Night Drum is a powerful condemnation of the abuse of women under feudalism--an abuse perpetuated by a rigid code that prevented individual men or families from protecting their women. Tane is a samurai's wife, one of many who are abandoned for a year at a stretch during their husbands' enforced residence in Edo. When her husband, Hikokuro, returns from one such sojourn, he is met by rumors of Tane's infidelity, and his entire family in an uproar in anticipation of what this might mean to their financial status in the community. Despite a genuine love for his wife, Hikokuro, tormented by the truth behind the rumors, allows the rules, which call for punishment by death, to prevail in accordance with the wishes of his family. In a significant coda to the action, Hikokuro is seen in the village, his hair grown out, his body a shell, the feudal system having taken its toll on its males, as well, in the form of their humanity. The film, based on a Chikamatsu play derived from an actual incident, interprets and expands the original plot to stress the family's collusion with the system as a source, rather than a victim, of oppression.