Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.

A theater troupe master's visit with his old flame unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

Follows five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation debates the passage of an anti-prostitution law.

In postwar Japan, a new teacher, Miyamoto Yasuko, is discovered by her estranged daughter, Fukuoka Shōko, at a high school. As Yasuko confronts her past, she navigates themes of forgiveness, identity, and motherhood, addressing social taboos of the time.

Two Jesuit priests encounter persecution when they travel to Japan in the 17th century to spread Christianity and search for their mentor.

When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.

Fleeing a distressing family situation, Eiko, a very young girl, becomes an apprentice to Miyoharu, a veteran geisha. Both, determined to preserve their professional integrity, must face the selfishness and ambition of several petty people.

A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her.