Takarazuka Terms

There are some words that I consistently leave in Japanese, as using them as loanwords is standard to the Zuka fandom, and other terms that I translate potentially differently to other sources. However, I’m sure this can be confusing to people who are really new to Zuka, so rather than scatter asterisks all over the translations I’m just going to put a glossary over here. (If a term is unique to an article I’ll use asterisks and notes then).

  • senshuuraku – final performance of a run (usually has lots of in-jokes and adlibs; also when retirements happen)
  • shinjin kouen – one-off performance of any Grand Theatre show (one in Tokyo, one in Takarazuka), in which all the roles are taken by junior actresses (ken-7 or under)
  • ken-X – how long one has been in Takarazuka, ex. someone on their 10th year would be ken-10 (actresses debut at ken-1, there is no ken-0)
  • Senka – a group of senior actresses not affiliated with any troupe who join other troupes for performances
  • OG – former Takarazuka members
  • Sienne/Takarasienne – Takarazuka actress (riff on ‘Parisienne’)
  • Senior/Junior actress – how I’ve chosen to translate ‘joukyuusei’ and ‘kakyuusei’ which correspond to ‘upperclassman’ and ‘underclassman’ respectively but would be awkward for obvious reasons
  • Top Combi – the Top otokoyaku and musumeyaku pairing
  • nihonmono – a show with a Japanese setting and more traditional Japanese influence
  • Yokasei/Honkasei – The terms for the levels in the Takarazuka Music School (1st and 2nd year respectively)