Kitagawa is an engineer charged with construction of a gigantic tunnel through the Japan Alps for the transportation of equipment in the building of the massive Kurobe Dam. The tunnel crosses an earthquake fault and Kitagawa is beleaguered not only by cave-ins and flooding, but by strife between management and the workers's union. Adding to Kitagawa's stress is the knowledge that as his attention is pulled inexorably toward the tunnel construction, his youngest daughter is dying from leukemia.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Toshirō MifuneKitagawa | Kitagawa |
 Yūjirō IshiharaIwaoka | Iwaoka |
 Osamu TakizawaOtagaki | Otagaki |
 Takashi ShimuraAshimura | Ashimura |
 Shūji SanoHirata | Hirata |
 Jūkichi UnoMori | Mori |
 Ryūtarō TatsumiGenzo | Genzo |
 Isao TamagawaSayama | Sayama |
 Takeshi KatōKunikida | Kunikida |
| SSumio TakatsuOno | Ono |
 Eijirō YanagiFujimura | Fujimura |
 Akira YamanouchiTsukamoto | Tsukamoto |
 Akira TeraoKenichi | Kenichi |
| EEimei NitaniOdagiri | Odagiri |
| MMasahiko NaruseKumada | Kumada |
| YYuichi SaitoTakagi | Takagi |
 Shinsuke AshidaNot listed | Not listed |
 Eiji OkadaNot listed | Not listed |
 Kinzō ShinNot listed | Not listed |
| JJōji EharaNot listed | Not listed |
| EEiken ShojiNot listed | Not listed |
 Mizuho SuzukiNot listed | Not listed |
| SSadao MizutaniNot listed | Not listed |
| TTakashi KoshibaNot listed | Not listed |
| KKatsu YamamotoNot listed | Not listed |
| KKeisuke YukiokaNot listed | Not listed |
| TToshinosuke NagaoNot listed | Not listed |
 Tappei ShimokawaNot listed | Not listed |
 MugihitoNot listed | Not listed |
 Kōjirō KusanagiNot listed | Not listed |