Zatoichi Gave Us Positive Disability Representation over 40 Years Ago

Zatoichi is a Japanese action show that aired between 1974 and 1979, building on the success of the series of films that began with The Tale of Zatoichi in 1962. Each episode follows a similar arc: the title character, a blind swordsman, comes to town, where there is corruption of some sort. Inevitably, someone tries to take advantage of him because he is blind, but Zatoichi then proves them wrong and confronts the criminals. At the end of the episode, the corruption has been taken care of, and Zatoichi leaves town.

Other than his swordsmanship and his honor, Zatoichi is just a regular man. He makes a living as a masseur. He’s not perfect. He gambles and flirts. Despite being a hero, he’s actually pretty normal.

Criterion

I am a disabled person myself and am always interested in disability representation in media. Now, I am not blind, so I cannot give a definitive yes or no to the question of whether the show is accurate in its portrayal of blindness. But I will say I think it is more authentic than the Daredevil TV series, which also features a blind man with extraordinary fighting skills and abilities—maybe because the fighting isn’t as flashy as the Marvel series, and Zatoichi’s senses are shown as mostly average except for his hearing, which is a common trope in media. All in all, it is a semirealistic show.

Overall I really like Zatoichi, and to think that it was made in the ’70s really makes me love it more. It was definitely ahead of its time, and I wonder why. I think the culture of the swordsman in Japanese culture gives honor and status to Zatoichi that he wouldn’t have otherwise. The show does not imply there is any kind of shame or weakness in being blind, and it plays off the realities of being blind very well. It show the difficulties but doesn’t play them up for laughs.

The fact that a series started in the 1960s features a disabled man as its main character is phenomenally forward thinking, but I don’t think it was trying to be forward thinking, and that’s why I like it. There is no “inspiration porn” moment of “overcoming” disability.

Point of fact: inspiration porn is a term coined by Stella Young, a disability-rights activist from Australia who has since passed away. It describes media—fiction, news stories, or anything else—in which the “disabled person is an inspiration because of their disability,” as Wikipedia describes it. If I leave the house in my wheelchair, someone could say I’m so brave and an inspiration for just leaving the house, when really I’m just going about my day. This is called inspiration porn because, like sexual porn, it objectifies the person with the disability, making them the object of the able-bodied person’s inspiration.

Zatoichi is not an object lesson in this show. He’s not perfect. He’s a bit crass. He’s portrayed as being human and not some extraordinary object. That is why I enjoy this show and appreciate the storytelling.

Artwork by Lianna and Jessica of The Disabled Life. Used with permission.