![Toshirō Mifune](http://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w92/1XIx25z0CUZ4Z9VkauCwmSTvPp0.jpg)
Shinkichi, a peasant employed as a cloth-dyer, has a dream: in the midst of the civil war which ravages Japan, he hopes to revive the long-banned custom of the Kyoto Gion Festival, and by doing so, bring together the warring clans and rampaging brigands in peaceful celebration.