Mori Keaki published this essay book the month before her retirement as Top Star of Snow Troupe. It is mainly a memoir of her personal journey in Takarazuka, as well as her early life. Her writing/formatting style is kind of unique, and I tried to reproduce or reflect it as much as possible. 120% Darling has around 24 chapters, and I plan to post one every Friday.

It’s a really lovely book, that ended up making me cry many times. I hope you enjoy it!

For a table of contents with links to all the chapters, go here.

A medal for the ‘transformation girl’

Anyway…

Being a bride or anything is really far ahead of my story…

At this point,

I’d like to tell you an old story about what kind of child Mori Keaki was.

According to my parents:

“Ever since you were a baby, you would always be humming, and if we were going to take a picture you’d always strike a pose.”

So I was that type…apparently.

But,

There are all sorts of kids like that, for sure.

So here, I want to tell you something from when I was 2 years old¹ that I have a really clear memory of, that shows an aspect that is a bit different from other people and makes me think ‘That really shows my personality’.

At the time, ‘Little Miko’s daily schedule was to watch ‘Lion Ladies’ Theatre’² starting at 1 in the afternoon.

That day, I had had my usual meal,

And now it was 1pm.

Miko was sitting in seiza in front of the television, waiting impatiently for the start of the famous program ‘Aizen Katsura’ (Ah…it’s so old…).

Miko’s eyes were sparkling and her heart pounding!!

The story of this episode was that a nurse, Ms. Katsue, was being horribly bullied by her senior nurses.

I sat there clutching a towel, weeping tears of sympathy. And then the scene changed,

And now a kindly nurse appeared…

There was a scene where she kindly consoles and encourages Ms. Katsue.

And then!!

Behind me, my mother suddenly murmured:

“Oh! That person is Mama’s classmate! I didn’t know she was in this~”

When 2 year old Miko’s little ears (and since I was a small child at the time, they were really little!) overheard this, I suddenly turned around and clutched my mother’s hand.

“Mama!! If you know this person you have to go to her. You have to beg her to help Ms. Katsue!!” I cried.

Thinking back, my mother said something like ‘Of course,’ or ‘Yes, yes’, trying to value her daughter’s feelings but still giving a really vague response.

But, but, ‘Little Miko’ was the sort of child who would easily get the wrong impression of things!!

“Alright. I’ll go save Ms. Katsue!”

Oh, but, Ms. Katsue was in Tokyo.

If I was going to Tokyo, I would need a suitcase.

I opened the closet and took out the biggest suitcase (of course, it was totally empty inside).

“Wait for me, Ms. Katsue! I’m coming to help you right now!!”

I started running, full of determination.

I was running full out!! Running with all my might!! And then I fell over.

When I came to, there was a sea of blood all around me.

I don’t clearly remember if I started crying, or if I was so shaken that I forgot to cry, but.

It really hurt…

I had to have 3 stitches above my right eye because of that injury…

And the scar…

Is still there even now.

When I’m doing my stage makeup, it does get in the way a little bit, but.

Every time I put on my stage makeup…

I remember that “Ms. Katsue! Wait for me!!” incident and laugh a little to myself.

“That sort of child…”

“Such a precocious child…”

I think I must have caused my parents a really hard time.

But…

When it came to my injury, although they were terribly flustered and worried, and really in a panic, and dashed with me to the doctor, they were still very understanding of their daughter’s feelings in wanting to help Ms. Katsue.

I think that is how it seemed to me at the time.

Ah~, but, that personality,

Still hasn’t changed a bi~t…even now.

I’m so embarrassed…

Mori Keaki is still just like that, just grown up!!

And also,

That scar above my eye!!

I started to think of it as ‘This is the medal of the transformation girl!’

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1 – Mori seems to be misremembering this slightly (unsurprisingly in the pre-internet days); calculating by her birthdate and the airdate of the TV program that inspired this incident, she probably would have been around the age of 6 at the time.

2 – A very famous and long-running anthology drama program.