Kazuo Inami

This is a story of "Takechiyo," the previous name of Iemitsu Tokunaga, the third Shogun (General). Takechiyo got sick of daily run-of-the-mill tasks, and it put him off being the Shogun, saying "there is no truth". Then, Hikozaemon Ookubo took him to Tasuke Isshin to bring him up into a full-fledged and admirable man.

On the Kōshū Kaidō road, merchant Sōjirō is poisoned, robbed, and pushed off a cliff by former courtesan Okuma and her lover. A year later, a fugitive named Shinsuke, on the run after killing his wife, encounters a sinister, heavily made-up man. He soon realizes this man is the vengeful spirit of Sōjirō…

While on a pilgrimage, young monk Sōchō sees a waterfall turn blood-red, a sight villagers fear is the curse of a woman who drowned herself years ago. Ignoring their warnings, he ventures into the haunted Tenbu Pass to find a missing medicine seller. There, he encounters a stunning woman in a remote house, but anyone who touches her is transformed into an animal…

Dance teacher Omiyo survives a double suicide with her lover and is forced into life as the courtesan Tamagiku in Yoshiwara. Living in misery, she meets Gengo, her lover’s look-alike brother, and they fall in love. Jealous rival Naraya frames Gengo as a criminal, and he is struck by lightning and killed before Tamagiku’s eyes. After her own death, Tamagiku rises from hell to seek revenge on Naraya and his allies.

Iemon Fukasawa, a masterless samurai, marries Oiwa but is repulsed by a dark mark on her face. He descends into alcoholism and starts an affair with O-hana, a maid carrying another man’s child. Together, they conspire to poison Oiwa, killing her and disposing of her body in a moat. But Oiwa’s vengeful spirit rises from the depths, seeking revenge.

After two thugs are killed, Dobu and his crew have three days to catch the murderers. Dobu suspects a hidden mastermind influencing the magistrate.