Ashizawa Jin’s 2004 GRAPH column featured illustrations of actresses in one dream role of their choice, and one dream role Ashizawa had for them. Ayabuki’s was published in the January issue.
Continue readingThis edition of Tokyo Shinbun’s column on Takarazuka features Aya Ouka, talking about her current performance in fff – fortississimo. The original column was written by Yamagishi Toshiyuki (estimated name reading) and was published here on March 18, 2021. (Archive link here.)
Continue readingThis talk, recorded towards the end of the Takarazuka run of Snow Troupe’s 2011 Romeo et Juliette production, features Otozuki Kei, Sagiri Seina, and Misuzu Aki. It was published in the March 2011 issue of GRAPH.
(Note that while this production is known for the March 11 earthquake occurring in the middle of it, it is not referenced in this talk as it was recorded around a month before and published likely a few days before or after.)
Continue readingflourish was a GRAPH feature where usumeyaku talked about things like their favorite scenes and costumes, and showed off handmade stage accessories. Arisa’s was published in May of 2017.
Continue readingDress Press was one of the many costume-analysis features that have been published in GRAPH over the years, this one focusing on musumeyaku gowns specifically. In this edition, featured in the August 2007 issue, Shirahane Yuri talks about two of the costumes she wears in her role of Elisabeth.
Continue readingThis survey of the main stars in both Rose of Versailles 2001 casts was published in GRAPH in May of 2001. At the time, Star Troupe was performing Oscar and Andre in Tokyo, and Cosmos Troupe was performing Fersen and Marie Antoinette in Takarazuka. Due to length, the two troupes’ responses will be posted separately.
A few notes on their answers, as well as possibly more familiar Japanese titles for the songs mentioned, are included in [italicized brackets].
Continue readingdays was a photo feature in GRAPH where performers created a journal or blog-style timeline of photos with captions. Tsukishiro’s features New Wave – Snow, rehearsals for Azure Moment, and her vacation to France with Ai Sumire.
Continue readingThis article covering Todoroki Yuu’s retirement press conference was published by Kobe News Next. The original article was written by Kataoka Tatsumi [estimated reading] and was originally published here on March 18. (Archive link here.)
Continue readingThis talk featuring Sou Kazuho, who was starring in the 99th Class debut performance, The Rose of Versailles: Fersen, and the top members of the new class, was published in the June 2013 issue of Kageki.
Continue readingThis book is a memoir of Aran Kei’s time as a member of Takarazuka, as well as her post-Takarazuka career and memories of her childhood. It was published in 2010 to commemorate the 20th year of her stage career. It also features messages from Takarazuka classmates and other colleagues and theatre artists she has worked with.
Paragraph breaks have been added to make it more readable in English.
Continue reading