A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among nobility, but his responsibilities to his station grow more demanding the longer he occupies it.

Tatsuya Nakadai
as Shingen Takeda / Kagemusha

Tsutomu Yamazaki
as Nobukado Takeda

Kenichi Hagiwara
as Katsuyori Takeda

Jinpachi Nezu
as Sohachiro Tsuchiya

Hideji Ōtaki
as Masakage Yamagata

Daisuke Ryū
as Nobunaga Oda

Masayuki Yui
as Ieyasu Tokugawa

Kaori Momoi
as Otsuyanokata

Mitsuko Baisho
as Oyunokata

Hideo Murota
as Nobufusa Baba