A low-ranking samurai leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-19th Century. A widower with two daughters and a senile mother, he must work in the fields to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces her brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai and is forced to duel with a recalcitrant clan member who refuses to commit suicide. He's forced to face this man with a wooden sword, having hocked his real one. The consequences are cruel.