Once he and Kesa are safe, Morito proves his loyalty to Kiyomori by personally riding to him to deliver news about the insurrection, including his brother's disloyalty.

Realizing that Kesa has sacrificed herself rather than subject herself or anyone else to his insanity, Morito fruitlessly begs Wataru to kill him in penance.

As Wataru mourns his dead wife, Morito kneels in the courtyard, cuts off his samurai topknot and vows to live thereafter as a monk.

After the Japan Society sponsored a U.S. release of the film in December 1954, Bosley Crowther reviewed it for The New York Times.

According to Crowther:[8] The secret, perhaps, of its rare excitement is the subtlety with which it blends a subterranean flood of hot emotions with the most magnificent flow of surface serenity.

The tensions and agonies of violent passions are made to seethe behind a splendid silken screen of stern formality, dignity, self-discipline and sublime esthetic harmonies.

The very essence of ancient Japanese culture is rendered a tangible stimulant in this film.On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 13 reviews, with an average score of 8.3/10.