A noble samurai serving the Shogun as 'Kogi Kaishaku-nin' (Official Executioner) is the target of a plot by the evil Yagyu Clan to take away his position and replace him with a member of their own family. When his wife is murdered and evidence is produced that he was plotting against the Shogun the Code of Bushido calls for him and his son to commit sepuku. Instead he defies the Shogun's orders and takes up arms against his enemies, becoming an assassin for hire.
田村正和
as Ogami Itto
仲代達矢
as Yagyu Retsudo
Yushi Shoda
as Daigoro
藤村志保
as Wife of the Chamberlain
橋爪功
as Yagyu Bizen
池上季実子
as Yagyu Chizuro
石橋蓮司
as Matsudaira
岩下志麻
as Abandoned woman bearing a daughter
河原崎長一郎
as Chamberlain giving shelter to Ogami Itto
古手川祐子
as Ogami Azami
益岡徹
as Yagyu Kurando
田中邦衛
as Buddhist Priest
