Crimson Bat


Crimson Bat is the international title for the series of four jidaigeki films based on the character Blind Oichi.

Character

The character of Blind Oichi is a blind swordswoman created by Teruo Tanashita in a manga published by Shukan Manga Times, in what is believed to be a response to the hugely successful Zatoichi series. The main difference, apart from being a female, was that her weakness is a stereotyped female tendency to be emotional. The character was played by Yōko Matsuyama, future wife of the original manga author Teruo Tanashita, who had starred as swordswomen in a number of popular TV series including Kotohime Shichi Henge from 1960 to 1962, Tsukihime Toge in 1963, and Tabigarasu Kurenai Osen from 1968–1969. The origin of the international English title "Crimson Bat" is unclear. Some have suggested that it was due to her wearing a crimson red kimono and being "blind as a bat", as the saying goes. Others have claimed the title came from a much earlier non-related film entitled Crimson Bat which featured Yōko Matsuyama in a supporting role. Another reason was that Matsuyama had just finished playing a sword-wielding character named "Crimson Osen" in the aforementioned 52 episode TV series Tabigarasu Kurenai Osen. The character appeared in 4 films released by Shochiku studios, before moving on to television just as the Zatoichi series did. An official Zatoichi-based film about a blind swordswoman was released decades later entitled Ichi, which featured the title character searching for her mentor Zatoichi.

List of films

  1. Crimson Bat: The Blind Swordswoman
  2. Trapped, the Crimson Bat/The Blind Swordswoman: Hellish Skin
  3. Watch Out, Crimson Bat!
  4. Crimson Bat - Oichi: Wanted, Dead or Alive
In 1971 Nippon TV ran a Crimson Bat TV series also starring Yoko Matsuyama with Hiroshi Fujioka. This series was produced by Union Motion Picture Co, Ltd. and ran for 25 episodes from April 12, 1971 to September 27, 1971. Cult director Teruo Ishii directed episodes 1,2,12,13,14,15,24,and 25.

Footnotes