大阪冬の陣、そして夏の陣を巡る豊臣勢の壊滅を狙い、天下統一を目指す徳川家康に挑む真田幸村とその十勇士たちの姿を描く。『柳生一族の陰謀』の流れをくむ東映大型アクション時代劇だが、冒頭の大隕石シーンをはじめSFXを多用。内容的にも、真田十勇士を超能力者として扱うなど破天荒な色合いが強い作品。
真田幸村（松方弘樹）は家康（萬屋錦之介）の首を狙っていたが、逆に家康の企てに嵌められる。そんな幸村だったが、家康の弾圧を受ける諸国の民達を代表するかのごとく、霧隠才蔵（寺田農）、猿飛佐助（あおい輝彦）ら真田十勇士が集うことに。時を同じくして、豊臣家の滅亡を狙う家康が大阪冬の陣、夏の陣への謀略を巡らせて…。

Lord Asano Takumi-no-Kami Naganori was charged with receiving a group of envoys from the Imperial Court in Kyoto. He was young and slightly inexperienced, so Lord Kira Kozuke-no suke Yoshinako was given the task of instructing Lord Asano in the customs of the ceremony. On the day of the reception, something went terrible wrong, and Lord Asano attempted to kill Lord Kira. For this, Lord Asano was order to commit seppuku. However, in violation of existing law, Lord Kira was not punished. The ruling Shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi eventually confiscated Lord Asano's land and dismissed the samurai that had served him so faithfully, effectively making them all ronin. Two years later, Oishi Kuranosuke Yoshi led a group of samurai loyal to Lord Asano in an attack on Kira's compound. Their aim was to capture and kill him.

A samurai is ordered by his lord to go to Edo and investigate the truth behind the rumor of a rebellion against him.

A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.

持枪侍从权八奉命保护少东家小十郎及随从源太去江户，与他们同行的还有小百货商人传次、外出卖身的农家姑娘和老爷茂作、按摩师巡礼、卖艺的澄母女、形迹可疑的藤三郎，还有流浪儿次郎。权八看见少东家小十郎和随从都酗酒贪杯，很是不安。夜幕降临，一行人在袋井住下。传次怀疑带着很多钱的藤三郎是大盗，正欲追踪，其实住在隔壁的巡礼才是真正的大盗六卫门。当晚，权八受澄之邀出门，小十郎与源太趁机大喝起酒来，幸亏权八及时赶回才没出什么事情。第二天，六门卫偷大人的盘缠，被权太擒获。藤三郎所带的钱原来是为了赎回五年前卖出的女儿，可现在他知道女儿已死，就用这笔钱为农家姑娘赎了身。小十郎与源太又进了小酒馆，大醉后遭了武士的毒手。
影片根据日本作家井上金太郎于1927所作的《道中悲记》改编而成。这是一部历史剧，以表现“忠诚”为主线贯穿始终，充分地运用了所谓正统历史剧的表现手法，以古典的手法和游记形式拍摄，剧中出场人物各具特色。导演内田吐梦早年当演员时便已经开始了电影生涯，他在二次大战期间曾执导过很多电影，为日本有声电影的发展起到了不可忽视的历史作用。该片受到了各界瞩目，入选1959年《电影旬报》十部佳片的第八位。

An umbrella maker with a shopping addiction finds himself in dire straits when his debts force him to consider selling his attractive, desirable daughter to a suitor she doesn't love.