In the Edo period, a nameless ronin accepts an assignment to go to a mountain pass and wait. Near the pass he stops at an inn where a collection of characters gather, including a gang set on stealing shogunate gold that's soon to come over the pass. When the Ronin's assignment becomes clear, to help the gang, he's ordered to kill the inn's residents, including a woman he's rescued from an abusive husband. He's reluctant to murder innocent people; then he learns that the gold shipment is a trap and he's part of a double cross. How he sorts through these divided loyalties tests of his samurai honor, and perhaps of his love for a woman.
Stars: Toshirō Mifune, Yūjirō Ishihara, Ruriko Asaoka, Shintarō Katsu, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Chūsha Ichikawa
Crew: Hiroshi Inagaki (Director), Kazuo Yamada (Director of Photography), Hideo Oguni (Writer), Ichirō Miyagawa (Writer), Hajime Takaiwa (Writer), Yoshihiro Araki (Editor)
Country: Japan
Language: 日本語
Studio: TOHO, Mifune Productions
Runtime: 118 minutes
Quality: HD
Released: Apr 21, 1970
IMDb: 4.2
Keywords:samurai, ambush, sword fight, betrayal, katana sword, samurai sword, bandit, double cross, ronin, inn, jidaigeki, edo period
