1567: Kyonosuke, son of a farmer, dreams about becoming a samurai. And he gets the chance due to his physical resemblance to Lord Yasutaka. Kyonosuke left the village and become one of the three "shadow" (Kagemusha) of Yasutaka.
After a hard training to learnt how to fight and impersonate the lord, Kyonosuke is sent on the battlefield.