Natsu (Yasuko Tomita, later Ryoko Sakuma) works at Kariganeya, a kimono dealer in Kyoto, who is a distant relative. The head of the family, Soken (Takao Ito), is an educated man of the day. He has three sons. Natsu is attracted to her second son, Ichinojo, who shows flashes of her genius, and later Korin (Tatsuya Fuji), but is attacked by her eldest son, Tosaburo. When Soken's mother and wife died, Natsu took over her affairs. Her youngest brother, Gonpei, who later became Kenzan (Ittoku Kishibe), loved Natsu as if she were her older sister.