Shokin kasegi (1969)

In 1752, a Dutch ship appeared in Edo Bay and sought the signing of an unconditional Treaty of Amity in return for providing the Tokugawa shogunate with the latest military firearms. Rejected by the shogun, Ieshige, the ship changed course for Satsuma, a powerful domain ruled by an outside daimyo, pretending to be heading home so it could switch to Satsuma as its negotiating partner. On learning of this, the shogunate summoned Ijuin Ukyo, Satsuma Domain’s chief retainer in Edo, to Edo Castle. Ijuin vowed to prevent a Satsuma uprising even at the cost of his own life, then set out overland for Kagoshima. Meanwhile, Senior Councilor Makino Bungo-no-kami, who sought to have Satsuma abolished, sent the covert agent Kagero to obtain evidence of a Satsuma rebellion. Concerned about civil war, Ieshige secretly summoned Shikoro Ichibei, a skilled bounty hunter and Dutch-style physician with whom he was on friendly terms, and asked him to help Ijuin. Ichibei gathered his equipment and set out for Satsuma.