{"id":1183,"date":"2020-12-07T17:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T00:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2021-01-09T17:21:36","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T00:21:36","slug":"ex-takarazuka-otokoyaku-star-nanami-hiroki-is-a-huge-mandarin-lover-her-fave-mandarin-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2020\/12\/07\/ex-takarazuka-otokoyaku-star-nanami-hiroki-is-a-huge-mandarin-lover-her-fave-mandarin-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-Takarazuka otokoyaku star Nanami Hiroki is a huge mandarin lover!? Her \u201cfave mandarin\u201d is\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This fun interview about OG Nanami Hiroki\u2019s favorite fruit was published for Japan\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Mandarin Orange\u2019 day (one of two, even!) on December 3, 2020.\u00a0The original article was written by Ayaji Nobuko [approximate reading] for Domani\u2014click through for many photos of Nanami!<\/a> (Archive link here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ex-Takarazuka otokoyaku star Nanami Hiroki is a huge mandarin lover!? Her \u201cfave mandarin\u201d is\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 3 is \u201cMandarin Orange Day\u201d! Celebrity mandarin fancier Nanami Hiroki talks about her love for mandarins <3<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a special spinoff of our \u201cTakarazuka OG\u201d regular column! Your reporter is delighted to see so many fans looking forward to it on social media. Our guest was very popular in the company and now is doing great work in new fields: Nanami Hiroki!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, everyone, did you know that December 3 was \u201cMandarin Orange Day\u201d? Actually, though November 3 is \u201cMandarin Orange Day\u201d since it can be read out as \u2018good mandarin\u2019, but since it\u2019s the third day [‘mikka\u2019 (third day) sounds similar to ‘mikan\u2019 (mandarin)]<\/em> of the winter satsuma season December 3 is also \u201cMandarin Orance Day\u201d. Though December 3 might seem to be just a little bonus, it\u2019s a toootally authentic \u201cMandarin Orange Day\u201d recognized by the National Cooperative of Fruit Producers and Suppliers* and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on, former Takarazuka otokoyaku star Nanami Hiroki is known for her love of mandarins. She loves them so much that in the publication ‘Otome\u2019, which serves as a guide to all Takarasiennes in the Takarazuka revue, for the entire time she worked for Takarazuka she entered ‘mandarins\u2019 in the ‘favorite food\u2019 line. Therefore, we asked her to tell us about her love of mandarins as a celebration of this Mandarin Orange Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domani: <\/em>Why do you love mandarins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami:<\/em> I really love their color and shape. That roundness, and that orange color\u2026don\u2019t you somehow feel more cheerful just looking at them? And then of course the flavor! I\u2019ve aaaaaalways loved their exquisite flavor, the sweetness with a touch of sour. And them being so easy to eat is appealing too. Since you can eat them simply without needing a knife, when I was little I would eat about ten of them at once whenever I was hungry. I would eat so many of them I\u2019d make myself sick but now I save them and eat them properly, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domani: <\/em>Tell us some memorable anecdotes about mandarins!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami:<\/em> Every winter, my family would buy them by the box over and over. It was our yearly tradition to sit under the kotatsu and all eat mandarins together while we watched the Red and White Song Contest. I would peel so many mandarins that both thumbs would turn orange. And then of course my family would warn me \u201cyou\u2019re eating too much!\u201d (laughs) Also, apparently once I said \u201cwhen I grow up I want to be a mandarin farmer!\u201d My friends would give me mandarins with character faces drawn on them as presents, and when I was in Takarazuka, junior actresses would make pyramids of mandarins on my dressing table. My love of mandarins was pretty well known (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami\u2019s \u201cfave mandarin\u201d is\u2026!?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on, we asked her about the type of mandarins she eats all the time and which kinds she\u2019s excited about lately. (For this article, we used the ‘Citrus Cross-section Picture Book\u2019 as a reference for her to pick from.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donami:<\/em> Tell us your \u201cfave mandarin\u201d!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami:<\/em> If you say ‘mandarin\u2019 of course you think of satsumas! They\u2019re the ones I eat the most often and they\u2019re the most familiar to me. They have a reliable ‘standard\u2019 feeling. Their appearance and ease of eating are appealing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThough the name ‘unshiu\u2019 [the scientific name for the satsuma] is derived from a location in China, it is also believed to have originated in Kagoshima. With mutations and improvements, there are over 100 strains such as ‘Miyagawawase\u2019 and ‘Nankan #20\u2019 and as many different production sites. It bears pride of place as the most produced citrus fruit.\u201d [Citrus Cross-Section Picture Book, Shogakukan]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami:<\/em> One type I\u2019m interested in is ‘Himekoharu\u2019 [lit. ‘Princes Koharu\u2019. I feel like the name is cute, and I\u2019ve never eaten one so I\u2019m interested in what it might taste like. If I get a chance I would love to eat one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c’Himekoharu\u2019 is only grown in Ehime Prefecture, and is known as the youngest sibling of the ‘Ehime Three New Citrus Brothers\u2019. It can be peeled with the hands and eaten like a satsuma. It brings the feeling of approaching spring, a tiny and cute new force.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami:<\/em> It says in this book that ‘Tsunokagayaki\u2019 was made \u201cwith the goal of creating an even more delicious citrus than the Satsuma Unshiu\u201d, so now I want to know what kind of person created it. They must have such deep feelings towards mandarins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis variety was developed with the goal of creating an even more delicious citrus than the Satsuma Unshiu. It is appealing due to its high sugar level and easily removed peel. It is also full of Cryptoxanthin, which is said to be beneficial for lifestyle diseases.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nanami:<\/em> Even if they\u2019re all called mandarins, there are lots of different kinds, aren\u2019t there. There are tons I haven\u2019t had a chance to eat yet, so one day I want to eat mandarins from all over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Mandarins\u2019 are like a constant companion all through the winter. Though since they are so ubiquitous it can obscure their appeal, they\u2019re really an amazing fruit\u2026I learned again today. They\u2019re full of vital nutrients and vitamins for beauty, so there\u2019s no reason not to eat them during their peak season right now! Nanami loves them too, so of course today\u2019s fruit has to be mandarins, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – Official English name of the organization, if one exists, may be different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This fun interview about OG Nanami Hiroki\u2019s favorite fruit was published for Japan\u2019s\u00a0\u2018Mandarin Orange\u2019 day (one of two, even!) on December 3, 2020.\u00a0The original article was written by Ayaji Nobuko [approximate reading] for Domani\u2014click through for many photos of Nanami! … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[26,4],"tags":[13,357,66,68],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1184,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions\/1184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}