Background and Trivia |
- In the 1970s, Toho began working extensively with Shintaro Katsu's Katsu Productions, marking a shift from Katsu's earlier collaborations with Daiei. This partnership included Toho distributing several of Katsu Productions' films, such as Zatoichi at Large (1972) and the Lone Wolf and Cub series. On July 29, 1985, Toho entered into an agreement with Katsu Productions to acquire rights to their current media library. Following Shintaro Katsu's death in 1997, Toho submitted this agreement to the US Copyright Office under record number V3474D496. The filing confirmed that Toho had secured rights to 31 titles, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo among them.
- Daiei registered the film with the US copyright office on June 16th, 1992 under registration number PA0000587314. The titles used for the film were its international title, Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, and its Romaji title, Zatoichi to Yojimbo. Daiei listed themselves as the copyright claimant. However, on February 4th, 1998, Toho challenged this claim. Under record number V3410D305, they filed a declaration regarding the copyright notice, asserting that Katsu Productions Company Limited was the correct original rights holder, not Daiei.
- The film's title and the casting of actor Toshiro Mifune suggest a showdown between Zatoichi and Sanjuro, the iconic character from Yojimbo (1961). However, Mifune's character in this movie, Daisaku Sasa, is entirely unrelated to the role he played in director Akira Kurosawa's films.
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