Genroku era, Japan (1688–1704). A husband and wife struggle side-by-side in a remote village in the Nagaoka Domain of Echigo Province. The man plows the desolate land, his wife preparing meals as she waits for his return. Their days are monotonous, without novelty, and yet happy—until suddenly this life is shattered. Robbed of the happiness he was meant to safeguard, the man chooses to return to his old ways.