Mt. Norikura's natural fortress, the phantom castle. A white-clad iron mask, offering prayers to the eerie triple-faced deity of the Sennjogadake Rocks - the lord of the phantom castle, scheming to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate that destroyed his lord. Sent by the shogunate to infiltrate Hida,...
Isshin Tasuke, a friend of Ōkubo Hikozōemon, the esteemed public arbitrator of the realm, saved the maid Onatsu from punishment after she accidentally broke a plate gifted by Lord Ieyasu. Tired of the strict samurai service, Tasuke moved to the Genbei tenements and opened a fish shop. This...
Underneath Himeji Castle, Miyamoto Bensuke was determined to inherit the will of his late father, Shinmen Munenori, and aimed to become a great swordsman. For this purpose, he challenged anyone he could to matches and eventually forced a duel upon a martial artist named Arima Kihei, whom he killed....
One night in Edo, a mysterious woman in a palanquin appeared at the moneylender Yamashiroya, revealing herself to a beautiful woman. She told the owner, Shigebē, that she had come to collect a life he owed from twenty years ago and then left. The same night, Maruiya Genbē also received a visit...
During the ultra-violent era of the downfall of the Tokugawa Shogunate one man rose above the rest with his ideas of how to overthrow the corrupt government and end the bloodshed between the Choshu and Satsuma clans which would ultimately lead to the alliance of these 2 clans and restoration of the...
In the third, and final chapter of this epic tale, handsome swordsman Genji helps a vulnerable princess who is in search of a missing scroll that belongs to the Shogun. This is one of the most highly regarded trilogies featuring a youthful Nakamura Kinnosuke in one of his best roles. This was...
During a time of war, Lord Ogata is betrayed by two of his closest vassals and killed by his enemy, Sarashina Danjo. Ten years later, Lord Ogata's only living heir, now a skilled ninja, uses sorcery to avenge the murders of his parents.
A foot soldier from Tottori domain named Shirai Gonpachi showcased exceptional swordsmanship that even surpassed the domain's champion Honjo Sukehichi during a ceremonial match. Though Gonpachi was promised a promotion to samurai status due to his skills, Sukehichi's father Sukezaemon's...
In 1842, in the Umemoku Mansion within Hikone Castle, Naosuke Ii, despite the tumultuous times, was engrossed in the world of tea ceremony. His friend, the Kokugaku scholar Nagano Shuzen, introduced him to a captivating shamisen master named Murayama Taka. Naosuke became deeply infatuated with her,...
Ginpei, in an act of desperation to get money for his gravely ill mother, was laughed at and ended up fighting with the companions of the castle patrol Matsunomura Genba, including Onimatsu. He was later reconciled by the family elder Ishikawa Yoriimo, who also gave him some money. Returning home...
Okazaki Domain samurai Inaba Gotaro accidentally killed a superior while trying to save his beloved geisha, Ko-en. On the run, they were rescued by the actor Nakamura Utaemon, but Ko-en was taken by the Hatamoto, Ono Issai. Gotaro, who fell off a cliff, was saved by the Dutch-trained doctor,...
Famed swordsman Araki Mataemon must face his best friend as they are forced to take opposite sides in a vendetta caused by the murder of a family member.
The undercover agent Tsukinosuke Kigurumi successfully escapes with Kirisaku, who possesses the coveted Shinshu Mountain map targeted by the phantom gang, but loses the key to unlocking it. The one who picks up the key is Osumi, a female courier. (Existing version. Please excuse any deterioration...