A lone samurai, plagued by visions of a beautiful woman killed by his own blade, passes out at the edge of a river. An old man finds him and helps revive him. The samurai tells the man of his visions and states that he would like to get as far from the woman, Iku, as he can so that he will never cut her down. The man tells the samurai that if this is so, the samurai must get as far from this place as he can, as the man's daughter is called Iku. The samurai tries to convince the man to let him gaze upon Iku from afar, just to see her alive, and the man reluctantly agrees. As they watch Iku from afar, two armed men approach her. The samurai, believing that he had misinterpreted his visions and that he should instead save her, jumps out to face the armed men, but in so doing, knocks her down against the rocks, killing her.