In this talk feature, several Flower Troupe members discuss in detail the philosophy of being a musumeyaku. It was published in the November 2011 issue of GRAPH.
GRAPH PETIT TALK: Ichika Sakura, Hanano Juria, Hatsuhime Saaya, Kayou Kirari
Musumeyaku are the ones who vividly brighten Takarazuka performances. They are always in pursuit of ‘beauty’ and sparkle brilliantly… We asked Flower Troupe members Sakira Ichika, Hanano Juria, Hatsuhime Saaya, and Kayou Kirari to tell us about their secrets. Please enjoy.
Something you are particular about as a musumeyaku
Sakura: What, I wonder… Modesty, fairness, and grace1? (laughs) Of course, I always think about how I want to make sure I’m pretty. What do you all think?
Hanano: It might be totally obvious, but even during rehearsals I’ll make sure to do my hair in a way that suits my role, and I’ll choose leotard and skirt colors that go with the role as well. And if I’m dancing together with an otokoyaku, I’ll think about my hairstyle and accessories to make sure they don’t get in her way.
Hatsuhime: Yes, exactly. All the things our seniors as musumeyaku would do are things that, now, Ichika-san (Sakura) and all of the rest of us are doing. They’re things that were passed down to us through the generations, right.
Sakura: That’s right. It’s not things we decided to do by ourselves, but rather we picked them up naturally from observing the senior actresses.
Hatsuhime: In rehearsals, the otokoyaku will often give us advice too.
Hanano: Right. They’ll say, oh, your hairstyle and all suits your role well, or compliment our rehearsal clothes, that kind of thing.
Sakura: Yes, they’ll praise us.
Kayou: We grow by being complimented (laughs).
Hatsuhime: Yeah. If they say things like ‘the musumeyaku in our troupe are so great’ that gives us a lot of strength.
Hanano: Therefore, the feeling that we’ve got to pay attention to that will deepen further.
Sakura, Hatsuhime, Kayou: Yes, yes.
Sakura: Even among us musumeyaku, we’ll often tell each other ‘your hair is so cute’ and such. That really has meaning, since everyone is looking out for each other.
Hatsuhime: And really, I think that rather than mimicking someone else, most of us try to properly understand our own good points and try to develop a sense of how to emphasize that. Rather than throwing a lot of lace on our costumes, we’ll think about it carefully to decide, say, ‘will this set it off best?’
Hanano: That’s right, even down to the junior actresses.
Sakura: For example, if there’s someone who has an issue with the shape of her face, she’ll experiment with hairstyles to cover it, and research all sorts of methods to make herself look as pretty as possible. Personally, for my hair and makeup, I’ll do a lot of research in films, magazines, and books, but if there’s something that interests me I’ll just think ‘well, I’d like to try that sometime,’ and just file it away (laughs).
Hanano: Me too.
Hatsuhime: Like otokoyaku will study the way actors smoke cigarettes, when I’m watching a movie or something my eye will always be caught by the actresses’ hair and makeup, no matter what (laughs).
Kayou: Right, it draws the eye.
Hanano: I’m always like ‘how can I create the atmosphere this actress has?’ So when I’m using outside inspiration for new hairstyles or wigs, I don’t totally copy them, but try to adjust them to suit me personally. I think there are a lot of people who go for that sort of challenge.
“Beauty” and the true charm of musumeyaku
Kayou: Since I heard that the theme for today was ‘beauty’, I researched the word myself.
Sakura: That’s so cool! You looked at the big picture (laughs).
Hatsuhime: Wow, that’s so broad though (laughs).
Kayou: I wasn’t really sure what to expect (laughs). The word ‘beauty’ also has a sense of ‘love’, so some examples I found were the Mona Lisa, or ukiyo-e2, and as for flowers, roses and other things like that. However, it seems as if what is considered to be ‘beauty’ changes depending on the era. Since Takarazuka is a classical institution, we should be striving to achieve the ‘beauty’ of that era, but on the other hand, the audience members watching are from the modern era, so I also think it’s important not to forget current styles. I think if the Flower Troupe musumeyaku were all to line up we would all be able to express a lot of different things, even while still adhering to a norm.
Sakura, Hanano, Hatsuhime: Yes, I think so~
Sakura: It’s really fun to take the Takarazuka style ‘foundation’ and then go on to express so many different things. I think that’s the true charm of being a musumeyaku.
Hanano: For example, in a period piece, of course there are the otokoyaku, but I think the musumeyaku have a very large role in establishing the setting of that era.
Kayou: That’s right. Since we have a totally different outward appearance, with our hairstyle and gowns and such, that really intensifies the atmosphere.
Sakura: Yes. Juria (Hanano), Saaya (Hatsuhime), and Kirari (Kayou), over the course of the shows you’ve been in, you’ve all been able to express your own best aspects to their fullest extent, and I really respect that. I hope to be able to express myself that way as well, like you.
Hatsuhime: Being a musumeyaku isn’t just being in a dream world, but I think it’s important to have a strong sense of self as well. Although one of the true charms of being a musumeyaku is to become a totally different self, but as a woman, thinking about these things every day is also a very nice environment. I’m not very skilled, so I always consult with everyone else to figure out my wigs, and everyone teaches me so much, so I think I’m only the person I am today because all the other Flower Troupe musumeyaku are there.
Kayou: I love how musumeyaku feel so splendid, like a box of jewels, so even before I joined the company I only had eyes for musumeyaku. Although personally, I’m not very good at the detailed things, I still hope I can make myself into a splendid musumeyaku, while still being myself (laughs). Although I’ve made it this far with my intense feeling of ‘I love being a musumeyaku’, I’ve only really changed upon joining Flower Troupe, so recently I’ve been really thinking that I’m so happy to be a Flower Troupe musumeyaku.
Hanano: Like Kirari, I’ve always loved musumeyaku. In period pieces, in order to be as accurate to the historical era as possible, I’ll research in western books, and make accessories to go with my costumes, and think about how to arrange my wigs. I also find it really fun to think about how I can best get into character during my scenes. And of course I consider how to best balance the otokoyaku I will be next to.
Sakura: That’s right. I’ll think about her height or looks, or if there’s a way I can do my wig that she seems to like. After all, I want her to think that I’m cute, of course. Only thinking about what appeals to me is no good.
Hanano: For example, in a show, the feeling is totally different between a scene where an otokoyaku is dancing at centre stage and the musumeyaku are dancing behind her, and a scene where musumeyaku are dancing alone. It’s only natural to be totally focused on the otokoyaku in those scenes.
Sakura: Yes. And if we do that, then I think that otokoyaku will look even more wonderful, and the musumeyaku will also look even lovelier. Whether it’s a scene with just the one otokoyaku, or a scene where everyone is there, or a scene where we’re dancing together, if I’m deliberately conscious of how wonderful that otokoyaku is, it really brings everything to a higher level, and I think it creates a real synergy between us. I feel like all of us do that by nature.
Hatsuhime: Even if we’re doing an independent rehearsal together, it’s not as if anyone is saying something like ‘and then let’s all of us musumeyaku make this face’.
Sakura: Right, right, nobody’s saying anything.
Hatsuhime: I love how there’s just that gentle atmosphere of being a Flower Troupe musumeyaku, and how all of us will naturally achieve the same style.
Kayou: When the otokoyaku are watching a musumeyaku only number, they will often tell us ‘your teamwork is so good!’
Sakura: Yes. And then having the otokoyaku tell us that makes us think ‘let’s work even harder’ – that’s part of the synergy too (laughs).
Casually carrying on traditions
Sakura: Sometimes we’ll all go out to eat together, but when we’re away from the stage…
Hatsuhime: Passionately talking about what it’s like to be a musumeyaku…
Hanano, Kayou: That doesn’t happen at all! (laughs)
Sakura: We’ll talk about tasty food and comedy shows and such (laughs).
Hatsuhime: We’ll talk about curry and things like that (laughs).
Sakura, Hanano, Kayou: (laughs)
Kayou: I feel like a lot of the time, musumeyaku are rather ‘mannish’ sorts somehow (laughs).
Sakura: That’s true, I think.
Hanano: We’re not totally meek or anything (laughs).
Hatsuhime: We’re pretty open and easy-going.
Kayou: But once we set foot on stage, we’re totally ladylike.
Hatsuhime: Switching back and forth like that might be part of the fun of it.
Hanano: Maybe. Onstage, although we’re not walking three steps behind the otokoyaku, rather than being right next to them, the ideal is to always be just one step behind so you can gaze at them from behind.
Sakura, Hatsuhime, Kayou: That’s right…
Hatsuhime: Flower Troupe musumeyaku are like the ladies of the wonderful olden days (laughs). Doing that is just a matter of course, and another aspect of the troupe is how the otokoyaku will be like ‘come along with me~’
Kayou: I think existing in that sort of atmosphere feels very comfortable. We get that way very naturally, and the otokoyaku are also very gallant in attitude.
Sakura: Yes. If we take a step back, it makes it look as if the otokoyaku is walking a bit ahead. In rehearsals, too, if the otokoyaku says ‘I’m going to do this,’ I’ll try to match myself to what she is doing.
Hanano: It’s not a situation where the musumeyaku will take the initiative to say ‘could you do this, please’.
Kayou: If we were talking about a modern corporation, it seems as if the women are starting to be the ones walking ahead, but…
Sakura, Hanano, Hatsuhime: Yes, that’s right.
Sakura: While in the past, the musumeyaku would walk three paces behind, now maybe it’s more like two. Of course it’s good to fit the times, but I think that old-fashioned attitude is one of the good traits of Flower Trope.
Hanano: Through the generations, Flower Troupe has always seemed to have really splendid and lovely musumeyaku, and beautiful and mature onnayaku3. We’ve always looked up to them and I think what we learned from them has had a really big effect on us. Now that we’ve become senior actresses, I think it’s important that we make sure the junior actresses can learn what we did by watching us.
Sakura: I hope they do. It feels like it’s not something you can really demonstrate or explain. Therefore, I hope that everything we thought was lovely that was passed down to us, we will now to express in everything we do, so that the traditions can be passed on. I really enjoy being a Flower Troupe musumeyaku, but it’s also something I’m very proud of. …Maybe that was too serious (laughs).
Hanano, Hatsuhime, Kayou: That was amazing! (laughs)
1 – One of the official translations of the motto of Takarazuka.
2 – A 17th-18th century Japanese woodblock style, in which portrayals of beautiful women were a common subject.
3 – Onnayaku is a slightly vague term with multiple meanings. When otokoyaku play female roles, this is referred to as onnayaku, but it seems to also have the meaning of more senior and mature musumeyaku performers, as in this context.