{"id":753,"date":"2018-04-04T22:36:00","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T04:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=753"},"modified":"2021-01-09T21:06:17","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T04:06:17","slug":"the-challenge-of-asami-juns-10th-year-yoshitsune-and-the-fox-spirit-cherry-blossom-fantasy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/04\/the-challenge-of-asami-juns-10th-year-yoshitsune-and-the-fox-spirit-cherry-blossom-fantasy\/","title":{"rendered":"The challenge of Asami Jun\u2019s 10th year: \u2018Yoshitsune and the Fox Spirit – Cherry Blossom Fantasy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This interview with Asami Jun about her then-upcoming Bow Hall was published by Sports Hochi on March 14.\u00a0The original article can be found here.<\/a> (Archive link here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The challenge of Asami Jun\u2019s 10th year: \u2018Yoshitsune and the Fox Spirit – Cherry Blossom Fantasy\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asami Jun, a star of the Takarazuka Revue\u2019s Snow Troupe, will perform her first solo lead role in Yoshitsune and the Fox Spirit – Cherry Blossom Fantasy<\/em>, which runs from March 29-April 9 in the Takarazuka Bow Hall, Hyogo. She transferred from Moon Troupe in May of last year, and this performance, as she reaches her 10th year in the company, is very significant. \u201cWhile I\u2019ve gained some breathing room – in a good way – I don\u2019t mean to let myself stagnate, but to keep pushing forward,\u201d she declares aggressively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is her first time taking center stage in Bow Hall since A-EN ARTHUR VERSION<\/em> (2015), when she was in Moon Troupe. That production was an experimental ‘workshop\u2019 show which was a double lead with Akatsuki Chisei, but this is a full-blown solo lead. Despite the high pressure laid on her, she says \u201cI was surprised it was a traditional Japanese show. I\u2019m really happy about my role.\u201d She was excited at the thought of a ‘traditional flavor Rock Fantasy\u2019 about Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yoshitsune, who became a hero during the defeat of the Taira faction, flees from his brother Yoritomo\u2019s (Minamoto-no-Yoritomo=Towaki Sea) attempts to kill him. Tsune, a girl possessed by a fox spirit, entices him into a strange village in another dimension\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Asami is from Kamakura, which Yoritomo established as capitol city, \u201cwhen I was in elementary school, we studied the Minamoto a lot in class. I like Yoshitsune better than Yoritomo. He has that heroic image, you know.\u201d In order to embody the strength of her character, she\u2019s doing muscle training, but what is very important to her role is her ‘reactive\u2019 acting. After a ‘phantom loop\u2019 traps him in the parallel world, she has to express his jumpiness at every little thing. \u201cI think I shouldn\u2019t focus too much on the fact that I\u2019m the lead, but just work on creating my role as I always would.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tani, the director, instructed her \u201cI want you to be ‘conflicted\u2019. I want them to see you discover something in the midst of being lost.\u201d Though he could be compared to a Takarasienne who continues aiming ahead despite struggling, \u201cYoshitsune has a lot of worries due to his past\u2026 I\u2019m the type to just keep pushing forward (laughs),\u201d she says with an energetic smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She transferred from Moon Troupe in May of last year. \u201cFor some reason, I had the image of them as being a rather reserved troupe, but they\u2019re all so passionate. The way they thoroughly work through the acting is similar to Moon Troupe, so I was able to fit right in.\u201d Her way of approaching things has shifted as well. \u201cMy feeling that I want to give more than I\u2019ve imagined in what I\u2019ve been given to do has increased. Instead of ‘I\u2019ve gotta do this somehow\u2019 I think ‘I\u2019ll go for it!\u2019 It\u2019s an internal boost for me. I\u2019m very thankful. I hope I can keep going with this energy,\u201d she says, her large eyes sparkling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Grand Theatre production\u00a0The Path of Light<\/em>\u00a0was her first performance with Top Star Nozomi Fuuto. \u201cAt first I was just dumbfounded at how amazing her voice is. I almost got caught up in imagining what it would be like if I could sing like that. It motivated to study singing more myself. I want to be able to follow her.\u201d She hopes to add even more to the experience she already has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She decided on ‘full speed ahead!\u2019 as the motto of her 10th year in the company, known as ’10 years to otokoyaku\u2019, when one is supposed to come into her full abilities. \u201cI want to play all sorts of roles – young or old, men or women, I don\u2019t care. I don\u2019t want people to think of me as ‘transfer Asami Jun\u2019 any more, so I want to create a new identity for myself.\u201d She looks forward to a new Spring in Snow Troupe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This interview with Asami Jun about her then-upcoming Bow Hall was published by Sports Hochi on March 14.\u00a0The original article can be found here. (Archive link here.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[13,360,230,83,68],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753"}],"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=753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":754,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions\/754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}