 To avoid censorship, the authors placed the action in the time of the "Taiheiki" (a few centuries earlier), changing the names of the principals.The play is performed every year in both the bunraku and kabuki versions, though more often than not it is only a few selected acts which are performed and not the entire work.Sections of the following synopsis of Kanadehon Chūshingura are reproduced by permission from the book "A Guide to the Japanese Stage" by Ronald Cavaye, Paul Griffith and Akihiko Senda, published by Kodansha International, Japan