This edition of Tokyo Shinbun’s column on Takarazuka features Minami Maito, talking about her current performance in Here Comes Miss Modern. The original column was written by Yamagishi Toshiyuki (estimated name reading) and was published here on October 22, 2020. (Archive link here.)
Blossoming Takarazuka: Sincerity as an actor – Minami Maito (Flower Troupe)
The current Flower Troupe performance, Here Comes Miss Modern (playing in the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre until Nov 11), set amidst the romantic atmosphere of Taisho era Tokyo, is based on the girl’s manga of the same title. The story unfolds around the turbulent events in the romance between an army lieutenant, Ijuuin Shinobu, and a lively schoolgirl, Hanamura Benio. Minami plays Ijuuin’s army subordinate, Sergeant Onijima Shinko. “I want to express Onijima’s manly spirit and his compassionate nature,” she says about her character. While she also played Onijima in the previous performance, three years earlier, when she read the script over again “I found my way of approaching roles had changed,” she says. “I want to give a deeper level of performance this time around.”
While the performance was originally scheduled to open in May, due to the effects of the coronavirus the opening day was delayed by five months. During the social distancing period, “in order to keep my performance quality from dropping, I never skipped training at home, and kept waiting for the reopening.” Even though she couldn’t go outside for a long period, she revealed some of the ways she came up with to entertain herself at home: “I would take plenty of time preparing my own food so that it would look as if I’d gone out to eat and ‘play restaurant.’”
“People who have been hurt can move forward by finding comrades. That’s one of the appeals this show has for me.”
Minami is an otokoyaku in her twelfth year since joining Takarazuka. Besides singing and acting, she is known for her sharp dance skills, and is an invaluable addition to performances. “I want to be sincere as an actor,” she says. She says this philosophy is because “when you’re onstage, your true self will start to seep in,” and she also keeps the motto of Takarasiennes, “Pure, Proper, and Beautiful” in her heart. She goes onstage every day believing “with every performance, I want to improve in some aspect.”
Three questions:
What is the one thing you would bring to a deserted island?
I’d be lonely by myself, so I’d bring a companion. And if not a person, then rice. Rice gives me strength, and I wouldn’t starve.
When do you think ‘ah, I’m happy’?
When I’m standing onstage. Because of the long break from performances due to the coronavirus it really made me feel how happy that made me.
If you had a week-long vacation, what would you do?
I’d go to an onsen. Eating delicious food and then going back to my room to find the futon laid out is such a nice feeling.