[3] Other historical figures from the period who have also become objects of folklore, such as Fujiwara no Michinaga and the rebel Taira no Masakado also make an appearance.
The story begins at Mount Ashigara in Sagami Province in the Shōryakuera, where the young Kintoki is caught in a bloody family feud.
Five years later (in Chōtoku 1) she joins Raikō and his associates in policing the capital during a period of unrest caused by an outbreak of disease and bandits from Oeyama.
Unbeknownst to Kintoki, the bandit leader Shuten Dōji is in fact her cousin, Ohni-hime.
The Oeyama bandits are secretly acting in cooperation Fujiwara no Michinaga, who hopes to use the chaos they cause to extend his control over the government.