Toshio Enoki

While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman and her daughter-in-law survive by killing samurai who stray into their swamp, then selling whatever valuables they find. Both are devastated when they learn that Kichi has died, but his wife soon begins an affair with a neighbor who survived the war, Hachi. The mother disapproves and, when she can't steal Hachi for herself, tries to scare her daughter-in-law with a mysterious mask from a dead samurai.

瀬戸内海に浮かぶ小さな孤島に四人家族が住んでいた。千太とトヨとその息子たち、太郎と次郎だ。島には水がないので、畑を耕すためにも、毎日船で大きな島へ水を汲みに行かなければならない。子供たちは隣島の学校に通っているので、彼らを船で送り迎えするのも千太とトヨの仕事だ。会話もなく、変化のない日常が続いていた。しかしある日、太郎が高熱を出してしまう。千太は医者を探すのだが…。