Tag Archives: Article Translation

The countdown starts from the moment of becoming Takarazuka’s Top Star: Sagiri Seina’s retirement

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This is an extremely interesting article about Sagiri Seina’s career and the Top Star system as a whole. It also discusses her unique partnership with Sakihi Miyu.

The original article was written by Murakami Kumiko and published in Nikkan Sports on June 11, 2017. (Archive link here.)

The countdown starts from the moment of becoming Takarazuka’s Top Star: Sagiri Seina’s retirement

The Takarazuka Revue is surrounded by a ‘violet-colored’ veil. Its greatest charm, if described in the words of the Japanese seasons, is that just like the sakura, it is most beautiful because it is fleeting. No matter how popular or outstandingly talented the Top Star, nearly all retire within an average of 2-2.5 years. This countdown starts from the moment of ascending to the position of Top Star.

Sagiri Seina, who said her farewells to the Revue’s home theatre in Hyogo Prefecture on May 29th, had the 2550-seat Takarazuka Grand Theatre operating over 100% capacity for all 5 of her Grand Theatre shows. She retires having achieved a new record.

In the 103-year history of Takarazuka, achieving unprecedented numbers is not so out of the ordinary. Plays are chosen to suit the character of the Top Star, and for original shows a system of ‘writing to the star’ is in place. Thus, the Top Star has an extreme level of responsibility: it is not going too far to say she bears the full responsibility for ticket sales.

Besides the obvious preparation for shows, the Top Star has a wide range of duties, from fan events to business promotions, as well as creating an atmosphere in the troupe that produces the best shows possible. The effort and motivation this requires has a limit of about 2-2.5 years. Sagiri Seina herself said at her retirement announcement conference that ‘while if I could maintain this level of energy I would love to continue being an otokoyaku forever, that is impossible, so I have to leave.’

During this limited time of being Top Star, her affinity with her partner musumeyaku also has a great influence on her path. Top Musumeyaku are not installed in their position because of their still in singing, dancing, or acting. Their potential compatibility with the Top Star is considered most important, but until they actually perform together it is impossible to know how well they actually work together. The excellence and synergy of Snow Troupe’s Top Combi of Sagiri and her partner musumeyaku, Sakihi Miyu, caused an explosion of popularity.

It is a partnership of equally talented actresses. Sagiri always aimed to put Sakihi on equal footing with herself, which, in the world of Takarazuka where the otokoyaku always comes first, meant that Sakihi also bore a great deal of responsibility. The fans, knowing the two were also close in their private lives, happily supported them.

In the ‘Farewell Recital’ performed on the final day of the last show at the main theatres, the Top Star is generally the sole focus for around 70% of the show. However, in the case of this combi, around 40% of the songs were duet numbers, an unprecedented amount. Sagiri said ‘I decided on this set list after conferring with Sakihi.’ A Top Star ‘conferring’ with their musumeyaku partner is also unprecedented. As a symbol of this trust, there was also a succession of duet dances. Their partnership’s ‘bonds’ were fully displayed, leaving nothing behind on their departure from the Grand Theatre.

A mysterious hero goes into battle on the Takarazuka stage! Flower Troupe star Serika Toa’s action-packed opening night

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This is a translation of Sports Hochi’s article on the opening of My Hero, with some statements from star Serika Toa. It was published March 16, 2017, however, the original article has since been removed from the website with no archives available.

A mysterious hero goes into battle on the Takarazuka stage! Flower Troupe star Serika Toa’s action-packed opening night

On the 16th, the second rank star of the Takarazuka Revue’s Flower Troupe, Serika Toa, performed in the brilliant opening night of her lead musical, My Hero at the Tokyo/Akasaka ACT Theatre.

According to writer and director Saitou Yoshimasa, this is the first ever tokusatsu1 hero show in Takarazuka history. The story is about a popular actor, Noah (Serika), who after being embroiled in a scandal gets a job as a ‘faceless’ suit actor for the tokusatsu hero ‘MASK-J’. In the process, he tries to find himself.

During ‘transformation’ sequences, her beautiful face—selling point for a Takarasienne—is hidden behind the hero mask, which is a bit out of the ordinary, but the action sequences where she mows down her enemies are also a sight to behold. “The suit is easy to move in, so that’s fine, but the mask gives me tunnel vision which is a bit scary,” says Toa. She went to hero shows at amusement parks and behind the scenes at film sets to learn how to time punches and kicks.

“My finishing move is the ‘Wink Shot’. I spin around and the Shockers2 are all blown away. It’s the kind of move where I’m like, what the heck is this doing in real life! [laugh]” says Toa, who is enjoying this chance to perform with a less Takarazuka-like viewpoint. “There’s lines that are totally hero of justice-ish, and we’ll see if I can use Takarazuka magic to get your heart pounding a bit! If you’re like ‘ahhh, that’s so cool!’ then I win,” she says.

Also, Houzuki An and Ayaki Hikari showed off their costumes as ‘Blue MASK-J’ and ‘Silver MASK-J’.

My Hero runs until the 23rd in Tokyo. The Osaka performance lasts from April 2nd-10th at the Umeda Arts Theatre’s Theatre Drama City.

1 – Japanese special effects and superhero cinema, most stereotypically featuring in-camera effects with stunt actors in masked or other full-coverage suits. Famous examples are Kyouryuu Sentai Zyuranger (adapted for the US as Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers), and the Gojira film franchise.

2 – Enemies from the Kamen Rider franchise (though the term is not used in the show script the design is very similar).

Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe: Classmates in leading roles – “I felt very much like a beginner…” says Ayaki Hikari

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This article about Ayaki Hikari’s performance in the Golden Desert junior performance was published by Daily Sports Online on November 30, 2016. The original article can be found here.

Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe: Classmates in leading roles – “I felt very much like a beginner…” says Ayaki Hikari

The Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe’s up-and-coming young star, Ayaki Hikari, had her first solo leading role in the junior performance of Golden Desert, which took place on the 29th at the Takarazuka Grand Theatre in Hyogo Prefecture.

In the last Flower Troupe show, Me and My Girl, she shared the lead role of the junior performance with Yuunami Kei between Act 1 and Act 2, therefore this is her first ‘solo’ junior lead. In this performance, the lead role was written specifically for the Top Star, Asumi Rio: “Of my life and stage experiences, this is among the hardest,” Ayaki reflected.

She said that Asumi advised her “the script should be pinpoint accurate, but other than that the approach is up to Aka [Ayaka’s nickname].” Regarding the shifting sets and quick-changes, Ayaki said firmly “even above getting immersed in the play, it’s important to continue considering safety.” On the other hand, “I felt very much like a beginner, but then when the audience applauded I was like ‘gosh, are they looking at me?’ and I was really moved,” she said, finally smiling.

The heroine was played by Ayaki’s classmate, the musumeyaku star Shiroki Mirei. This show is the retirement performance for Top Musumeyaku Kano Maria, who gave Shiroki vigorous encouragement, telling her “think ‘I don’t care if I die today!’ and perform it like that.” Describing how she had advanced, Shiroki said “thanks to that I was really enheartened. I’m going to do much more with that kind of intensity, not just here but in the future.”

This junior performance served as the reunion for the stars of the Takarazuka Music School Culture Festival1. “Since Shiroki has a lot of experience in the heroine roles I was thinking I could rely on her to prop me up but she helped me stand on my own two feet as an otokoyaku,” Ayaki said gratefully. Shiroki also said with some surprise “she’s come so far…she’s like a senior otokoyaku.”

Since this marks seven years since their debut performance, with this show the 6 members of the 96th class in Flower Troupe will be graduating from junior performances. As representative of the 96th class, Otohane Emi stated, looking back on their progress since debuting, “while this is a more private matter, this is the last junior performance for us 96th class members. While our journey so far has not always been easy, we intend to keep working hard to support Flower Troupe.”

1 – A recital culminating students’ 2 years in the Takarazuka Music School.

“Rush! Fresh!! Push!!!” – Shizuki Asato and Asami Hikaru with Yumeki Noa

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This talk from the January 1998 Kageki pre-dates the creation of Cosmos Troupe, and features 3 of its future members discussing those prospects.

(Well, in theory, but they quickly get off-topic…)

This feature was translated from Shizuki’s memorial book anthology, but seems to be unabridged.

“Rush! Fresh!! Push!!!” Shizuki Asato and Asami Hikaru with Yumeki Noa

Shizuki: Komu-chan (Asami), you were in Flower Troupe with me for three years, right?

Asami: That’s right.

Yumeki: When I was a ken-1, I was in Flower Troupe for a year because of troupe rotations.

Shizuki: What, really?

Asami: So we were actually in the same troupe together… But there’s still tons of things I don’t know about Zunko-san…

Shizuki: Ask me whatever you like!

Asami: Is it okay even if it’s something serious?

Shizuki: Sure, go ahead.

Asami: Is there something you’re good at cooking?

Shizuki: What’s serious about that! [laughs] I’m pretty good at gooking anything. If somebody says ‘cook this’ I can make anything, but if I don’t have to I won’t cook. I’m best at stuff like curry, stew, and beef stroganoff.

Yumeki: Let’s flip that around, is there something you’d like people to make for you?

Shizuki: Rice! [laughs]

Yumeki: If that’s it I can probably manage.

Shizuki: I’ll be content with just warm rice and miso soup. If anyone would like to cook for me, I’m hiring~!

Asami: If you say stuff like that you’ll get mobbed! [laughs]

Shizuki: Actually, I love eating breakfast. As soon as I get up I can eat steak or anything.

Yumeki: Me too! Cake or whatever is OK!

Asami: Whaaaat!?

Shizuki: When I go to bed at night, I fall asleep looking forward to what I’ll eat for breakfast.

Asami: I don’t get hungry at all until midday. So I don’t believe you.

Yumeki: I like having a bit of a drink before bed; what about you, Zunko-san?

Shizuki: I do too! There’s always gin and such in my fridge.

Yumeki: Same here!

Asami: Are you particular about glassware?

Shizuki: I’m ridiculously fussy about it! But all my nice crystal, like Baccarat, shattered in an earthquake…

Asami: I can see you in a dressing gown with your legs crossed, holding a Baccarat glass…and of course with the lights dimmed…

Shizuki: [laughs] I do like a dark room.

Yumeki: Me too!

Shizuki: We really think alike.

Yumeki: I like scented candles, so I’ll light some and then drink with the lights off.

Shizuki: Same here! We should move in together!

Yumeki: I-if this gets printed I’m in for it! [laughs]

Shizuki: I don’t like bright rooms. So my room is full of ennui.

Asami: So cool! I’m the opposite. If it’s not nice and bright I feel weird. I couldn’t live with Zunko-san…

Shizuki: Bummer…

Asami: You don’t look disappointed at all!

Shizuki, Yumeki: [laughs]

Yumeki: Your room must be nice and neat.

Shizuki: I’m a person who loves cleaning.

Asami: You can cook and clean too! You’d make a great wife!

Shizuki: Actually, I’ve recently decided to reject marriage. [laughs] I like living alone too much, you know?

Asami: That’s right.

Yumeki: When I was in grade school, I wrote an essay in Home Economics about how I would never ever get married, and the teacher got really mad at me.

Shizuki, Asami: [laughs]

Shizuki: You should do what you like, and live how you want.

Asami: At the end I’d like to ask one actually serious question. Now that a new troupe is finally being created, what kind of troupe do you want to make it into?

Shizuki: I want it to be a troupe where it’s as if all kind of things were put in a box to freely mix together. I want to avoid unnecessary separations between junior and senior actresses as much as possible, so that there’s an environment where anyone can mutually discuss anything. At this point, nothing’s really fixed about the new troupe, so I want us to all work together bit by bit to create it.

Asami: Hearing you say things like that makes me really excited, Zunko-san.

Yumeki: I’m really happy.

Shizuki: I’m sure it’ll be hard to start from square one, but I want to “open the door”.

Asami: And then we…

Yumeki: Can leap through it!

Misaki Rion’s retirement press conference: “It went by in a flash”

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This article about Misaki Rion’s press conference for her upcoming retirement was published by Daily Sports Online on August 24, 2016.

Misaki Rion’s retirement press conference: “It went by in a flash”

Cosmos Troupe top musumeyaku Misaki Rion, who has announced that she will be retiring in April of next year, held a press conference on the 24th, at the Takarazuka Revue headquarters in Takarazuka, Hyogo prefecture.

Misaki appeared at the interview wearing Takarazuka’s ‘retirement colors’, a white one-piece dress. “Ever since becoming top musume, I’ve always been aware of [upcoming] retirement,” she said; she was the partner of two successive Top Stars, Ouki Kaname and Asaka Manato.

She seriously began thinking about retirement on opening night of Asaka’s Grand Theatre introductory performance as Top Star, A Song for Kingdoms. “It was a wonderful script, and I had a very large role, and I could feel our power and passion as a unit,” she declared.

After discussing the situation with Asaka, she revealed that “Even in rehearsals and such, I’ve been valuing each and every day still more. If you take it since I entered the Takarazuka Music School, it’s been 10 years. It really went by in a flash,” she said, with tears coming to her eyes as she looked back.

Ouki Kaname’s words, “I want you to be my equal,” had a deep impression on Misaki. Also, she is grateful to Asaka, who “welcomed me with open arms.” Regarding what she will do after retirement, she said with a smile “I’m not thinking of anything about that yet. I want to carry through my life in Takarazuka first.”

Her retirement performance will be Chateau de la Reine/Viva! Festa!, which will run at the Takarazuka Grand Theatre from 2/3/2017-3/6/2017, and at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre from 3/31/2017-4/30/2017.

That’s RanKING! (April 2016)

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In That’s RanKING!, a multi-year Kageki Top Star Q&A feature, the Top Stars rank each other based on various questions. The 2016 version of the column has questions sent in by readers.

This month’s question: Who knows the most about bugs?

That’s RanKING! – Who’s in first place?

For 2016’s monthly corner, we use questions sent in from readers and ask each Top Star to rank who most matches each month’s theme by sharing their impressions and anecdotes. The votes are calculated with First Place as 10 points, Second Place as 5 points, and Third Place as 3 points. Please enjoy the 5 Top Stars’ variety of answers and stories!

This month: Who knows the most about bugs? (Question from ‘Elmer’)

  • Sagiri Seina (27 pts)
  • Asaka Manato (22 pts)
  • Hokushou Kairi (17 pts)

Snow Troupe – Sagiri Seina

First place is Maa-kun [Asaka]. That’s because she’s from Saga! [Laughs] There are bugs in Saga, right? They’re in Nagasaki too! …I guess I wouldn’t want to have someone say that to me [laughs]. Michiko-san [Hokushou] seems to have a lot of knowledge about stuff, so even though she says she doesn’t like bugs I feel like she knows about them, so she’s in second. I’m fine with bugs but I don’t know that much about them, so guess I might be third. Fourth place is Masao [Ryuu], and fifth place is Mirio-chan [Asumi]. Masao doesn’t mind bugs but I don’t think she’s interested in them either, and I feel like Mirio-chan hates bugs.

Star Troupe – Hokushou Kairi

First place is Ryuu-san, because she seems she’d know a lot about colorful insects. Second place is Chigi [Sagiri], since I think she would have caught bugs when she was little. I see Asaka-san as being in third place. To tell the truth, I actually detest bugs, and I don’t know much about them so I’m last place. I didn’t hate them so much when I was little, but when I was in the Takarazuka Music School I was cleaning a balcony once, and from a cherry tree, a fuzzy caterpillar—… Of course I couldn’t scream, and I twisted to try and shake it off, but I had to keep going… I kept cleaning while I was practically fainting, so after that I was really traumatized [laughs].

Cosmos Troupe – Asaka Manato

Hokushou-san! If you flipped through the pages of her memory, I feel like she would have a whole page full of memories about bugs, all ‘Oh, so bugs…’ kind of things. Chigi-san is from Kyuushu, which has a lot of nature, and I think she definitely caught bugs when she was little! I’m also from Kyuushu so I’ll be third for the same reasons. A long time ago I used to catch cicadas, but now I can’t stand them. I feel like Mirio would be like ‘Mr. Bug, stay away~’ [laughs]. And I see Masao as having very little interest in bugs. ‘Oh, there’s a bug, huh,’ that kind of image.

Flower Troupe – Asumi Rio

First place is Chigi-san, since I think a bug catching net would suit her. I think second place might be Masaki-san [Ryuu]. She has a favorite bug: she said ‘rhinoceros beetles are really spirited’ so I think she’d be like that [laughs]. Third place is Hokushou-san. She seems to know a lot about bugs, and would be able to tell you ‘in this area these bugs are likely to appear’. Since I grew up in the countryside, if I see a bug I generally know what it is, and I’m not scared of them…but I’m not an expert.

Moon Troupe – Ryuu Masaki

Somebody who knows a lot about bugs…? Maybe Maa-kun. Well, I say she knows a lot, but I feel like if you asked her about bugs she would get really into it and research all kinds of things. Second place is Chigi-chan, since she definitely seems like she fits the ‘outdoorsy’ image. Micchan is in third place. Even if she personally doesn’t like bugs, she knows about a lot of different things so I think she’d definitely be able to tell you about bugs. I can’t stand bugs at all. I think Mirio doesn’t like them at all either. But if there was a bug on my clothes or something, I think she’d have the courage to get it off for me…

Stage Turning Points: Yuzuka Rei (Flower Troupe)

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In this feature from Kageki, siennes look back at their career and pick out roles that had an effect on their growth as a performer. This one was originally published in the November 2015 issue.

Stage Turning Points: Yuzuka Rei (Flower Troupe)

Yuzuka’s Turning Points

April-May 2009: Love, That Is… – debut

May 2012: Chikamatsu: Journey on the Road of Love (Bow Hall) – Tokubei
‘A role where I felt a sense of ‘space’’

In this production, I didn’t play a human, rather the puppet Tokubei, the main character of Love Suicides at Sonnezaki. However, the part sometimes required me to dance as if I had been endowed with human life. It was an abstract role, where I did not speak and only communicated through dancing, so if I was not aware of the mood and ‘space’ around me, I felt as if it wouldn’t work.

Since I had not had many chances to perform traditional dance in Japanese-style productions, when I was onstage the lights and music gave my performance strength. That performance changed my sense of ‘space’ and my onstage presence. It was that kind of role.

February 2013: Ocean’s 11 (junior performance) – Terry Benedict
‘A performance that changed my methods of character-building’

I thought this was a really appealing part, so when I was told I would be able to perform it in the junior performance I was really happy. Up until then, I had always thought ‘I suppose I’ll have to do it this way’ or ‘I guess I’ve got to do it that way’ about my roles, but with Benedict, I thought ‘I’d like to do it like this’ or ‘I want to perform more this way’, so it changed my character-building methods.

This was my first performance in a sharp-cut suit, and while until now I’d had mostly young boys’ roles, the part of Benedict was a strong, manly, grown-up villain. I learned a lot about how to stand and such from Fuuto-san, who played him in the main production.

September 2013: A Song of Love and Revolution: Andre Chenier (junior performance) – Carlo Gerard

Carlo was a part I really liked. I liked Asumi-san’s performance even right after she transfered to Flower Troupe, so being able to play that part made me really happy. I found the various aspects of this role really appealing: he was a boy who became mixed up in something as he went along with his ideals and sense of justice, so he’s a really human, passionate individual.

June-July 2014: Nocturne: Memories of a Long Ago Summer Day (Bow Hall) – Vladimir
‘A part I felt I lived as’

This was my first Bow Hall lead, and Director Harada considered things that only I would be able to do when he put together the script. Even without considering things too hard, I was able to take the stage as Vladimir, and sometimes I felt I was living as him. I enjoyed the show and each day I felt more enjoyment for performing onstage.

August-September 2014: Elisabeth: Rondo of Love and Death – Rudolf (switch role); Der Tod (junior performance)
‘Tons of pressure’

Elisabeth is such a big show, and it’s extremely famous, yet somehow I was able to play Rudolf, as well as Der Tod in the junior performance. This was my second junior lead role, but I felt way more pressure for this part. Of course the songs were really hard, and I struggled with the technical scenes, but the music and the intensity of the performance gave me energy so I felt like that really saved me. When I was in character onstage, I had the sensation that I ruled it all: I had never had an experience like that before with a role. In the main production, I played Rudolf. He’s vulnerable and desperate, kind and honest…I found the character of Rudolf really appealing, and it was a part I liked performing.

July-August 2015: Rose of Versailles: Fersen and Marie Antoinette (Umeda/Taiwan Tour) – Oscar Francois de Jarjayes
‘A performance I felt a lot of power from’

Oscar is the role that represents Takarazuka, and anyone who knows anything about Takarazuka knows about it, so before starting rehearsals I was really worried about how it would turn out. I read the original work and fell in love with Oscar all over again, so even though there was only a short time for rehearsal, I tried to get as close as possible to the original Oscar as I put together the character.

Sometimes I had trouble when things didn’t go as I wanted, but after the Umeda performance ended and the final performance of the Taiwan tour came closer, I was so moved by the final scene at the Bastille that I almost felt as if I had Oscar’s soul. It was a performance I felt a lot of power from: the power of the original work, the power of the music, the power of the script, the power of the characters, and the power of all Oscar’s fans.

In the end…

Looking back on all my roles like this, I’ve realized just how many wonderful characters I’ve encountered. Some of them I would like to try taking on again, but I think all the sensations from when I first performed them would just come over me once more. From now on, I’m sure I will get a lot of roles that I can only perform in that time, so I’m even more determined to give each role my all so I don’t have any regrets afterwards.