Two poor, married farmers have recently lost their only child; after a freak visitation, they pry open an alien cocoon to greet their new daughter.

Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, elopes with her lover Shinsuke, an employee of her father’s. During their flight, Otsuya’s beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master…

On the eve of the Russo-Japanese war at the beginning of the 20th century, small-town girl Okane has married an old wealthy man to escape a life of poverty.

The four principals in a love affair collide when jealousy, blackmail and suicide enter the picture.

Kisuke, a young bamboo worker marries Tomoe, a geisha who was once involved with Kisuke’s late father.

The lives of five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation is debating the passage of an anti-prostitution law.