[1][2][3] Set within a Kyoto geisha house against the backdrop of the 1864 Kinmon incident, the film follows the lives and relationships of the women who work there, while battles rage in the streets outside as rebel factions attempt to restore the emperor's reign.

Akira, daughter of the house's madam Tomi, hopes to escape her milieu with the help of a young samurai rebel whom she met.

After the women witness a killing at their front door, Tomi is taken away for an interrogation by the shogunate's secret police and does not return.

In the end, the women leave the house, with only Akira left behind, who realises that she may never see her mother and her lover again.

Morimoto's play had originally been written for and performed by the Bungakuza theatre troupe.