Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of confIict, Iongs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rival cIan, however, the world of swordsmen is thrown into turmoil. After Sarutobi is unwittingIy drawn into the confIict, he tracks Koriyama, while a mysterious, white-hooded figure seems to hunt them both. By tale's end, no one is who they seemed to be, and the truth is far more personal than anyone suspected. Director Masahiro Shinoda's taIe, filIed with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multipIe double crosses, marks a bold stylistic departure from swordpIay film convention. |