Blazing Wind: Strategist Takenaka Hanbei roundtable talk

This discussion of Nanami Hiroki’s 2017 Bow Hall took place during rehearsals of the show and was published in the January 2017 issue of Kageki.


Blazing Wind: Strategist Takenaka Hanbei roundtable talk

Participants: Suzuki Kei (Director), Nanami Hiroki, Maaya Kiho

Suzuki: While I did want to make a show about the Warring States era, the reason I settled on Takenaka Hanbei as the topic was that, among all the Warring States generals I thought he was the one who most fit my image of Nanami Hiroki. Since this is Kai-chan’s (Nanami’s) first solo lead, I basically wanted to write something that suited her well; there’s not really any other reason.

Nanami: I really like Director Suzuki’s straightforward scripts, so I was very happy to work together with him this time. Besides that, I really feel like he’s helped me out at many critical turning points. He’s always looking after me (laughs).

Suzuki: You’re welcome (laughs). I feel that Hanbei, as a person, was someone who valued life, even in the violent world of the Warring States. This is expressed in his tactics; he tried to preserve the lifes of not only his allies but his enemies as well. Therefore, for this show I want to use the theme of ‘life’ to tell the story of Hanbei’s lifetime and within that show my image of Hanbei.

Nanami: When I read the script, it reminded me of a Taiga drama1, how you can feel the emotional conflict between different people, and it seemed like the feelings from the performers would change the way it can be seen from day to day; that would be really interesting to see, I thought. Also, since many different commanders from the Warring States period will be appearing, I think people will be really excited about that. And besides that, Hanbei’s way of life was just really cool.

Suzuki: Too cool…

Nanami: Not to mention the contemporary accounts say that he was really good looking. No matter how much I research about him, I can’t find any failings; if someone like him was here now I think he’d be super popular.

Suzuki, Maaya: (Laugh)

Suzuki: I think the fascinating part about writing something set in the Warring States period is that you have to fill in the details that do not remain in contemporary accounts with imagination. Therefore, since I can’t say everything about Hanbei is correct, I think Kai-chan’s sensitivity in creating her Hanbei is certainly correct. This isn’t restricted to Hanbei as things are the same for his wife, Ine; in fact, no documentation remains about her at all.

Nanami: But her grave is placed right next to Hanbei’s. Therefore I’m sure they must have been close.

Maaya: When I first read the script, I felt that Ine was a place where Hanbei’s heart could rest. Also, Hanbei was such a lovely person…What a wonderful husband Ine had! I thought. (laughs)

Suzuki, Nanami: (laugh)

Maaya: I think she must have prayed day after day for her husband’s safety. I don’t want to just have the feelings and lifestyle of women of those days in my head, but to fully feel those emotions during my performance.

Suzuki: I have a really strong image from scenes in dramas and movies where the wife of the castle’s lord would say ‘I will protect this castle!’ You see those kinds of scenes a lot. While Takenaka is seen as very strong, I thought that of course a military leader who is responsible for the lives of so many thousands of people would certainly also be battling his own concerns. Therefore, I thought that the wife of someone fighting on the battlefield must have enough strength of her own to support him, so I feel Ine must have been that kind of strong person.

Nanami: This is my first time to act with Kii-chan so much. But I knew about Kii-chan before we were in Star Troupe together.

Maaya: Once you were reading a book about dramatic theory that I’d left in the corridor of the theatre, right?

Nanami: Right. It was so interesting that I was wondering whose book it could be, and it turned out to be Kii-chan’s. Back then I thought you must really like acting. Therefore, when we ended up in the same troupe I wanted to perform together with you sometime. I’m very happy that I was given this opportunity to perform with you before you go to Snow Troupe.

Maaya: Since I’d recieve acting advice from Hiroki-san all the time, I also wanted to perform together with her and so I’m very happy about this. Also, she is my first husband in a play (laughs).

Nanami: Really (laughs).

Maaya: Since I’m so happy, I’m going to do my all to work together with Hiroki-san.

Suzuki: Yesterday was our first time rehearsing the songs; how was it?

Nanami: I love those kind of catchy Takarazuka songs that you can’t forget after hearing once, and make you hum all the way home from the theatre. I was dying to have something like that, and Yoshida, the composer, created something totally perfect for the show.

Maaya: Everyone started humming them right away yesterday, didn’t they.

Nanami: They did! The lyrics are so clear, so that when I sang ‘My Life’s Path’ I just started crying. I think it’s a really important song since it conveys the message to the audience. Kii-chan’s camellia song is also lovely.

Maaya: I sing about Hanbei in it, and it uses the flower language of the red camellia2.

Suzuki: I thought the idea of ‘modest virtues’ and such was perfect for Hanbei.

Maaya: The melody and lyrics are very straightfoward, and I thought I’d never get something else where they worked together so well. I also have the chance to sing a duet with Hiroki-san, and our voices fit together in what feels like perfect harmony.

Nanami: It does feel wonderful. While there are a lot of songs, of course, this show also has a lot of dance numbers and fight scenes.

Suzuki: Yes. I think the dance scene of otokoyaku wearing armor, and the stage combat scenes, will be really memorable.

Nanami: I think when fans see that otokoyaku scene they’ll be like ‘Aaaah!’

Maaya: I’m like ‘Aaaah!’ just thinking about it (laughs).

Suzuki: The armor and other costumes are certainly a highlight of the show. The helmet Kai-chan wears in the poster wouldn’t have been so large in reality, but we had it made based on a bust of Hanbei and other portrayals.

Nanami: When I did the photoshoot for the poster I felt like I was three times bigger (laughs). Since there are all sorts of armor pieces and such to put on, I’m worried about costume changes, but relying on the help of the dressing staff (laughs) I want to look great in the show.

Suzuki: So, in the end why don’t we talk about what we’re excited for. Maaya, you start.

Maaya: Since acting is something you can’t do alone, I am hoping that when I hear the lines from my acting partner I can clearly convey the emotions that well up in the moment. I’m really grateful that I’ve been allowed to play Hiroki-san’s partner in her lead show so I’ll do my best.

Nanami: Since I have the lead in this show I’m of course thinking about how people will see me, but more than that I want people to see Hanbei’s life. Therefore, I want to work hard so that the audience will feel ‘Hanbei is so cool’ rather than just me. Since this show has the message ‘the world I live in can change through my relationship with someone else’, I am hoping that if anyone sees the show while they’re feeling down, once the show ends they can think ‘I’ll do my best from tomorrow’; that’s the kind of show I want this to be.

Suzuki: Like when Kai-chan was talking about the theme songs, I feel it’s true that Takarazuka has traditions that have to be preserved, so this time I wanted to make something new while protecting those traditions. If I can link that up with writing a story about Japanese history that is also new that would be a success, I thought. Also, though I keep saying things like this, since this is Kai-chan’s lead show, if through playing Hanbei she can show people a new Nanami Hiroki I’d be very happy. That’s all I’m working towards.

1 – Taiga dramas are year-long historical dramas broadcast by NHK, often biographies focusing on specific historical figures. (In fact, there is one about Tenju Mitsuki’s character in Blazing Wind, Kuroda Kanbei.)

2 – Japan has its own flower language, called hanakotobaAccording to this website, the red camellia is associated with ‘unassuming splendor’, ‘elegance without affectation’, and ‘modest virtues’. (The wikipedia article on hanakotoba does not appear to be reliable.)

Backstage Journal: Hayato Reo (Blazing Wind – The Strategist Takenaka Hanbei)

Backstage 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 good way to get to know the newest actresses in each troupe.

This one is by Star Troupe member Hayato Reo (of the 99th Class), and was published in the March 2017 issue.

Hayato refers to a lot of people by the name of their role in the show so I advise having the cast list handy!

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Star Troupe Report – April 2017

In each Kageki, there is a ‘Troupe Report’ where someone from each troupe collects funny or interesting anecdotes or does Q&A with other members.

The April 2017 Troupe Report was written by Kisaragi Ren and focuses on the backstage of The Scarlet Pimpernel, as well as some Osaka travel tips from Top Star Kurenai Yuzuru!

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Stage Turning Points: Nanami Hiroki (Star Troupe)

In this feature from Kageki, Nanami talks about some of the roles she finds most memorable and how they’ve affected her.

Stage Turning Points: Nanami Hiroki (Star Troupe)

Nanami’s Turning Points

April-May 2003: Takarazuka Floral Diary – Debut

June 2005: Le Petit Jardin (Bow) – Paul
This was the first time I had the same part through the whole show1, so during this performance I learned a lot about how important it is to inspire the audience while still enjoying myself.

November 2007: THE SECOND LIFE (Bow) – Mark White
I’d never had a part that was so important to the overall story before, so I was really happy that I was allowed to have a chance at performing this role. In any case, I decided I’d really give it my all, but by the time rehearsals were over I still hadn’t managed to grasp his character… At that point, Michiko-san [Hokushou] said “If you don’t just go for it you’ll never get it, so why don’t you try it once the way you want to do it?” Those words gave me a lot of courage, and when I tried performing without overthinking it it became much more fun, and as a result that was a very memorable performance for me.

May 2009: Raindrops Fall on Roses (junior performance) – Justin Belzac
My first junior lead
This was my first junior lead, so even while I was struggling with the large amount of lines, of course this role also required me to do more dancing and singing: it was a performance I almost felt I wasn’t going to survive. To make it through performing for 90 minutes I knew it would require tons of concentration, so I respect the Top Stars from the bottom of my heart for managing to do that and then perform in the revue show afterwards. On the day of my performance, I was somehow defiant and thought “This is everything I’m capable of at this point,” so I wasn’t really nervous and just had fun with it.

March 2011: Valentino (Drama City) – Natacha Rambova
Aiming to communicate my performance
I learned a ton of things from Director Koike. In particular, I learned that just thinking on the inside won’t come across to the audience, so I felt like I had to work hard on studying ways of showing and communicating my performance. I wasn’t really prepared for a female role, and I’d never had a very feminine life, so understanding a woman’s heart was difficult (laugh). But Yuuhi-san [Oozora Yuuhi] gave me a lot of advice about how important it was at this stage to experience both male and female roles and such, so it was a performance where I really expanded my horizons!

August-October 2012; January 2013: Legend of Galactic Heroes – Wolfgang Mittermeyer; Paul von Oberstein
A performance without which I feel I wouldn’t have made it here now
I feel like without this performance, I wouldn’t be at this point now, because of all the experiences I gained from it. I really liked the original work, so I wanted to perform in a way that would satisfy both Takarazuka fans and fans of the original work. While performing I also worked on how to show how cool the main character Reinhardt was. And then when I received the role of Oberstein in the Hakataza production, I thought, “I’m definitely going to do it like this!!” and had a furious discussion with Director Koike about the image I had for it (laugh)—I was aiming for an interpretation of the character that was faithful to the original work. During that performance, I realized that if I were to do things the way I wanted them I had to take responsibility for that, so I decided to keep myself together and take the stage with confidence.

July-August 2013: the WILD Meets the WILD (Bow Hall) – Benjamin Northbrook
First Bow Hall lead
Putting together the double-lead production with Hasumi [Yuuya]-san was really fun, and our parts allowed us to let our real selves go so we were able to perform cheerfully on stage without many concerns. While it was my first Bow Hall lead role, I really felt like I was living as my character onstage, and to tell the truth I didn’t really feel much pressure. Even as I enjoyed having the chance to perform on center stage, I also had to consider during each performance how, as the lead performer, I would please the audience.

October 2013: Gone with the Wind – Scarlett (switch role)
Performing the part of Scarlett in “Butler Version”2 is always difficult, and in this production I had so many things to do that I was constantly wondering “should I do it this way? Should I do it that way?” That was all I could think of when it came time to go onstage. The first day as Scarlett, I was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. If I ever became any more nervous than that I think I’d die. I also had to do a pair dance on the Grand Stairs so I was feeling more pressure than ever before, but I decided “in any case I’ll follow along with Rika-san [Ouki Kaname]”. As that thinking came through on stage, I think my performance made Butler seem even more appealing.

June 2015: Catch Me If You Can (Akasaka ACT Theatre) – Carl Hanratty
First performance after moving troupes
Although this was my first performance since moving troupes, Sayumi-san [Kurenai] and I have similar personalities and ways of dealing with things, so from the very start I felt like I could perform naturally. This impression might be unrequited, though (laugh). When I’m with Sayumi, it’s really easy to communicate “this is how I want to perform” so during this performance I really enjoyed my self as an actor while seeing those cues and responding to them. My feelings about changing troupes was that, no matter what troupe I’m in, I want to perform in a way that entertains the audience, so I’ll take on any challenge in order to accomplish that. Thanks to that I was able to dive into this role just after joining Star Troupe and be really happy every day of this production.

1 – Junior performers start out playing multiple background roles.

2 – There is a variant script to Gone With The Wind where Scarlett is the lead role, though it is no longer performed..