Zatoichi saves a dishonest gambler from a beating or worse. The gambler shows his gratitude by trying to rob Zatoichi and is killed. His wife doesn't take it well.
Zatoichi stumbles into the lives of a poor fireworks maker and his mostly deaf daughter. The man is trying to invent a new firework, provide for his daughter, be a good host, and deal with the local yakuza.
A young girl who wants to kill herself finds a friend in Zatoichi and an independent-minded yakuza is fascinated by him, but the local yakuza are after him for the fame and glory. The bond the three share is tested by their antagonists.
Bizarre murders terrify the streets, targeting low-class prostitutes. Zatoichi is joined by the simple-minded Sannosuke. They encounter a woman named Okita while on their journey.
A group of yakuza slaughter the men of a village. Zaotoichi witnesses the act, beginning the wheel of encounters with those involved. Ichi offers redemption but those on the wrong path must suffer before realizing it.
A decade previously Zatoichi promised a little girl that he would return to see her. On his return, a woman about ten years older has recruited some people to kill the local boss for a grievance.
At an inn waiting to cross an impassable river in the rain are Ichi, a fugitive, a constable on his tail, yakuza, samurai, and dozens of other people crammed in. Ichi plays referee with the fugitive and cop and tries to keep the peace.
Ichi happens upon a humble, retired master enamored of fine tea bowls and a master potter, hiding from his clan and in search of heretofore elusive perfection.
Ichi keeps a worthless drunk from being beaten and the drunk repays him with questionable kindness, putting him up in his ramshackle hut in the woods which he tries to fool Ichi into thinking is a mansion.
Ichi meets a woman searching for her daughter who has been missing since being kidnapped by slavers as a child. Unfortunately some gangsters want to prey on her hope.
A man who has acquired some money sees Zatoichi's skill and enlists him as a traveling companion. The man's reputation as a thief and burden on society precedes him on his return to his hometown.
A woman grifting for her future husband by pretending to be the widow of recently deceased men is caught in the act and Zatoichi steps in to take care of her and her child.
Zatoichi adopts a dog or rather the dog adopts him. When the dog is injured he takes it to a veterinarian who happens to be treating a young man who felt the edge of Zatoichi's sword.
Zatoichi intervenes when an old man is being beaten. The old man, a renowned thief, asks Zatoichi to accompany him to tell his daughter where his fortune is hidden. But the thief doesn't make it home.
A man trying to rob a gambling house gets his cut from the edge of Zatoichi's sword, but Zatoichi refuses to let the local gang take his life. He happens upon him years later, happily married, but still occasionally beset by temptation.
Zatoichi meets a friend, Risuke, formerly an enemy, each going to visit rival bosses in a town, Zatoichi to Fujishiro and Risuke to Kuroiso. A member of Fujishiro is killed and his fellow gang member seeks revenge.
Boss Fujishiro prepares for the funeral of Hide and fully severs his ties with Seikichi, while Seikichi tries to help Hide's widow and prepare to avenge his death. Meanwhile Zatoichi and Risuke contemplate life and their past.
A young woman who meets Zatoichi takes on many disguises or "steals other people's lives". Her life and stories entwine both the local gang, her dead mother, and Zatoichi.
Blind people who make a pilgrimage to the top of a mountain in hopes of getting their sight are instead kidnapped by yakuza and enslaved to work in a mine. The boss's woman feels for Zatoichi and tries to help him.
