Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold is one of the most entertaining entries in the franchise and on the same level as the strong predecessor Zatoichi on the Road. The movie starts with Zatoichi paying respects at the grave of a man he wrongfully killed two years ago. He meets some local villagers who are celebrating the fact that they are finally able to pay their tax debts to the local intendant. However, the chest with the money from eighteen different villagers gets stolen by some ruthless ronin. Since Zatoichi was seen near the scene of the crime, he gets accused of a crime he didn't commit and swears to find the real culprit in order to clear his name. Zatoichi starts his investigation by meeting a bandit who has found refuge on a mountain after he was chased away by political opponents. Zatoichi finds out that some of the bandit's men went rogue but realizes the bandit himself is innocent. They team up in order to clear their names, fight the local intendant and his associates who are behind the theft and conspiracy and help the upset villagers.

There are several reasons why this film stands out. First of all, it has a quite fast pace and doesn't waste any time with a lengthy introduction or an overlong conclusion. No scene is unnecessary and no minute is wasted in this dynamic film. Secondly, the movie has a sociocritical component as it portrays how abusive politicians are only interested in their own objectives while poor villagers are constantly tricked and tortured. Thirdly, the movie includes some straightforward humor for the first time in the franchise. In one scene, Zatoichi surprises a beautiful woman in a hot spring and then coincidentally discovers two young perverted men who were peeping through a window in the roof. In another scene, an ugly prostitute offers her services to Zatoichi who remains polite aside of commenting that the woman smells like a field of pumpkin flowers until he realizes that the prostitute demands a hefty sum for a massage which leads him to suggest her she should take a bath from time to time.

In the end, Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold is an entertaining, fast-paced and refreshingly vivid entry in the franchise and you won't see the film's eighty-three astonishing minutes pass. Aside of the refreshing new elements, the fight sequences are great to watch as usual and especially the final duel between the blind masseur and a man on horseback using a whip is quite memorable. Fans of martial arts films can't get around this energetic film that has aged rather well without losing its connection to rural Japan in the mid-nineteenth century.

The Zatoichi series really took off with this entry. Shintaro Katsu is, of course, outstanding in his role as the blind swordsman/masseur. What sets this one aside from the earlier entries in the series, though, is the kinetic camerawork of Kazuo Miyagawa. Utilising every inch of his Panavision frame, Miyagawa set new standards for the samurai genre, choreographing outstanding fight sequences and adding the element of gore to the recipe. For those who think widescreen mayhem began with The Wild Bunch, this is essential viewing!