Four stories mix love and the supernatural in exotic settings.

BLACK HAIR: An impoverished samurai of Kyoto divorces his loving wife to marry the daughter of a wealthy governor. After years of tolerating the hard and selfish woman, he returns to his long neglected first wife; the next morning, he discovers that he has slept with a corpse and goes mad. THE WOMAN OF THE SNOW: Caught in a blizzard, two woodcutters seek refuge in a deserted hut. A strange woman enters the shed and kills Mosaku with her cold breath; she allows the young apprentice, Minokichi to live, as long as he tells no one what has occurred. Several years later, after marrying the beautiful O-Yuki, he relates the experience to his wife, who reveals herself to be the snow-woman. She leaves him but spares his life so that he may care for their children. HOICHI, THE EARLESS: Hoichi, a blind biwa player who works at a temple in Akamageseki, is famed for his knowledge of the ballad of the Heike clan, which was defeated in a sea battle by the Genji in 1185. One night a samurai spirit beckons Hoichi to sing before his slain infant lord at the Heike tombs. Assuming Hoichi is bewitched, Buddhist priests protect him by painting his body with scenes of the holy text, but they forget to cover his ears. Returning to find the spell on Hoichi broken, the samurai ghost cuts off the musician's ears; after recovering from his injuries, Hoichi becomes rich reciting the story of his strange adventure. IN A CUP OF TEA: Kannai, a fearless samurai, sees another warrior's face reflected in his teacup. The vision reappears in a second cup, but Kannai destroys it by drinking the tea. On guard duty that night, he meets the identical figure from the cup and thrusts his sword at him, but the intruder vanishes. The following night three samurai arrive to avenge their wounded master, Heinai, but they also vanish when attacked by Kannai.