Synopsis

A film adaptation of Yamada Futaro’s novel “Hakkenden.”

The story dynamically portrays the ‘fictional’ part, where eight swordsmen, drawn together by fate, fight to break the Satomi clan’s curse, while also intertwining the ‘real-life’ part, which delves into the creative genius of the novel’s author, the Edo-period writer Takizawa Bakin.

The popular writer Takizawa Bakin begins to talk to his friend, the artist Katsushika Hokusai, about a new novel he is planning. It’s a story about the ‘Eight Dog Warriors,’ each possessing a mystical orb, who are brought together by fate to fight against a curse placed on the Satomi clan.
Enthralled by the story, Hokusai began visiting Bakin regularly to hear more, marking the start of their strange relationship. The serialized novel became Bakin’s life’s work, but as it finally neared its climax after 28 years, Bakin was losing his eyesight. Despite falling into a desperate situation, Bakin, obsessed with completing his story, receives an unexpected offer from his son’s wife.