The Whale God

On Hirado Island, in the early Meiji era, a whaling village loses many men to a gigantic North Pacific right whale. The threat of the Whale God casts a long shadow over the community. A widow raises her sons to avenge their father and grandfather's deaths, fanning a fierce hunger for vengeance against the whale.

After the elder son is killed while hunting the Whale God, the village looks to vengeance. This tragedy pushes Shaki to become the village's chief harpooner, sharpening his skills with every chase. The pursuit of the Whale God becomes a personal mission for him.

The elder promises land, title and his daughter Toyo to the man who kills the Whale God. Shaki accepts the challenge, seeing it as a path to honor and restitution. Kishū, an outsider from Kishū, is drawn into the same contest.

Kishū arrives from Kishū and enters the contest for the Whale God. In early clashes, Kishū defeats Shaki in several fights, while Shaki refuses to duel him directly, insisting his only opponent is the Whale God.

Shaki berates his friend, the fiancé of his sister, when the friend leaves for Nagasaki to train as a doctor. He warns that no man should abandon the village until the Whale God is slain.

A local peasant girl named Ei loves Shaki, but he remains fixated on the Whale God. Kishū forces himself on Ei, raping her and leaving her pregnant with Jaya. Ei conceals the pregnancy from everyone.

Shaki's mother dies, and his doctor friend returns from Nagasaki for the funeral. The doctor urges Shaki to consider leaving the village with his sister to escape the cycle of vengeance. Shaki remains focused on the Whale God, despite the suggestion.

Ei gives birth to a baby boy, Jaya. Shaki claims Jaya as his own son and marries Ei, infuriating Toyo with the public humiliation. Toyo's anger foreshadows deeper tension around the betrothal.

A telegram arrives announcing the Whale God's imminent arrival. In an unguarded moment, Shaki hints to Ei that he claimed Jaya as his son so that the child will be his heir if he dies.

Kishū provokes Shaki into a final confrontation, and their fight ends in a bruising draw. The village prepares for the looming hunt that will decide the Whale God's fate.

In the morning of the hunt, the villagers entangle the Whale God with nets. Kishū dives to attack the whale, stabbing it in a vital spot, but is dragged underwater and drowns, his body tangled in the nets.

Shaki, despite serious injuries, pushes on and kills the Whale God. The villagers decapitate the whale and leave its head on the beach as a trophy of victory.

Shaki lies on the beach, knowing he has only hours to live and recognizing the village's madness. Ei confesses that Kishū is Jaya's real father, and Shaki asks for forgiveness before his death. He communes with the Whale God's head as Kishū's body floats nearby in the surf.

Kishū's body drifts unattended in the surf as Shaki dies. The Whale God is slain, and the village is left to confront the consequences of its cycle of vengeance.