What should one do and how should one live? The footnotes add depth to the story. Loyalist or supporter of the shogunate? During the turbulent end of the Edo period, a small domain bordering a powerful domain in the Tohoku region was buffeted by the turbulent times. While the young people acted recklessly out of anxiety and fear, Sugiura Toru decided to devote himself to his studies in Edo. Meanwhile, Mizutani Goomi, while able to read the times, struggled as the younger brother of the domain lord. This masterpiece examines the strengths and weaknesses of human beings through the stories of troubled and confused young people.