While travelling, a Japanese couple, afflicted by poverty and illness, arrive at a village a little over one ri east of Buyeo in Buyeo County. Despite the devoted nursing of Yi Jong-man and his wife, Jintarō and his wife die, leaving behind their only son, Kazuo. The simple-hearted villagers gather to arrange the couple’s funeral, and Kazuo is cherished by the Yi family like a precious treasure. Raised entirely as a Korean, he grows up in their care for six years.