The film charts the decline of a geisha house as witnessed by a loyal, elderly maid (Tanaka). The proud mistress of the house, Tsutayakko (Yamada), has accumulated large debts in her efforts to maintain standards; refusing to turn her establishment into a restaurant or a brothel, Tsutayakko attempts to get in touch with a former patron to see if he might come to her aid, but the man cynically responds by sending a paltry sum he designates as "severance pay." Gradually, each woman in the house comes to realize that her way of life is drawing to a close.