Charu Inoue

Otose ages out of her orphanage and tries to find a way to become independent just as her mother, Yoko, along with inescapable childhood memories, return to spoil a fresh start, forcing Otose to relive the past and confront long-repressed traumas.

Set in Kyoto in the last days of the Edo Period, the bloody conflict continues between local feudal domains, which aim to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate, and the Shogun's police and city patrol. Tajuro Kiyokawa, once the master of the sword but now a depraved samurai who left his domain putting aside his past ambition, barely makes ends meet. Toyo, a woman who runs a tavern next door, feels affection for Tajuro who guards her place against nasty customers, but he never realizes Toyo's feelings.