Crimson Bat

The Crimson Bat is a series of four movies based around the character of the same name. The character was a blind swordswoman. It was made by Shochiku studios, as a response to the hugely successful Zatoichi series. The character, Ochi, was very similar to the Zatoichi character, that is she was a blind sword fighter who roamed and did odd jobs for money. The main difference, apart from being a female, was that her weakness was a stereotyped female tendency to be emotional. Ironically, an official female variation of Zatoichi was released decades later, and entitled Ichi.

The character was played by Yoko Matsuyama.

List of films

1. Crimson Bat (紅蝙蝠; Kurenai Kawahori) (1958)
2. Crimson Bat: The Blind Swordsman (めくらのお市物語　真っ赤な流れ鳥; Mekura no oichi monogatari: Makkana nagaradori) (1969) (IMDB link)
3. Trapped, the Crimson Bat/The Blind Swordswoman: Hellish Skin (めくらのお市　地獄肌; Mekurano no Oichi jigokuhada) (1969) (IMDB link)
4. Watch Out, Crimson Bat! (めくらのお市　みだれ笠; Mekurano no Oichi midaregasa) (1969) (IMDB link)
5. Crimson Bat - Oichi: Wanted, Dead or Alive (めくらのお市　命貰います; Mekurano no Oichi inochi moraimasu) (1970) (IMDB link)

References

• Silver, Alain. The Samurai Film. Woodstock, NY: The Overlook Press, 1977.