熱海サチ子

In the town of Izu known for its hot springs, Den Shichi from Kuromon Town sets off for a healing trip with his companion, a bamboo craftsman with a nose like a lion's snout, at a time when the town is under a tight security network due to a nearby gunpowder depot explosion. Staying at Tsuruya, Den Shichi and his group are investigated by officials whose behavior seems somewhat odd. That night, a man looking like a craftsman is murdered, and gunpowder residue is found at the scene, prompting Den Shichi to suspect that something is amiss.

Den Shichi of Kurodomon-chō, the best detective in Edo, captured members of a thief gang called "Kitsutsuki," but let three, including the rōnin Daikoku Yajūrō, Tengai Omachi, and Kasumi no Seiji, escape. Among the captured who were exiled, Genta and Kakuroku broke out and returned to Edo to reorganize the Kitsutsuki gang, starting to wreak havoc in the city. Due to the brutal methods used, Den Shichi suspected Yajūrō and Omachi had rejoined the gang. One day, a child who saw a hairdresser resembling Den Shichi, named Kiyoshi, reported to him. Kiyoshi, trusted by the moneychanger Yamano-ya, frequented by Den Shichi's wife Oshun, was rumored to be in love with Yamano-ya's daughter Oiku. In fact, Kiyoshi was Kasumi no Seiji, now living an honest life.

In early summer in Edo, Sanshirō, known for his beautiful singing, is a devoted son living in a tenement with his blind mother Okura. He works as a delivery boy for the caterer "Yaoyorozu." His brother, Chōjirō, who disliked being a plasterer, ran away from home and became a subordinate of the yakuza Yamashita no Gonsuke. On a delivery, Sanshirō catches a vagrant child, Erippē, stealing a flower hairpin from Ochiyo, the daughter of the wealthy merchant Narumiyaya Bunzaimon. Impressed by Sanshirō's character, Bunzaimon considers him as a potential son-in-law for Ochiyo, who admires Sanshirō.