Daimajin

In Hanabusa Tadakiyo's domain, Ōdate Samanosuke stages a coup and seizes control. He and his henchmen slaughter Hanabusa and his wife, leaving the village terrified and leaderless. The act begins a brutal reign that reshapes life in the hills.

The son and daughter escape the massacre with the help of the loyal samurai Kogenta. They flee toward safety, aided by Kogenta’s intervention and the protection of his aunt Shinobu.

At the village shrine, the ancient ritual to pacify Daimajin is interrupted by Samanosuke's men. Elderly priestess Shinobu warns of a terrible curse if the idol is harmed. Her warning goes unheeded as fear and hunger drive people to despair.

Kogenta escorts the children to Shinobu's house, and she leads them up the mountain toward the forbidden temple. They reach the half-buried stone idol of the mountain god near a waterfall, behind an ancient sanctuary known only to Shinobu. The trek marks the crossing from safety into sacred danger.

The children grow to adulthood while the village endures Samanosuke's brutal rule. He uses the villagers as slaves and starves them into submission. Retainers begin to return, hinting at a looming rebellion.

Kogenta travels back to gather the old retainers but is captured by Samanosuke's forces. The village's resistance falters as fear tightens its grip.

Take-bō informs Tadafumi and Kozasa of Kogenta's capture, prompting a rescue attempt that turns into a trap. Tadafumi and Kozasa are captured and scheduled for execution.

Shinobu confronts the tyrant and is slain by Samanosuke. With her final breath, she curses him to die a merciless death and warns that destroying the idol will unleash Daimajin's wrath. Her sacrifice deepens the myth surrounding the mountain guardian.

The crew traveling up the mountain to smash the idol accidentally discovers Kozasa and Take-bō and is forced to take them to the statue. They hammer the idol's head with a colossal chisel, and blood begins to drip as the earth cracks open. The workers are swallowed by the riven ground.

Kozasa begs the god of the mountain to save her brother and Kogenta and punish the wicked Samanosuke. With her pleas, the idol's bloodstained stone begins to glow as Daimajin Arakatsuma awakens. The statue strides into the clearing, alive at last.

Daimajin rescues Kogenta and Tadafumi from their crosses and destroys Samanosuke's fortress with its immense power. It impales Samanosuke on the chisel driven into its forehead. The tyrant's downfall signals the guardian's dramatic turning of the tide.

Take-bō begs Daimajin to stop as the rampage nears its end, and Kozasa steps forward to plead for mercy. Her tears fall on the statue's stone feet, and Daimajin's rage begins to fade. The guardian's presence seems to soften, if only briefly.

Daimajin's anger subsides as its spirit leaves the idol, restoring it to its former shape. It collapses into rubble, sealing the guardian back within the mountain and ending the village's nightmare. The mountain falls quiet again as the villagers reckon with the guardian's return to stone.