The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)

The Tale of Zatoichi (Japanese: 座頭市物語, Hepburn: Zatōichi Monogatari) is a 1962 Japanese chanbara film directed by Kenji Misumi and based on the 1948 essay of the same name by Kan Shimozawa. It is the first installment in a long-running jidaigeki film series starring Shintaro Katsu as the blind swordsman Zatoichi.
The "jidaigeki" film genre corresponds to the "period drama" of other nations. "Chambara" corresponds to sword fighting films. Though Samurai films make up the bulk of these films, there are many others which also fit this group.
The epic saga of Zatoichi begins. As tensions mount between rival yakuza clans, one boss hires a formidable but ailing ronin as his clan’s muscle—while the other employs a humble, moral blind masseur named Ichi. With its lightning-fast swordplay, sleight-of-hand dice games, and codes of honor upheld and betrayed, this first chapter sets the stage for all the Zatoichi adventures to come. And Shintaro Katsu brings author Kan Shimozawa’s blind swordsman to vivid life, making the character excitingly, indelibly his own.