Matsutaro Kawaguchi and Yoshikata Yoda thus: “The feeling of wartime must be apparent in the attitude of every character. The violence of war unleashed by those in power on a pretext of the national good must overwhelm the common people with suffering—moral and physical. Yet the commoners, even under these conditions, must continue to live and eat. This theme is what I especially want to emphasize here. How should I do it?”

In the civil war of 16^th century Japan, a potter and his brother leave their families behind in order to profit from wartime demand for the potter’s wares in a neighboring village. Genjuro, the potter, played by Masayuki Mori, is hungry for wealth; Tobei (Eitaro Ozawa) wants glory as a samurai. Genjuro is seduced by a beautiful ghost, Lady Wakasa (Machiko Kyo), and Tobei endures much humiliation before he becomes a samurai by chance. Mizoguchi shows the suffering of the peasantry in wartime particularly through the plight of the wives as the men are blinded in the pursuit of their grandiose dreams.

The director has a signature “flowing scroll” of long, uninterrupted takes. He shoots mostly master shots, a majority with cranes. There are very few closeups. The title scenes are that of a medieval scroll reminiscent of a kimono. As his camera moves, he manages to straddle the real and the supernatural with ease, particularly in the famous lake scene where a mysterious man warns the protagonists of pirates before he dies. A keening soundtrack accompanies the mists and fog surrounding the boat on which the terrified peasants are huddled. Cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa worked with Mizoguchi six times, including his last film,Mizoguchi was a perfectionist, often doing hundreds of retakes before he was satisfied and constantly asking for rewrites in the middle of shooting. He was also uncompromising on historical detail like the costumes, props, and suits of armor for the soldiers.