The Seediqs live a peaceful and ecological life in the mountainous region in Taiwan. They believe in the rainbow bridge on the afterlife. Mouna Rudo, son to the leader of the Mehebu Clan, is a hero of the whole clan. During the Japanese Colonization, the Seediq men are forced to work at the timber factory and the Seediq women work as housemaids for the Japanese families. Mouna Rudo believes that a Seediq must go through the trials and tests on the hunting grounds to earn the facial tattoos that signify honor. Only by accomplishing this in his lifetime can a Seediq be recognized by the ancestral spirit and walk onto the rainbow bridge in the afterlife. When the young Seediqs ask Mouna Rudo to lead them against the Japanese people, Mouna Rudo understands that they have to fight for the pride of their people and reclaim their hunting grounds in order to become a “Seediq Bale,” a true man. Therefore, Mouna Rudo leads the young Seediqs to massacre the Japanese as offerings to their ancestral spirit, and reclaim their hunting grounds. The Japanese government orders General Kamada Yahiko to bring thousands of police officers and army soldiers to subdue the uprising. The Japanese troops however are not accustomed to the guerrilla warfare in the mountainous region of Taiwan. Kojima Genji, a Japanese police officer, instigates Temu Walis to help the Japanese hunt down Mouna Rudo. A soul-shaking war in the name of faith will soon ensue in the mountains among the cherry blossoms.