When the local swordsman defends two locals for singing a song about burning hollyhocks -- the hollyhock is a symbol of the Tokugawa shogunate -- and gets arrested, they try to bust him out of jail. Instead, they release Denjirô Ôkôchi, who tries to help them in their rescue.
It's a short comedy, which seems more silly than funny. That may be a cultural distinction; Ôkôchi faints at the sight of police lanterns, and the comics seem unaware of the symbolism of the song they sing.
There aren't that many short comedies from the silent era available from the Japanese industry in this period. It's good to see one.
