Set in the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), this tragic love story takes its cue from a celebrated historical case tried by magistrate Tadasuke Ooka, whose shrewd legal decisions became the stuff of legend. Okuma Shirokoya, the daughter of a lumber merchant in Edo (today’s Tokyo), embarked on an affair and was executed after conspiring with her maid to murder her husband. (Source: https://festival.ilcinemaritrovato.it/en/proiezione/shirokoya-komako/)
Hamako has just started working for her personal hero, Madame Yuki. Her romanticized view of the Madame is broken immediately, though, as she is introduced with a ever-growing list of the Madame’s personal problems.