As a minor gangster he has a large retinue of toughs he uses to bully and intimidate others and he owns a silk weaving factory where at least some of his weavers work to service debt and are actually in bondage.
Still weak and severely wounded from his previous fight, Zatoichi nevertheless defeats those holding Oshizu and instructs a redeemed Oaki to lead her to her father back at the factory.
Oshizu cradles her brother's dead body and cries while Zatoichi backs up and then begins to walk away, alone again as the background song says "only the cicadas cry..." J. Doyle Wallis, in a review for DVD Talk, wrote: "Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda, the helmer of Zatoichi's Cane Sword and Daimajin, this entry has a pretty hard and sinister edge.
While Ichi always tangles with the bad guys, they are usually typical faceless hordes of just-going-about-their-job gangsters or stone faced, expert swordsmen willing to test their skills for the satisfaction or the money.
Likewise, while Ichi has been shown to get hurt or be in trouble, this entry finds him beaten and shot, bloodied and battered more so than usual, or at least until the next to last, original cycle film, Zatoichi In Desperation.