In a Time of Turmoil and The Ballot

Thirteen defeated retainers wait in a temple for the new imperial government to decide their fate. One young man, recently reunited with his wife, cannot accept the prospect of death. When carpenters begin building platforms outside the temple, every stroke of the hammer seems to make his worst fear more certain.

In the one-act play “The Ballot,” the outlaw Kunisada Chūji prepares to flee into the mountains with only three companions. His followers agree to vote. An older man who has always claimed a place of honor suddenly faces a public measure of his companions’ esteem.

Kikuchi Kan turns historical upheaval and outlaw adventure into close studies of ordinary vulnerability. Pride, courage, affection, and self-preservation pull against one another, while seemingly fair decisions uncover painful private truths. Each work ends by forcing a second look at the judgment its characters have made.