This lyrical movie, directed by Kei Kuwai and based on a script by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, chronicles the lives of two women at a brothel in ancient Japan. O-Shin (Nagiko Tono) cuts through class divisions by falling in love with a young samurai, while the more experienced Kikuno (Misa Shimizu) juggles two suitors -- one gentle, one not. When a stranger, Ryosuke (Masatoshi Nagase), shows up at their doorstep, everything changes.