Zatoichi, the blind swordsman created by Shimozawa Kan in 1948, is generally set in the late Edo period (mid-19th century), likely between the 1830s and 1860s, before the Meiji Restoration (1868).
Evidence for the Timeframe of Zatoichi’s Wandering
1. Edo Period Setting – The stories depict a world of traveling gamblers, wandering rōnin, corrupt officials, and declining samurai power, which aligns with the Bakumatsu era (1850s–1860s) when the Tokugawa shogunate was weakening.
2. Swordsmanship and Yakuza Culture – The yakuza and bakuto (gamblers) play a significant role in Zatoichi’s world. The late Edo period saw the rise of organized gambling groups and their uneasy relationship with local authorities.
3. Lack of Major Historical Events – If the series took place after 1868, the Meiji Restoration (which disbanded the samurai class and changed Japan’s social order) would have been a major issue. Since Zatoichi’s world remains within the Edo system, it suggests he wanders before the Meiji era.
Conclusion: Late Edo Period, Circa 1830s–1860s
Zatoichi’s lyrical wandering, much like Bashō’s travel or Scudder’s Manhattan walks, is shaped by his relationship to a crumbling system—one where old codes of honor still exist but are being eroded by corruption and modernity. His era is one of twilight, where the samurai order is still present but no longer dominant.
Would you say Zatoichi is a van lifer of the Edo period—a man who walks, drifts, and resists the epic by staying in the lyrical margins?
