Synopsis

Tadatoshi Hosokawa, feudal lord of the Higo area, dies in the spring of the 18th year of Kanei (1624-1644). Although before he died, Tadatoshi forbade his vassals to follow him in death--and the new feudal lord, his son Mitsunao, does the same--the vassals still commit seppuku one after the other. At first, Abe Yaichiemon obeys his former lord's last wish but is now being called a coward by his comrades and finally decides to follow Tadatoshi in death in order to save his family's honor. Mitsunao, upset by Yaichiemon's actions, punishes the Abe family unfairly. Objecting to this, the Abe family shut themselves up in their manor as the lord's troops move in. Based on a true story from the early Edo era.