Ichi (which is the main character's name, Zato being the lowest rank in the Todoza) travels by foot and enters a local sumo match to earn prize money. Ichi defeats five sighted opponents to win. He is later alone and is attacked by Kisuke, a young yakuza man he has never met. Kisuke is easily dispatched and Ichi berates him for being no match for Ichi and asks why he attacked him. Kisuke tells Ichi that he did it to get ten Ryō reward for killing Ichi. Before dying Kisuke reveals to Ichi that his mother is also yakuza but dies before revealing who placed the bounty on Ichi's head. Ichi travels to the local yakuza house of the Shimonida yakuza family. Just prior to Ichi's arrival Maki, the mother of Kisuke and a grandmother figure to the yakuza is with several visiting yakuza family bosses and the young new heir to the Shimonida yakuza family, Sakichi. The bosses are meeting during a local festival. Ichi meets Maki and confessing to the death of Kisuke and asks Maki's forgiveness. He tells that he killed Kisuke in a fair fight according to the yakuza code. This comforts Maki and she recognizes Ichi as honorable. Ichi gives her ten Ryō which he claims Kisuke asked him to give to her.... Directed by Tokuzō Tanaka Written by Minoru Inuzuka Seiji Hoshikawa Produced by Masaichi Nagata Starring Shintaro Katsu Miwa Takada Sachiko Murase Cinematography Chishi Makiura Music by Akira Ifukube Shintaro Katsu as Ichi, the Blind Swordsman Miwa Takada as O-Nobu Masayo Banri as O-Tane Junichiro Narita as Sakichi Katsuhiko Kobayashi as Kisuke Toru Abe as Boss Yagiri Tokyuro Koichi Mizuhara as Boss Unosuke Jutaro Hojo as Master Tanakura Sachiko Murase as Maki Hiroshi Nawa as Chuji of Kunisada Koichi Mizukami as Boss Unosuke Yasuhiro Mizukami as Boss Tamamura