A visceral blood-soaked ride to be devoured with the eyes,
not necessarily with the head[1], is how Blind Woman’s Curse (1970) has been
described. Also known as The Tattooed
Swordswoman or by its original Japanese title Kaidan Nobori Rye it was directed by Teruo Ishii best known in the
west for what became known as ero-guro (erotic and grotesque) films of the
1960’s and early 1970’s. The film stars Meiko Kaji as the dragon tattooed
leader of the Tachibana Yakuza clan Akemi Tachibana. Kaji found recognition as
the deadly assassin in the two Lady
Snowblood movies a character that influenced Quentin Tarantino in
the making of Kill Bill (2003).
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| The leader of the Tachibana clan. |
This bizarre cross between the
traditional female Yakuza movie and a Japanese ghost story is certainly
different from other films in this genre, but still manages to inject what all
good Japanese female Yakuza movies should have and that is some great fight
sequences, amazing visuals, a thrilling story and some cool looking women.
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| The mysterious blind swords woman.. |
In a duel with a rival gang Akemi
slashes the eyes of an opponent and a black cat laps the blood from the gushing
wound. Akemi is sentenced to three years in
prison but when she finish’s her term she discovers that the Tachibana clan is
in a weaken position. Taking advantage of this is rival gang boss Dobashi (Toru
Abe) who has placed a mole in the Tachibana clan. He is tasked with the job of making sure that
the Tachibana’s go to war with their rivals and thus giving Dobashi a chance of
wiping out his enemy’s once and for all. With the arrival of a mysterious blind
woman and a trail of dead Yakuza girls who have had their dragon tattoos
skinned from their backs things get very grave
for Akemi….
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