 Though she plays a main character, she only speaks three words; her character is said to only know three words of English.In 2010, Kikuchi was cast as Naoko in Tran Anh Hung's adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel "Norwegian Wood".In March 2011, she was added to the cast of "47 Ronin", the first English-language adaptation of the Chushingura legend, Japan's most famous tale of samurai loyalty and revenge.