Shinsuke Ibuki (
Kōichi Satō) is the son of a miner who works at Chikuo coalfield near Mt. Kaharu, northwest of
Tagawa,
Fukuoka. His widowed father Juzo (
Bunta Sugawara) is nicknamed "Spider" due to his large tattoo. Juzo is a natural leader looked up to by the other miners. When the miners go on strike,
Imperial soldiers are brought in with live rounds and fixed bayonets to force them back to work. Juzo uses his skill with
dynamite to create a diversion and prevent the troops from firing on the miners. In 1938, when his son is three years old, Juzo buys freedom for Tae (
Keiko Matsuzaka), a
prostitute at the local brothel, and takes her to be his wife. Shinsuke comes to accept Tae as his real mother. However, this angers Ryugoro Hanawa (
Tomisaburo Wakayama), boss of the Hanawa
yakuza gang and patron/unrequited lover of Tae. The two fight over her, but the fight is broken up. Despite their opposition, Juzo and Hanawa gain a begrudging respect for one another. Juzo makes Hanawa promise that, in the event of Juzo's passing, Hanawa will take care of Shinsuke and Tae. He also leaves a gun for Shinsuke in case of emergency. While planning a rematch against Hanawa's men, Juzo and his team hear that the mine has flooded. Juzo orders everyone to assist in the rescue efforts. He discovers that 30
Korean miners have been trapped by the flood. His Japanese comrades are willing to let the trapped miners die as they are "only Koreans". But Juzo does not accept this. He blasts part of the tunnel to save them. All 30 Korean miners are saved, but Juzo dies in the blast. In the ensuing chaos, some miners appear to be shot, though the culprits are unknown. Due to Juzo's death, Shinsuke grows up in poverty. His beautiful stepmother rejects all offers of becoming a mistress or remarrying, as she is faithful to Juzo's memory. As
the war drags on, she begins working in the mines with the other women. The miners continue to suffer, with all attempts to gain fair pay dismissed as "
Communist". Meanwhile, Hanawa is drafted into the
Imperial Japanese Army and stationed in
Siberia. He eventually returns, reorganizes his gang and becomes a wealthy man who buys up several establishments in the region. By 1944, six years after the death of his father, Shinsuke has become an unruly teenager. Tae kicks Shinsuke out of the house when he and his friends gang up on a
Korean boy named Kumana. He later visits Kumana alone and challenges him to a duel, which ends in a draw. Kumana's father Kanayama Shuretsu (
Tsunehiko Watase),
de facto leader of the Korean miners, whose original name was Kim Chu-ryol, breaks up the confrontation. Afterwards, he tells Shinsuke and Tae that Juzo saved his life in the mine collapse six years earlier. He gives them a large portion of meat as a gift. Through this incident, Shinsuke learns to treat the Koreans with humanity. Tae develops feelings for Kanayama, but he is abruptly drafted into the war. Meanwhile, Shinsuke becomes attracted to his friend and classmate Orie (
Kaoru Sugita). However, he is too young to understand these feelings and does not initially act on them. When the war ends, the Korean miners tie up their manager, who confesses that Imperial troops shot at them during the mine collapse years earlier. Kanayama returns from the war and meets with Tae. He proposes marriage. Despite her attraction to him, Tae rejects Kanayama's proposition, though they remain friends. In the interim, Hanawa has become a mentor to Shinsuke. Hanawa lets Shinsuke ride on the back of his
Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He also gives Tae some money and invites them to live with him in
Iizuka, but Tae refuses. She also rejects an offer to become the mistress of her superior at the mine. The Koreans, fed up with their treatment, enter the mine office and demand equal pay to the Japanese miners. When the police are called in, a riot ensues. Hanawa, now owner of the mine, brings in additional men to quell the unrest. During the confrontation, Kanayama injures Hanawa, after which he hides out at Tae's house. When the other miners arrive to turn him in to the police, Tae gives Kanayama the gun that Juzo left behind, allowing him to escape. Order is restored, though Kanayama is protected from prosecution by his fellow Korean miners. Tae begins coughing up blood. It is revealed that she has contracted
tuberculosis from her years working in the mine. Hanawa tries to help her, but she is eventually put into a hospital to treat her condition. She remains there for several years. As a result, Shinsuke moves to Iizuka, where he lives with Hanawa and attends school. Just as he is about to enter
senior high school in 1950, Shinsuke is scouted by baseball coach Mr. Hirano. The coach says he shows great promise and could even go to university on an
athletic scholarship. A year later, Shinsuke's childhood friend Orie and her mother (Taeko Shinbashi) visit Tae in the hospital. Shinsuke arrives on a motorcycle given to him by Hanawa. However, instead of letting Orie ride with him, he takes his music teacher Ms. Azusa (Hitomi Kageyama), whom he has a crush on, to a
record store in
Hakata. He later feels conflicted by this decision, as he is also still attracted to Orie. A few years pass. In 1953, Hanawa once again offers to marry the sickly Tae, as he is still in love with her. Tae rejects his proposal. Ms. Azusa quits and returns to
Tokyo. Shinsuke visits Orie, who is now working as a
bar hostess and prostitute in
Kokura. She tells him that her mother recently died. Shinsuke's motorcycle is stolen, so he and Orie stay together at a hotel. Orie takes Shinsuke's virginity, then encourages him to leave his past behind and go to university in Tokyo. Back in Chikuo, Hanawa is shot in the knee. As the shooting occurred at night, the assailant is unknown. His gang suspects that the Korean miners are responsible. Shinsuke returns to help out Hanawa. While investigating, Chota (
Nenji Kobayashi), one of Hanawa's gang members, shoots at them but is captured. It is revealed that Chota was attempting to frame the Koreans in order to start a gang war. Kanayama confirms that the Koreans were not responsible for the shooting. Hanawa and Shinsuke take Chota back with them for punishment. That same night, Tae dies. Her death and Chota's act of violence finally convince Shinsuke to go to Tokyo. He writes a goodbye letter to Hanawa, purchases a train ticket and rides away. ==Cast==