During the Warring States period in Japan, in a desolate mountain village surrounded by poverty and treacherous waters, the villagers faced annual attacks by bandits during the harvest season. In that particular year, the villagers decided to hire seven samurai to defend their village and crops. The seven samurai were Kanbei, Kyuzo, Katsushiro, Gorobei, Shichiroji, Heihachi, and a peasant named Kikuchiyo who posed as a samurai.