Police detective Heiji is assigned to catch the masked Maboroshi gang of robbers who have terrorized all of Edo leaving few clues as to who their leader is.
Based on Kōda Rohan's novella The Five-Storied Pagoda.
Muneyama
A self-absorbed young actor humiliates an elderly Noh performer, who then commits suicide. His act of cruelty compels his father to disown him, leading the once promising actor to a life on the streets. But his desire to win back the respect of his father and the affection of the dead actor's daughter pushes him toward a more noble existence. Naruse employed a delicately structured mise-en-scene in this family melodrama, which evokes the work of Josef von Sternberg.
Assistant Director
Heisaburo Kuritomi é um bom homem que se envolve em brigas e sendo acusado injustamente, acaba sendo expulso pelo seu senhor, tornando-se um Ronin. Sempre buscando limpar o seu nome e manter sua honra acaba se envolvendo em novas desgraças, sendo sempre compreendido pelos outros como culpado. Heisaburo não compreende como o mundo pode ser tão cruel e questiona-se se há justiça no mundo, quando o mundo o mostra cada vez mais que ele estava errado.
