At the start of Onibaba, a pair of samurai are wandering through tall grass when they're attacked by some kind of ferocious creatures. Are they being hunted down by a pack of raptors? Perhaps a deadly assassin? Turns out, it's two villagers, known only as Older Woman (Nobuko Otowa) and Younger Woman (Jitsuko Yoshimura), who are now attacking any samurai who wander into the field of tall grass they reside in so that they can sell their armor for money that they desperately need. At first, this process is done simply for survival, but an element of personal vengeance is incorporated into the proceedings once samurai Hachi (Kei Sato) returns home from an ongoing war to inform that Kicki, the Older Woman's song and the Younger Woman's husband. has perished in combat, another body lying on a battlefield somewhere.
