“An incisive portrait of superstar Shintaro Katsu - actor, producer, director. Katsu is the creator of Zatoichi, the intrepid blind swordsman and most beloved film hero of Japanese of all ages. Flamboyant and unpredictable, impatient, quixotic, and passionately creative, Katsu is a man living on the very brink of life, yet outrageously confident that he is at life's center. Through its turbulent and passionate hero, this film reveals an aspect of Japanese society little known to outsiders. ‘Lest American audiences suppose all Japanese are essentially mild,' explains director John Nathan, ‘I wanted to capture high-energy, self-assurance, a virulent personality. I have never beheld a man so absolutely in control of his surroundings. Katsu impressed me as a reigning monarch, an Emperor of the Night. His evident hunger for every moment that life can afford him is astonishing, and so is his energy.'”