Jyou en explores the complex reponses of the feminine psyche amid social protocols and dictated behaviors that result in repression of Self and disconnection from one's own emotional life. 

In the 15th century, the teachings of the "Three Obediences" reigned: 

"A woman has no way of independence in life: when she is young, she obeys her father; when she is married, she obeys her husband; when she is widowed, she obeys her son."

Although this play is the story of one woman, it is the story of multitudinous women throughout the ages, throughout all cultures. This story takes place in early Edo period Japan but the repression of the self-actualization of women and the impact that has on how women perceive and interact with themselves and the world is as prevalent in 2015 throughout the world as it has been in earlier eras.