The Hidden Blade

Nagase Masatoshi stars as a samurai, whose adherence to his code of honor is tested by the forces around him. It is mid-nineteenth century Japan, and the way of the samurai is fading, as Western influences and corruption are slowly taking hold in Japan. The samurai rescues a woman (Matsu Takako) who's being abused in her married life, but as a silent romance blossoms between them, his corrupt superiors challenge the samurai's honor. And when his clan orders him to kill a fellow samurai fallen to corruption, can this man of honor - who has never killed - complete his duty? Like in The Twilight Samurai, Yamada Yoji explores complex themes in his depiction of the simple, yet conflicted life of a man following the strictest moral code.