When a troupe of entertainers arrive in a small town after a four-year absence, "Kihachi" (Takeshi Sakamoto) is hoping to reunite with his now adult son "Shinkichi" (Kôji Mitsui). Snag? Well his mother - and the erstwhile mistress of our circus master - "Otsune" (Chôko Iida) has brought the lad up believing that his father was a successful civil servant, as that he is dead! Now to be fair to "Kihachi", though he did not hang around and be a traditional father - his lifestyle could not have supported that - he has provided for his son by funding his schooling which has seen the young man…