Kenji Misumi
Kenji Misumi (1921–1975) was a Japanese director who specialized in the elegant samurai features of postwar Japanese genre cinema. A longtime contract director at Daiei studios, he developed a stylish, painterly sensibility for the chambara form, alternating between large-scale historical epics and pulp-fiction-influenced popular series. He directed the first three Zatoichi features that established the iconic blind swordsman and four of the Lone Wolf and Cub features. His acclaimed films include The Tale of Zatoichi, Destiny's Son, The Sword, Sword of Doom, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx, and Hanzo the Razor: Sword of Justice.