Japan in the Middle Ages. The country is plagued by civil war and famine. The powerful Lord Fujiwara orders his court-painter Yoshihide to paint the holy mountain Higashiyama. But Yoshihide dont want to depict that treacherous idyll. Instead he designs his own depiction of the time and the life of his fellow citizens in the lords realm - a painting of hell. Lost in his masterpiece, Yoshihide is not suspecting that Fujiwara is philandering his only daughter, Shizuka. Overhearing her distress calls, he is not aware of his ignorance until she commits suicide. At the ceremonial unveiling of the painting he confronts the lord with his true colours and lets hell break loose.