{"id":2785,"date":"2024-06-24T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=2785"},"modified":"2024-06-01T05:23:14","modified_gmt":"2024-06-01T11:23:14","slug":"berubara-and-i-matsu-akira-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/24\/berubara-and-i-matsu-akira-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Berubara and I – Matsu Akira (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This book, which is something of an \u2018oral history\u2019 of Takarazuka\u2019s Rose of Versailles<\/em> adaptations, was published by Ascom in late 2005, and features chronological accounts from otokoyaku who had performed in the franchise from its first origins through the 2001 productions. Since the book is derived from transcriptions of interviews taking place often many decades after the fact, there may be discrepancies between accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that the term appearing through the text as \u2018theatre-comic\u2019 is translated from the Japanese term gekiga <\/em>[\u5287\u753b]. Although this term is described as applying to mainly male-oriented comics in most English-language sources, this is no longer accurate. The definition of this word has changed to also include sweeping, romantic female-oriented works with Rose of Versailles being arguably the most famous of theatre-comics. Takarazuka even published its own magazine of theatre-comics in the 1970s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapters have been split in two to make them more readable without too much scrolling to reach the explanatory footnotes. Some paragraph breaks have also been added for ease of reading in English. I have also included (or will include when time allows) some images printed in the book as well as sourcing many other archival images to illustrate the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Takarazuka Then and Now<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s really surprising is that, during the time of Berubara, I didn\u2019t make any terrible screwups. But, prior to that, I would actually make unbelievably huge mistakes all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, during a period drama called Beautiful Young Warrior<\/em>1<\/sup>, I actually went on stage wearing slippers (laughs). It was a stark white snow scene, so the whole stage was covered in a white sheet, and I was playing Taira no Tomomori, so I was wearing \u2018sashinuki\u2019 hakama2<\/sup> and an eboshi hat, that was the costume. And since it was really cold, I was wearing huge fluffy slippers right up until my entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scene took place right in front of the curtain, and I was actually supposed to go on stage barefoot, but I ended up wearing those fluffy slippers out on stage! And then, one of them got caught on the sashinuki and, fwoooom, it flew out into the audience! The other one I slipped off and left it sitting there on stage after my exit\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was no laughing matter! Ootori Ran-san and Anna Jun-san were the leads, and I was still only about a third-level supporting star\u2026 It was such a serious scene, but then my fluffy slippers went flying into the audience\u2026 And on top of that, those slippers had my name \u2018Matsu\u2019 written on them in big letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might not have been so bad if the stage was its usual brown, but this had to be the day it was all colored white, so just picture one red and blue striped slipper sitting there on stage. That was just so terrifying\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, our Troupe Elder was someone named Miyoshi Sakuko, and she was the sort of person who wouldn\u2019t get angry at you when you made some ridiculously huge error. This Troupe Elder told me\u2026 \u201cWhen you\u2019ve messed up really bad, so much you think \u2018what a disaster\u2019, I don\u2019t get angry. After all, you are the one who already understands best what happened.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had my wig pop right off once in a while as well. There\u2019s nobody now who has their wig pop off, right? Now everyone is model students, you could say, things have changed to where they feel like they\u2019d never do such a ridiculous thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was in the music school, too, sometimes I\u2019d cut classes to go play in the amusement park. I\u2019d buy bread at the bakery across the highway and, though it\u2019s not there any more now, I\u2019d go to the amusement park. The gondolas would pass right in front of the ballet classroom window, so I\u2019d try to crouch down and hide so they couldn\u2019t see me. And then when my wickedness came to light, \u2018Come on!\u2019 the homeroom teacher would blow up at me\u2014they got angry with me a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were severe aspects as well, but looking back, it was really fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takarazuka is a place that also trains you how to be a human being. It isn\u2019t just somewhere that simply teaches you the arts like singing, dancing, and acting, so altogether, it\u2019s wonderful how it trains foundational things, like how even if someone is just a year above you they\u2019re your senior, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m most grateful for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This might be old-fashioned, but your seniors go first. Even if it\u2019s just one year, if they\u2019re above you they\u2019re above you. For example, even if I was performing in a starring role, and my senior in a supporting role, of course I\u2019d go and give her the proper greetings and make tea for her. When it came to regional performance dressing rooms, too, my senior would get a nice room to herself and even if I was Top Star I would be in the large group dressing room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even for a star standing in the spotlight, once you take one step off the stage to leave the fictional world and go back to the real world, everything is ordered by seniority. So if someone is above you, even if it’s by just one year, they\u2019re your senior. All of those kinds of things were cultivated naturally and still permeate me completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everything that was drilled into me by Takarazuka\u2019s strict training, and everything I was given in Takarazuka, is my lifelong treasure. No matter what position I\u2019m working in\u2014right now I am in politics, but even as a performer or a housewife, or even in a completely different occupation, I could get along alright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing Takarazuka fostered in me was the strength to overcome painful things and keep going. Once leaving Takarazuka, no matter where they go, everyone is prepared to do their best in their respective fields. That\u2019s the hidden power of Takarazuka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I retired, when I tried just being a normal fan, I realized what a beautiful dream world Takarazuka really is. And there isn\u2019t any work more perfect for it than Berubara.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went to see Hyuuga Kaoru\u2019s performance, I don\u2019t recall when3<\/sup>, and was \u2018reunited\u2019 with Berubara after a long time. Even hearing just the first notes of the introduction, I felt like I was about to cry. No matter who performs in it, or how many years pass, it\u2019s a masterpiece that will never fade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be honest, I think that nothing will ever surpass Ikeda\u2019s theatre-comic. However, I feel like nothing lives up to the theatre-comic as well as Takarazuka\u2019s Berubara productions. I\u2019m not just saying this to be generous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berubara, like The 47 Loyal Retainers<\/em>4<\/sup>, is something I\u2019d like to see staged once every several years. As time goes on and on, there will be more and more people who have gone before, so people performing in a new production might feel a bit reluctant\u2026 But I\u2019m certain that it’s the kind of show where afterwards you\u2019ll end up thinking \u2018I\u2019m so glad I did that\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m so happy to have encountered Berubara and to have been able to play three different roles. People in Takarazuka all encounter all sorts of works, but I feel so lucky that I encountered a work that has gone down in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is something that makes me so happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Berubara Q&A – Matsu Akira<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – If I say \u2018Takarazuka\u2019, what do you think of?<\/em>
A – Violet flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – If I say \u2018Berubara\u2019?<\/em>
A – Roses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What message would you currently want to give Oscar?<\/em>
A – I respect you so much for overcoming your own emotions and laying down your life for the sake of the citizens. I send you all my love…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What message would you currently want to give Andre?<\/em>
A – You\u2019re so manly. You\u2019re really cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What message would you currently want to give Fersen?<\/em>
A – I think your stoic love must have gotten through to Marie Antoinette and I\u2019m sure you\u2019re together in heaven now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – If you could request one thing from Takarazuka, what would it be?<\/em>
A – Otokoyaku nowadays are all so good at singing and dancing and everything. But I feel like there aren\u2019t so many \u2018mature\u2019 otokoyaku. In my era things weren\u2019t so refined, but I think there might have been more mature-feeling otokoyaku… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – If you were reborn, would you join Takarazuka again?<\/em>
A – I would. As an otokoyaku! Thinking back on it now, I was paired up with tons of beautiful people (musumeyaku), so I was really blessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extra questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What was your favorite line of dialogue in Takarazuka?<\/em>
A – \u201cThere\u2019s no night that isn\u2019t followed by the dawn,\u201d from my final performance, Prelude of Dawn<\/em>. I want to keep living according to that philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What otokoyaku characters have you fallen for as a woman?<\/em>
A – Franz, the noble youth from My Friend, Weep Your Hot Tears on My Breast.<\/em> He ruined himself and had that appeal of a fallen man. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What otokoyaku roles did you struggle with?<\/em>
A – Andre and Ashley. They were hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q – What roles would you like to perform again?<\/em>
A – Yu the Beautiful<\/em>5<\/sup>. I was so immature back then! (laughs) So I\u2019d like to grow a bit more and then try playing Yu again! I\u2019m satisfied with all my otokoyaku roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – Beautiful Young Warrior: Benkei and Yoshitsune<\/em>, an Ueda Shinji play from 1972.
2 – Men’s split hakama that are tied around the ankle, creating a bloused effect. (The title character of Inuyasha wears this type.)
3 – Hyuuga starred in the 1989-90 production of Fersen and Marie-Antoinette.<\/em>
4 – She is speaking about The 47 Loyal Retainers<\/em> as a stage phenomenon, not a specific reference to the Takarazuka adaptation (which was only staged once).
5 – Female lead in Ueda Shinji\u2019s Yu the Beautiful<\/em> (1974).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This book, which is something of an \u2018oral history\u2019 of Takarazuka\u2019s Rose of Versailles adaptations, was published by Ascom in late 2005, and features chronological accounts from otokoyaku who had performed in the franchise from its first origins through the 2001 productions. … 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":[30,26],"tags":[255,394,395,362,207,535],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2785"}],"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=2785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2788,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2785\/revisions\/2788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}