loved this scene. like a quick draw contest between two gunslingers in a western. Zatoichi gets in close blocks the other man's draw and has him before anyone knew what happened.
@@DanielTejnicky claiming that he can see at the end was a ruse to put enough hesitation into his opponent to do him in. Ichi was skilled in more things than sword, dice and massage. ;)
The awkward silence in the room when Genosuke watches Ichi, the way he sheaths his sword after the drop, stands up ready for it to kick off... This is a lovely movie. Wish Takeshi had done another Zatoichi movie.
It's also a really important scene in the film. At the end during the show down, the Ronin remembered Zatoichi's words here, and tried to outsmart him with a different draw, only to be preempted by Zatoichi again. Also, the old servant here tried to check out Zatoichi's walking stick to see if it's indeed a sword, and as a result revealed himself to Zatoichi that he's the mob boss in hiding.
