Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
Elenco: Tatsuya Nakadai , Akira Ishihama , Shima Iwashita , Tetsurō Tamba , Masao Mishima , Ichirô Nakatani , Kei Satō , Yoshio Inaba , Hisashi Igawa , Tōru Takeuchi , Yoshirô Aoki , Tatsuo Matsumura , Akiji Kobayashi , Kôichi Hayashi , Ryûtarô Gomi , Jo Azumi , Nakajirô Tomita , Shichisaburo Amatsu , Kenzô Tanaka , Shin Nakahara , Tsuneo Ikeda , Minoru Miyagi , Takaaki Kadota , Ichiro Yamamoto , Gen Takasugi , Satoshi Nishida , Tetsuro Komiyama , Shûichirô Narita , Noboru Kasuga , Shinpachi Kura , Kenji Hayashi , Shôtarô Hayashi , Shimezo Kataoka , Bunya Ozawa , Konosuke Takemoto , Rentaro Mikuni .