Fifteen or sixteen familiar scenes exerpted from Japanese battle tales dating from the 12th to the 16th centuries are strung together in a kaleidoscopic summation of great feats of heroism. Scenes from the Tale of the Heike include the fording of the Uji River, the steep cliff at the Battle of Ichinotani, and the woman warrior Tomoe Gozen, concubine of Kiso Yoshinaka, who is shown beheading Morishige of Musashi. Another incident from the Gempei battles, the struggles between the Taira and Genji clans in the late 12th century, is the scene of Yoshitsune leaping across eight boats to attack Noto no kami Noritsune. Yorimasa watches Ii no Hayata slaying the Nue, a monstrous beast with the tail of a snake, a monkey head and the body of a tiger, that was haunting the Yamaki Palace. Also included are the 16th century generals Takeda Shingen (1521-1573) and Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578) at the battle of Kawanakajima.