Monzaemon Chikamatsu (Suzuki Matsuo) is a middle-age man. He is a dramatist of jōruri (form of puppet theater that preceded bunraku and kabuki), but he is in a slump. His wife left him and his mother is ded up with him. All he does now is drink. Monzaemon Chikamatsu then meets a gambler named Mankichi (Munetaka Aoki). His life begins to change.