After receiving reports, Sir Doi is convinced that Matsudaira represents a severe threat to the entire code of honor for the samurai tradition.

He enlists a troop of assassins to swear a similar blood oath to do away with Matsudaira in order to restore his country's wellbeing and code of honor.

Using clever tactics, Shinzaemon successfully evens the odds against the overwhelming force and defeating the enemy lord and his rival, the leader of the bodyguards, Hanbei.

Miike’s version benefits from a far more generous budget, with a wonderful attention to period sets and costumes and some inventively choreographed fight scenes.

"[6] Between the original 1963 film and the 2010 remake, a 1990 production by Fuji TV aired as a television movie starring noted actor Tatsuya Nakadai in the lead role (Shimada Shinzaemon).