紫千代

1957 Japanese movie

Detective Denshichi is called to investigate the mysterious disappearance of the Kishu family's daughter Teruhime and the activities of a dangerous group dressed as skulls and their female leader.

Kofu duty guard Yamauchi Hinata-kami cultivated illegal drugs and had them sold through Omiya, a drug wholesaler in Edo Muromachi. One day, a strange spell descends on Omiya, killing his wife Osetsu, and then his second daughter Okyo as well. After that, there was a rumor that a ghost playing a flute appeared in the town of Edo. Sanshiro Tachibana, a member of the Kitamachi Magistrate Doshin, asked Denshichi to investigate these incident.

In early summer in Edo, Sanshirō, known for his beautiful singing, is a devoted son living in a tenement with his blind mother Okura. He works as a delivery boy for the caterer "Yaoyorozu." His brother, Chōjirō, who disliked being a plasterer, ran away from home and became a subordinate of the yakuza Yamashita no Gonsuke. On a delivery, Sanshirō catches a vagrant child, Erippē, stealing a flower hairpin from Ochiyo, the daughter of the wealthy merchant Narumiyaya Bunzaimon. Impressed by Sanshirō's character, Bunzaimon considers him as a potential son-in-law for Ochiyo, who admires Sanshirō.