I saw a Mandarin dubbed English subtitled version of this film intended for Chinese audiences christened LADY TIGER AND SWORD.

Sister Oichi is a blind swordswoman hired to carry an important scroll of unknown contents, (since she can't see them),to a local scientist. On the journey she helps a pair of homeless teenage siblings and is challenged by a great number of swordsmen who try to take the scroll from her. We eventually learn that the scroll contains a formula for a powerful bomb. A wicked government general has sent an army to attain the scroll against the 13 year old emperor's wishes for the bomb not to be used as a military weapon.

This is another of the many, and understandably, post Hiroshima `big bombs are bad' film plots. CRIMSON BAT may be a poor man's ZATOICHI but Yoko Matsuyama's portrayal of Sister Oichi is pretty fine. Okay so she's no Junko Fuji (Red Peony Gambler) but she has a sweet motherly face which adds an unusual element to her bloody fights. The action & pacing are decent and the setting and costumes are quite lovely.