Inspired by the work of one of the most important Japanese writers of the 20th century, Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, Shun-kin tells a tale of devotion, passion, and power, where beauty is unforgiving and love is blinding. The domineering and beautiful Shun-kin, blinded as a young girl, is a brilliant player of the shamisen, a stringed instrument. Her devoted student and servant will do anything to share her world, ultimately becoming her lover and performing an astonishing act of self-sacrifice. This powerful production, seen only at the Lincoln Center, UCLA, and UMS, explores the relationship between master teacher and student, showing just how fraught that relationship can be.