[1] At the start of the movie, the young and handsome Kanō Sōzaburō (Ryuhei Matsuda) is admitted to the Shinsengumi, an elite samurai group led by Kondō Isami (Yoichi Sai) that seeks to defend the Tokugawa shogunate against reformist forces.

[6] From July 2020 through June 2021, the Criterion Channel streamed the film as part of the feature collection "Scores by Ryuichi Sakamoto".

[7] Criterion's description for the film was; This mesmerizing, atmospheric samurai tale infuses the genre with a subversive undercurrent of homoerotic frisson.

When the young, strikingly handsome Kano Sozaburo (Ryuhei Matsuda) joins an elite samurai unit, his presence unleashes tensions among his fellow swordsmen—including his superior Hijikata Toshizo (Takeshi Kitano)—as they find themselves competing for his affections.

The final feature from iconoclastic auteur Nagisa Oshima is a daring, visually sumptuous exploration of the rigid social codes of nineteenth-century Japan.