Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of conflict, longs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rivaI clan, 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 cIan intrigue, ninja spies, and muItipIe doubIe crosses, marks a boId styIistic departure from swordplay fiIm convention. |