Set in Japan during an unspecific year of the Edo period, the story follows Ogami Itt?, the Royal Executioner for the Royal Court who is stripped of his title when falsely accused of treason by a rival faction. Paying the ultimate price for this falsehood, his wife is murdered and Ogami wanders the countryside, pushing a baby cart with his 3-year-old son Daigoro inside, to take their vengeance on the Yagyu clan who have made all this happen.