Gonza the Spearman (1986) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1986 · 126 mins · Japanese

Loading streaming availability…

Directed by

Masahiro Shinoda

Starring

Hideji Ôtaki, Kuniko Miyake, Shima Iwashita, Naoto Takenaka, Misako Tanaka, Shôhei Hino

Set in the appearance‑obsessed Tokugawa era, the story follows handsome Gonza, a notorious ladies’ man, as he rivals Bannojō for the honor of performing a tea ceremony to mark the birth of a clan heir. To gain access to sacred tea scrolls, Gonza vows to marry the scroll‑keeper’s daughter, despite being unofficially engaged elsewhere. While studying the scrolls with the matriarch Osai, Bannojō intrudes, steals their obi and publicly declares the pair adulterers, spiraling the tragedy.