sure

because it's our f irst departure since Miki's illness.

M y f ortune said i f we don't start toda y,

the next three or f our da ys will all be bad.

So I was wondering,

what do you think about starting toda y?

I see.

All right. Let's get going right awa y, then.

You're sure you don't mind?

No, I don't mind.

As the y sa y, no sense in dela ying a good thing.

How about you?

I'll go too.

No sense in dela ying a good thing. Nor a bad thing.

Here.

Miss Tane, shall we be going?

Master Ichi.

Miki's actuall y

m y own daughter.

Oh?

I've been I ying to you.

I was--

I was thewi f e o f Shoda yu Tsukuba,

who died b y your blade.

And so?

But I--

I f ell in love with you.

I wanted to be yourwoman.

Thank you.

What do you sa y? Care f or a match?

That sounds good.

I think you were one up on me, right?

That's right.

Rock, paper, scissors.

I go f irst?

Right.

Let's see.

- Rook to eight-two. - Lance to seven-seven.

- Gold to three-two. - King to eight-eight.

Pawn to seven-three.

Pawn to three- f ive.

Pawn to f ive- f our.

Rook to two- f ive.

Let's see.

Silver to seven-two.

Lance to three-seven.

Lance to three-seven, you sa y.

Pawn to eight- f ive. - Pawn to same.

- Pawn to eight-six. - Silver to three-two.

King to six-two.

Pawn to six-three.

Silver to same.

Gold to same.

King to same.

Lance to six- f ive.

Bishop to six-nine.

You can't take it back.

Don't f orget.

Did you sa y bishop to six-nine?

Is that your move?

Is that your move?

Well, Plain Old Ichi,

it looks like you're f inished.

Pawn to six- f our. Checkmate. - I win!

To avenge our f ather's death!

Don't let the child see!

What are y ou doing?

Miki! - Auntie Tane!

No! Let me go!

Wait! Don't attack yet!

As soon as we attack, he draws.

Since he's blind, he can't do a thing until we attack.

Take your time!

When you're good and read y, ever y bod y strike at once.

Ouch! That hurts! Let me go!

Auntie Tane!

Auntie Tane!

Let me go!

Auntie Tane!

Uncle Ichi!

Thank you.

Master Ichi!

Uncle Ichi!

THE END (C)1 965 DAIEI CO. LTD.