During war, the samurai thrives on killing, but in peacetime, it is his turn to die. In this violent yet poetic masterpiece, Masaki Kobayashi exposes the harsh code of honor of the 17th-century samurai. After an unemployed warrior is forced by a feudal lord to commit harakiri, his father-in-law returns to the scene, seemingly to play out the same agonizing suicide ritual. Tensions grow to excruciating levels until the thrilling climax, when the elder warrior strikes out one last time against the abusive society that crafted such cruelty.