Set sometime in the late Muromachi period, Naomitsu Hatakeyama is the second son of the distinguished Hatakeyama family. His lifelong friend and love interest are both Ako-hime. When Ako-hime's father dies, Yoshimasa Ashikaga elicits a decree that will forever change their fates. Soon afterwards, Naomitsu is betrayed by his very own brother, Nobutsuna Hatakeyama, who plans to forcibly take Aho-hime for himself. Naomitsu loves Ako-hime so much that he is ready to give up his life and flee into the mountains with Ako-hime. While travelling through the mountains, Naoitsu soon faces another betrayal, this time from retainer Sakuramaru, a man Naomitsu once saved from death and took care of like a brother. Naomitsu Hatakeyama then comes back as Tajomaru. ~~ Adapted from the short story "In a Grove" (藪の中) by Akutagawa Ryunosuke (芥川龍之介).