Sleepy Eyes of Death: Sword of Satan Film Review

The sixth in the Sleepy Eyes of Death series starring Raizô Ichikawa as Nemuri Kyoshiro. Three of the series were produced in 1964 but Raizô was knocking out one Samurai film after another. He appeared in 13 films in 1961, 12 films in 1962, 11 in 1963, 10 in 1964 and a mere 8 in 1965. Besides this series he was also doing the Shinobi No Mono series in which he is an assassin. Nearly all these films as best as I can tell are Samurai or ninja films. He was obviously enormously popular. In this one he edges a bit closer to being more like Zatoichi - or I can see this as fitting for the blind masseur.

He is walking down a lonely road at night when a woman on the side of asks him to buy her for the night. Considering that half of the time a woman tries to seduce him, it is a trap to kill him, you might think he would be more careful. But no, he agrees but when he enters the room, she is wearing a Noh mask. He tells her, by the way you talk I can tell that you are from the upper class. Why are you doing this? Are you ashamed or are you diseased. He throws her a gold coin and begins to leave when she pleads with him. He insults her and goes. She cuts her throat and leaves the gold coin to Kyoshiro in a hastily written will.

When he finds out his guilt is overwhelming - if not for me she would still be alive - my bad karma surrounds me and anything I touch. He discovers that she was taking care of Tsurumatsu, a small boy who is in hiding. He is the heir to the Iwashiro Clan after a few successors died and the clan is looking for him. If he is not in the castle when the Shogun's Investigator comes, the entire clan will be dismissed and their property will be confiscated to the state. This was a common practice at the time - the Shogun was using any excuse to close down clans and centralize power. Kyoshiro is determined to keep the boy safe and away from the clan. At the same time, he has to fend off the numerous assassination attempts by Orin (Michiko Saga) - who is the sister of the Flying Squirrel who Kyoshiro killed in an earlier film. Her method is the same as her brother's - slicing playing cards that kill. The actor who played her brother is Saburô Date and this is the third film in a row in which his characters are killed by Kyoshiro. He just has that kind of face.

Other weird elements are brought in - Oito who is looking after the boy as well is kidnapped and sacrificed at a Black Mass before Kyoshiro kills them all. The boy is kidnapped and taken to the Iwashiro Castle and on his journey to the castle there are multiple attempts on his life. One being a nun who wants him to give her a child, the old-fashioned way. "When a woman offers a meal, a man must eat it", he tells her. Or the woman who tries to kill him with snakes. Or dynamite. I think the pressure would get to me. When do you sleep if everyone is trying to kill you. He seems to enjoy it; especially killing those worthy of his blade. After those, he takes out the white paper in his pocket and wipes his blade clean again. Ready for the next one because there will always be a next one. This film is a little bloodier than the previous ones - not geysers of blood but when he cuts them, they bleed.