[2] On a boat trip to Honshu island, Zatoichi (Katsu) makes the acquaintance of Jumonji (Narita), an expert shogi (Japanese chess) player and swordsman.
However, Miki, the niece of a woman named Otane, is injured in the confusion, compelling Ichi to go to great lengths to procure the medicine needed to cure her injury.
After arriving, further guests arrive- including a young lord named Sasagara, his sister Kume, and their retainer Roppei, the only one who could identify the man who killed their father, over a heated game of shogi.
When The brother and sister reveal a particular quirk of the man who killed their father- rubbing his nose and snapping his finger- Ichi is all but certain of his new friend's guilt in the two murders.
As Zatoichi and Jumonji escort Otane and Miki on their trip, the two men begin a verbal game of shogi, with each move escalating the tension between the two of them.
From contemporary reviews, Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote that the film "has considerably more juice than its predecessor", adding that "[t]he settings, especially the natural panoramas, and the costumes are fetching in quite lovely color.