In the late Edo period, there had been no war for 250 years. The impoverished samurai, some chose to leave their clans and become wandering warriors or ronin. Tokuzō Moku no Shin (played by Sōsuke Ikematsu) is one of those wandering samurai. He arrives at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Edo, helping with work in exchange for food to survive. To prevent his swordsmanship from becoming rusty, he practices diligently every day and also teaches sword techniques to a local farmer's son, Ichisuke (played by Takamine Maeda), using a wooden sword. Ichisuke's sister, Koyō (played by Yu Aoi), looks at the two of them with cold eyes as they are immersed in their swordplay all day, but feelings slowly begin to develop between her and Moku no Shin. At that time, Japan was facing pressure from foreign black ships demanding the shogunate to end its isolationist policy, and the long-standing peace began to show signs of upheaval. Koyō's greatest fear was that Moku no Shin would go to the center and get involved in the turmoil.
