Joe Musashi's face on the title sequence resembled that of actor Sonny Chiba dressed as his character Hattori Hanzo from the Japanese TV series Kage no Gundan
Stars Sonny Chiba as Hattori Hanzo. In Kill Bill, Chiba's Hanzo is a distant relative of the original Hattori Hanzo. Much inspiration for Kill Bill came from Season 4, including Lucy Liu's character O-Ren Ishii being named after Sue Shihomi's character O-Ren in Season 4.