Zatoichi and the Fugitives

In 1968 Japan, the blind masseur Zatoichi (Shintarō Katsu) wanders the roads with a cane that hides a sword, taking whatever work and whatever trouble comes his way. Kimiyoshi Yasuda sends him into a clash with a band of fugitives who answer to a corrupt law official, with Dr. Junan (Takashi Shimura) among the people caught nearby. Beneath the swordplay is a plain question of who gets protected under the law and who is left to the men who bend it.