During the
Sengoku period, in 1571,
Takeda Shingen,
daimyō of
Kai province from the
Takeda clan, meets a thief his brother
Nobukado has spared from
crucifixion due to the thief's uncanny resemblance to Shingen. The brothers agree that he would prove useful as a double, and they decide to use the thief as a
kagemusha, a political decoy. Later, while the Takeda army
lays siege to a castle belonging to
Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shingen is shot while listening to a flute playing in the enemy camp. He orders his forces to withdraw and, before succumbing to his wound, commands his generals to keep his death a secret for three years. Meanwhile, Shingen's rivals
Oda Nobunaga,
Tokugawa Ieyasu, and
Uesugi Kenshin puzzle over the reason for Shingen's withdrawal, unaware of his death. Nobukado presents the thief to
Shingen's generals, proposing to have him impersonate Shingen full-time. Although the thief is unaware of Shingen's death initially, he eventually finds Shingen's preserved corpse in a large jar, having believed it to contain treasure. The generals then decide they cannot trust the thief and release him. Later, the jar is dropped into
Lake Suwa, which spies working for the Tokugawa and Oda forces witness. Suspecting that Shingen has died, the spies go to report their observation, but the thief, having overheard the spies, returns to the Takeda forces and offers to work as a
kagemusha. The Takeda clan preserves the deception by announcing that they were simply making an offering of
sake to the god of the lake, and the spies are ultimately convinced by the thief's performance. Returning home, the
kagemusha convinces Shingen's
retinue by imitating the late warlord's gestures and learning more about him. When the
kagemusha must preside over a clan meeting, he is instructed by Nobukado to remain silent until Nobukado brings the generals to a consensus, whereupon the
kagemusha will simply agree with the generals' plan and dismiss the council. However, Shingen's son
Katsuyori is incensed by his father's decree of the three year subterfuge, which delays his inheritance and leadership of the clan. Katsuyori thus decides to test the
kagemusha in front of the council, as the majority of the attendants are still unaware of Shingen's death. He directly asks the
kagemusha what course of action should be taken, but the
kagemusha is able to answer convincingly in Shingen's own manner, which further convinces the generals. In 1573, Nobunaga mobilizes his forces to attack
Azai Nagamasa, continuing his campaign in central
Honshu to maintain his control of
Kyoto against the growing opposition. When the Tokugawa and Oda forces launch an attack against the Takeda, Katsuyori begins a counter-offensive against the advice of his generals. The
kagemusha is then forced to lead reinforcements in the
Battle of Takatenjin, and he helps inspire the troops to victory. However, in a later fit of overconfidence, the
kagemusha attempts to ride Shingen's notoriously temperamental horse, and falls off. When those who rush to help him see that he does not have Shingen's battle scars, he is revealed as an impostor, and is driven out in disgrace, allowing Katsuyori to take over the clan. Sensing weakness in the Takeda clan leadership, the Oda and Tokugawa forces are emboldened to begin a full-scale offensive into the Takeda homeland. By 1575, now in full control of the Takeda army, Katsuyori leads a counter-offensive against Nobunaga in
Nagashino. Although courageous in their assault, several waves of Takeda cavalry and infantry are cut down by volleys of
gunfire from Oda
arquebusiers deployed behind wooden stockades, effectively eliminating the Takeda army. The
kagemusha, who has followed the Takeda army, desperately takes up a spear and charges toward the Oda lines before being shot himself. Mortally wounded, the
kagemusha attempts to retrieve the
fūrinkazan banner, which had fallen into a river, but succumbs to his wounds and is carried away by the current. ==Cast==