An epic chanbara (sword fighting film) in compact form, Kiru depicts the life of Shingo Takakura (Raizô Ichikawa), a master samurai with a mysterious past and an unvanquishable combat technique. When his surrogate father (Shinjirô Asano) is killed by a jealous rival, Shingo learns of his true origin as the abandoned offspring of a female assassin (Shiho Fujimura) and her lover-turned-executioner (Shigeru Amachi). Shingo's journey through the 19th Century Japanese countryside as a twice-orphaned wanderer ultimately lands him in the employ of an honorable shogunate (Eijirô Yanagi) with powerful enemies during a period of political upheaval. As adapted from a Renzaburô Shibata novel by legendary screenwriter Kaneto Shindō, Kiru meditates on the profundity and fragility of father-son relationships, a theme of personal significance to director Kenji Misumi, whose relationship with his own father suffered from abandonment and rejection. Misumi’s subtle yet poignant touches result in a minor chanbara masterpiece in which a young man must find his calling, with and without the guidance of a sensei.