This is Part 2 of the feature that I started posting last time (Part 1 here). This section features Makaze answering questions sent in by readers, as well as questions themed around the show she was performing in at the time, Land of the Gods/Classical Bijoux.
This feature was originally published in the October 2017 issue of GRAPH.
Makaze Suzuho: Anything
2. Questions from readers
Q. Makaze-san, please tell us your top 3 sightseeing spots in Tokyo!! (Yoko)
A. It’s not a sightseeing spot, but I like the Tokyo expressway. It’s really nice to drive along at night. Also, the winter illuminations are amazing, right, like in Midtown or Keyakioka. It makes me think ‘Wow! Tokyo!’ My last performance [in Tokyo] was in the spring, so the cherry blossoms were beautiful. The Road of Flowers in Takarazuka is beautiful too (laughs), but the way they feel all crowded together in Tokyo is nice. Also, Tokyo Tower! It feels really romantic.
Q. Among all the Takarazuka shows that you have seen up until now, which one made you cry the most, and which one made you laugh the most? (Koala)
A. The most is hard to say, isn’t it. Recently, I think the one that made me cry the most as a performance was One Night of Stars. Also, although this is just because of my personal emotions, there was Kurenai-san’s debut show, The Scarlet Pimpernel. Which one made me laugh the most…what would it be. Although in shinjin kouens, I’m always so moved to see the junior actresses giving it their all, the last show, Chateau de la Reine, was a comedy, so the junior actresses worked so hard to make the one-time shinjin kouen funny, and I got a lot of fun laughs out of it.
Q. This is inspired by the ‘Suzu1’ in Suzuho-san, so please tell me what you do when you are trying to cool off! (Horse Stew)
A. What a fun question! Let me see. Hmm…I eat shaved ice! I don’t really have the kind of luxurious free time to go to Kyoto just for that, but I’d love to sometime. Also, I get in the cool bath at the hot spring! I’m always doing that (laughs).
Q. Yurika-san loves cleaning, so this is my question! A while back, you said in Takarazuka GRAPH that you were cleaning your windows and laundry area, but after that, did you turn your sights on another area of your house? Also, if you have any cleaning tips, please tell us!! (Yuriko)
A. I’m always working on this, so I can’t really say it’s ‘new’, but… Lately, the base of the drawers where I keep my stage makeup supplies was looking like it was about to fall out, so I bought new drawers for it, and took everything out and organized it. Therefore, I think I’ll start on organizing my accessories next. As for tips, I’ll often check the TV show ‘Kajiemon2’ for advice. They said that if you need to clean a rubber seal, to soak a paper towel with mold cleaner and put it on top, and then cover everything with plastic wrap, and it would clean everything off beautifully, and when I tried it out it made it perfectly clean.
Q. Apparently you worked part-time at a bakery while you were a student. If you could have any career you wanted right now, what would you like to do? (Kumako)
A. That part-time job at the bakery was so fun that I’d love to do it again. But we didn’t have a barcode reader at the register, so I would enter the prices by hand. Therefore, I want to try making the barcode reader go ‘beep’! (laughs) Even though that’s not really a career (laughs).
Q. I struggle with making friends and haven’t really been able to expand my circle of friends, but since Makaze-san has had the experience from a troupe transfer, please give me advice on how to get along with people! (Okkon)
A. There are lots of different kinds of people, with lots of different ways of thinking, so if you are interested in many different people and pay attention to their ways of thinking, I think you can grow too, so please try your best. …That was so serious all of a sudden (laughs). Trust, friendship, and love aren’t things that you can make, they happen naturally, so it’s fine if you don’t force yourself. But, I’m sure you have many chances to encounter all kinds of different people, so I think it would be a pity to shut yourself off!
3. Questions inspired by Land of the Gods/Classical Bijoux
Q. When you think of Russia, you think of a huge country. Makaze-san, if you had a large country of you own to use as you pleased, what would you do?
Eh~! …When I played Franz Josef in Elisabeth, and Louis 14th in Chateau de la Reine, I thought ‘I never want to be in charge of a country!’ (laughs). Before, ‘what I would least want to be if I could do life over again’ was a soccer goalie. Even though you’re part of the team, you have to protect the goal all by yourself, and also your responsibility is going to reflect on the team as a whole, so I thought ‘I could never do that!’, but more recently, I’ve decided I just don’t want to be a king (laughs). Therefore, even if I was given a big country, I’d be really stressed out about it (laughs).
Q. When you think of Russia, you think of snow. Do you have any memories of snow?
It would snow in my home region of Kumamoto. When I was in elementary school, when it would snow we had snowball fights. Also, since there was a pretty steep hill in the road in front of my house, when it froze over I’d tumble over and slide down like ‘Wah~’ and end up soaking wet (laughs).
Q. Bijoux (Jewels)=Treasure. What is your most precious treasure?
My memories, although since they are inside me they aren’t really a ‘thing’… (laughs). But, speaking of ‘jewels’, recently when I went back to my family’s house, my grandmother gave me some jewels that she had worn when she was young. I think it would be wrong of me not to treasure them.
Q. Are there times that make you think ‘I’m really classic!’?
Recently, there are a lot of sweets coming out that are like ‘Premium XYZ’, where they will take the original sweet and make something much fancier based on it, but I like the simple, original ones best!! The only thing I’ll forgive this from is the Happy Turn3 Extra Powder (laughs).
Q. Is there anything that happened recently that made you think ‘God’s hand is in this!’?
In the rehearsal for the Classical Bijoux revue, after Maa-sama and I had learned the choreography for the ‘Sapphire’ scene where we dance together, we had a break, so we were listening to the music through our earbuds while confirming the choreography. We were both going over it separately, and on top of that we started at different times, but when I happened to glance over, Maa-sama was dancing the exact same part as I was! Maa-sama and I were saying “Isn’t that neat? We’re really two sides of the same coin in that scene!”
Q. Is there anyone who is ‘a God!’ to Makaze-san?
Furuta Arata-san! Recently, I went to see Gekidan Shinkansen4, and while I’ve always loved Furuta Arata-san’s acting, it made me think once again how wonderful he is. He uses his whole being to make people enjoy themselves… As for me, just talking makes me nervous.
1 – The character that is read ‘Suzu’ means ‘Cool [temperature]’
2 – Kajiemon is a comedian who does home organizing/cleaning advice segments.
3 – A type of rice cracker covered in buttery powder.
4 – This probably would have been SEVEN SOULS IN THE SKULL CASTLE: Season FLOWER, which ran from March to June 2017.