In 1926, a Japanese monk named Xuanzang travels to western India on a sacred pilgrimage to retrieve the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. During his journey, he comes across Sun Wukong, the mischievous Monkey King, who has been imprisoned inside a large rock by the goddess Guanyin as punishment for his disruptive behavior. Xuanzang frees the monkey, who then becomes his first disciple.

As the pilgrimage continues, they encounter a pig monster attacking a young girl. Sun Wukong subdues the creature, who then repents and is accepted as a new disciple, receiving the name Zhu Bajie. Shortly after, a water imp known as a kappa also joins the group and is renamed Sha Wujing, completing the trio of protectors for the monk.

The group's adventure culminates when Sun Wukong traps another monster inside a large stone. From this encounter, he obtains a ball, and when he throws it, a holy mountain capped with snow materializes before them. Atop this mountain stands the Ho-den hall pagoda, the very place where the sacred scriptures are stored. Xuanzang makes a humble request to the Tathagata Buddha, asking for the scriptures to be granted to him. Buddha responds by promising that the texts will be delivered to them by a dragon cart.

This silent, black-and-white film was directed by Noburo Ofuji and is notable for being an early example of Japanese animation made using chiyogami, a technique employing decorative cut-out paper. The surviving version is an eight-minute digest of what was originally a longer work, with the final scene showing Xuanzang and his three smiling disciples obtaining the sutra as snow falls around them.