The classmate interview column for the 89th class was written by Nanami Hiroki and ran in GRAPH in 2010. (The titles are usually elaborate puns, in this case Seven Seas=Nanami, 89 Records=a pun on the Japanese term for ‘white papers’.) Asumi’s interview was published in the July issue; she was still a Moon Troupe member at the time.
Continue readingThis Kageki feature from 2011 has the results of a survey of all the troupe members of the time, asking their impression of their Top Star through various questionnaires.
Otozuki’s was published in the November issue, and the survey seems to have been done during the performance or rehearsals for The Man in the Iron Mask/Royal Straight Flush!.
Continue readingThis offstage fashion overview published in the July 2016 issue of Kageki features Kurenai Yuzuru, Miya Rurika, Nozomi Fuuto, Shimon Yuriya, Ayakaze Sakina, Yuzuka Rei, Seo Yuria, and Urara Reimi.
Continue readingSenka Top Star Todoroki Yuu wrote this blog-style column in Kageki for many years until her retirement (first as ‘Talking to Myself’, then ‘Talking to Myself With Photo’ and finally as ‘Talking to Myself With…’).
In February of 2013 she wrote about weddings, among…other things.
Continue readingTroupe Report is a Kageki feature where an appointed reporter will write about current events in the troupe or ask troupe members for questions to answers sent in by readers. Reporters are generally only replaced on retirement, unlike other backstage features that rotate monthly or quarterly.
This edition was written by Sahana Mako, and talks about events backstage of The Rose of Versailles: Fersen.
(Sahana consistently refers to otokoyaku with male pronouns and honorifics; this is not a translation error but her personal writing style, as is the various bold text, strikethroughs, etc.)
Continue readingIn this feature from Kageki, stars 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 June 2015 issue.
Posting outside the usual scheduling in commemoration of Ayakaze’s first retirement ceremony tomorrow.
Continue readingWINGS is a Kageki feature where a few young actresses answer questions about themselves and Takarazuka. This issue’s column includes Yuunami Kei, Shidou Ryu, Rui Makise, and Haruha Rara.
Continue readingThis review of 1789, by freelance theatre and film reviewer Kotooda Chieko (d. 2018), was published in the June 2015 issue of Kageki.
Continue readingBackstage Journal is a short Kageki feature where very young cast members write anecdotes about what’s going on behind the scenes of the productions. They’re not very deep, being full of emojis and more like blog entries than articles, but they are a cute and fun way to get to know actresses and hear more about behind-the-scenes goings-on from a different point of view than the main stars.
This one is by then-Snow Troupe member Arisa Hitomi (of the 98th Class) and was published in the April 2015 issue.
Continue readingCARNIVAL was longtime Takarazuka interviewer Ashizawa Jin’s 2015 GRAPH column. This talk with then-Moon Troupe member Asami Jun was published in April.
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