"Tamiya" (Tomisaburô Wakayama) is a samurai who has fallen on hard times due to his hot temper and is extremely depressed because his wife, "Oiwa" (Yoshiko Fujishiro) has left him after he killed a man. At the same time, Oiwa's father is almost destitute and in order to make ends meet he sells his other daughter, "Osode" (Hiroko Sakuramachi) into indentured servitude to what he believes is a massage parlor. What he doesn't know is that she has actually been sold to a brothel and she is expected to begin working that very night. This upsets a samurai named "Yomoshichi" (Sentarô Fushimi) who wants to marry her but is unable to do anything about her circumstances for the time being because he has been called upon to leave that very night on an assignment for about a year. Taking advantage of this turn of events, an unscrupulous salesman named "Naosuke" (Jûshirô Konoe) befriends Tamiya and convinces him to kill Oiwa's father in order to get Oiwa to come back to him. That same night Naosuke also kills a man he believes to be Yomoshichi so that he can have Osode all to himself. Afterward, Tamiya tells Oiwa that two unknown samurai have killed her father and swears vengeance upon them in order to convince Oiwa to come back to him. At Naosuke's suggestion he also convinces Oiwa that Osode would be better off in Naosuke's temporary care. To that end, both Tamiya and Naosuke get what they want. Unfortunately, things change when an attractive woman moves in and causes Tamiya to lose all interest in Oiwa. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this is a fine movie that manages to blend drama, intrigue and horror in a most artful manner. Be advised, however, that the movie I watched was filmed in black-and-white and used English subtitles which might be a distraction for some viewers. Although this didn't bother me in the least I thought I should at least mention it just in case. Be that as it may, I found this film to be quite entertaining and recommend it to viewers who might enjoy a picture of this sort.
