On a dark, winter night, a strange woman named Tsuru (Sayuri Yoshinaga) knocks on the door of Daiju (Hideki Noda), a poor man who is caring for his ailing mother. Inexplicably, Tsuru tells him that she has come to be his wife, and assures him she will be a dutiful bride. She's true to her word, even rediscovering a forgotten loom in Daiju's home. However, this cryptic lady warns her new husband that he is never to look upon her as she works upon the loom.