#hizamaru

The Narrator talks about how the story of the Soga brothers, one of the three great revenge stories of Japan, isn't forgotten even centuries later. Today, they will tell it together with two masked actors who will play the main roles.

At the end of the Heian period, after losing the Heiji Rebellion, Minamoto no Yoritomo was exiled. Around that time, the two brothers of this tale were born. Since childhood, they were inseparable.

Little Juro and Goro happily play around. When they see their Mother, Juro tells her that they saw wild geese by the lake, and Goro gives her flowers. The Mother reveals some good news: their Father will return soon! Excited brothers see the flock of geese they saw earlier fly by and recognize that it has a father, a mother, a big brother and a small brother. The brothers' Father comes back, and the four spend time together as a family.

Around that time, the Father got entangled in a territorial conflict with Kudo Suketsune, and Suketsune shot him dead.

The family is distraught; Mother is in mourning, Juro wants revenge and Goro is too young to understand that his father is gone. Even though she still misses her late husband, the Mother has no choice but to remarry into the Soga clan, and she discourages Juro from seeking revenge. The brothers see the geese again, but this time they get upset because, unlike the birds, they don't have their father anymore.

After being adopted into the Soga clan, Juro was training every day for the sake of revenge, while Goro was grief-stricken.

Goro decides he wants to get stronger and asks Juro to teach him how to wield a sword. The two brothers want to get stronger for each other's sake. However, as the two get better, their Mother interferes. She doesn't want to lose them as well, so she sends Goro away to become a priest.

After that incident, the country was thrust into a war. Nine years after the Father's death, the Battle of Dan-no-Ura led to the destruction of the Heike clan. The victorious Minamoto no Yoritomo became the shogun and created the era of warriors. Juro, now of age, continued his training to exact revenge, while Goro joined Hakone Shrine and prayed for his father's peace.

Sleepy Goro sweeps his broom around and ends up swinging it like a sword. He hasn't actually forgotten his desire to avenge his father. The Head Priest smacks him for getting distracted, and Goro pretends to practice syllabary. Goro wants to put a booger on the Priest as a prank, but he is noticed and pretends he was acting like a mouse instead. The Priest starts a prayer, and Goro repeats after him while weaving some insults into his chant. The Priest knows that Goro isn't paying attention, so he starts saying festival chants, and Goro acts like he is actually at the festival. Once Goro realizes he is caught, the Priest chases him away.

The time passes, but the brothers don't forget about their vengeance. Even if they are apart, they still think about each other.

Yoritomo organized a great tournament, and Suketsune became one of his chief vassals. The brothers still wanted their revenge, even though they knew they would become enemies of the Genji.

Juro meets a "wandering monk". Even though it's been ten years, he immediately recognizes him as Goro. The two brothers are happily reunited, and Goro reveals that he hasn't actually become a monk. Every day he has prayed in front of Buddha about his desire to kill Suketsune. Brothers have a little sparring and talk about how much they missed each other.

To express their gratitude to those who took care of Goro, the two brothers went to Hakone Shrine. They didn't talk about their revenge, but the Priest understood their desire.

The Priest gives Goro a sword. In the past, it used to belong to Minamoto no Yoshitsune, who left it at the shrine as an offering to pray for victory against the Heike. Goro is impressed with the sword, and once the formalities are done, the brothers and the Priest bid their farewells.

After they received the sword, the brothers went to visit their Mother to offer her their final farewells in this life.

The brothers ask their Mother to give them her blessing, but she refuses. She doesn't want them to die, even if it is for the sake of their deepest wish. She threatens to disown them and doesn't turn even when they beg to see her face last time. The brothers offer her the last dance to express their gratitude; the Mother is moved to see traces of their father in them and joins their dance. In the end, the Mother gives them her blessing, even though it greatly pains her. After the brothers leave, the heartbroken Mother thinks how foolish she was to let them go, since their revenge won't bring back their father.

After the brothers finished bidding their farewells, they went to Mount Fuji, where Yoritomo held a large hunting event. On 28 June 1193, they finally found Suketsune.

The brothers introduce themselves and fight the Genji men. They search for Suketsune, but he finds them first. He shoots an arrow at Goro, but Juro covers him in time. Injured Juro tells Goro to go ahead and fights off more of the Genji men that try to capture him. Meanwhile, Goro is searching for Suketsune. Suketsune tries to shoot him again, but this time Goro manages to dodge. He grabs the arrow and tells Suketsune he is here to take his life. While the two fight, Suketsune's man catches Goro with a chain. Suketsune injures Goro, but Juro comes to his rescue. Suketsune repels attacks from both brothers; he attempts to slash Juro, but Juro ducks in time, so only a bamboo pole behind him gets cut. Suketsune overpowers the brothers; he is about to strike Goro, but Juro once again takes a hit for him. Enraged Goro attacks Suketsune, only to get a slash across his back from a counterattack. Suketsune is about to finish Goro off, but Juro pierces him with the cut bamboo pole and shouts to Goro to kill him. With their adversary finally defeated, the brothers pray and collapse.

The two manage to stand up, but their wounds catch up to them, and they fall again. Juro says he can hear cries of geese again, just like during their childhood. He is happy that they finally achieved their goal and tries to reach Goro, but dies before their hands meet. Goro calls out to him, telling him that there is indeed a flock of geese flying by. He crawls towards Juro, assuring him that there is a father and a mother, but before he can reach Juro or finish his sentence, he dies as well.

Under heavy rain, a mournful mother finds her sons. All she ever wanted was for them to live, but now she can only offer them a prayer.