A period mystery in which an unconventional priest exposes the truth behind the bizarre death of a maid in the shogun's harem. Kinuyo Tanaka stylishly plays a constantly intoxicated geisha in this all-star entertainment film.

In the early 18th-century, Lord Takuminokami Asano, feuding with Lord Kira, tries to kill his opponent in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Asano to seppuku and deprives the palace and lands from his clan, but does not punish Kira. Asano's vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and want to seek revenge against the Lord's dishonour. But their leader Kuranosuke Oishi seeks to restore the Asano clan with his brother Daigaku Asano. One year later, the Shogun refuses, and Oishi and 46 rōnin are out for revenge.

The tale of a feudal swordsman who cynically takes no responsibility for anything, relegating it to others, and then taking the credit.

A lost film by Masahiro Makino

1957 Japanese movie

On the night the shogunate's treasury was breached, the guard Utsugi had already been taken down. His colleague Ryunosuke felt responsible and decided to catch the culprit, not only for the sake of the beautiful wife of Utsugi, Chika, but also for his own honor. Chika's younger brother Shinjiro and the powerful Uechi family living near Ryunosuke's abode, join hands to support Ryunosuke. Counterfeit coins begin to surface—a scheme by the corrupt faction led by Yanagisawa. The henchman behind this is Koyamada Tesshin, who gathers ronin to amplify Yanagisawa's power. Among those ronin is Tendo Sakon—a man who drinks silently and plays the flute when in a mood.

During the tumultuous end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Tengu Party rose in rebellion in Mito. Friends from their hometown, Tanaka Genzo and Fujita Koshiro, each walked different paths. Koshiro, who upheld the philosophy of "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians," became a leader of the Tengu Party, taking refuge in the mountains. Genzo, however, did not have any particular ideological stance.

In Marugame Domain of Shikoku, a low-ranking foot soldier named Tagami Genbachi was envied for marrying Tsuji, the most beautiful woman in the domain. However, due to a personal grudge held by Horikawa Gentazaemon, the swordsmanship instructor, Genbachi met an untimely and bitter death through foul means within the precincts of the Hachiman Shrine. Due to the domain's oppressive treatment of those of low status, Tsuji, now with her infant son Botaro, was dispossessed of her home and exiled.

1950 Japanese movie