{"id":958,"date":"2018-11-16T17:28:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-17T00:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/?p=958"},"modified":"2021-01-09T20:46:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-10T03:46:44","slug":"mori-keaki-120-darling-part-2-chapter-3-being-a-man-is-really-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/16\/mori-keaki-120-darling-part-2-chapter-3-being-a-man-is-really-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"Mori Keaki – 120% Darling: Part 2 Chapter 3 – Being a man is really hard!?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mori Keaki published this essay book the month before her retirement as Top Star of Snow Troupe. It is mainly a memoir of her personal journey in Takarazuka, as well as her early life. Her writing\/formatting style is kind of unique, and I tried to reproduce or reflect it as much as possible.

It\u2019s a really lovely book, that ended up making me cry many times. I hope you enjoy it!

For a table of contents with links to all the chapters,\u00a0go here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(In this chapter, she spends a while talking about her views on marriage and the relationships between men and women – please bear in mind that she grew up in the 1970s and this book was published in 1993. Also, please note that as far as I can tell Mori has never married.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Being a man is really hard!?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I write too much about my father,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel like you\u2019ll start thinking \u201cDoes Mori Keaki have a \u2018father complex\u2019!?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I don\u2019t think I can really deny that 100%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, apparently Mori Keaki\u2019s \u2018otokoyaku face\u2019 looks just like my father in his younger days\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I resemble both my mother and father a lot (which just means that my mother and father also resemble each other)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of that, when I was playing Rhett Butler and Valentino, wasn\u2019t my mother saying \u201cLittle Miko, you look just like your father\u2026 That takes me back~\u201d and smiling happily\u2026 Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I use slightly darker makeup and have my hair in a slicked-back pompadour, I don\u2019t even recognize myself. It\u2019s to the point that if I look in a mirror, I\u2019ll feel like saying \u201cDad! How are you doing!?\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the same goes for our personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way he was the star entertainer at the police banquets, and despite being a very virtuous person, could be very happy-go-lucky at times, seem to be things he passed on to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, even though my father was like that,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He would say \u201cMy dream is for my daughters to become good brides!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although apparently, while I was in Takarazuka, he would hold back from saying this\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, my mother was \u2018an expert housewife\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel like he must have kept thinking,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne day, Little Miko will be like that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right, Dad!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the long-lasting traditions of Takarazuka is the idea that \u2018Graduated Takarazuka students become remarkably good wives and mothers\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first reason for that is, we learn hierarchical structure without any difference between otokoyaku and onnayaku1<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the second reason is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That it\u2019s a theatre of only women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one chooses to live as an otokoyaku, she has to perform as an ideal \u2018man\u2019, that someone might dream of, even if it\u2019s far above what real \u2018men\u2019 are like, or the kind of man who would never exist in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onnayaku also have to perform against the otokoyaku from a position removed from \u2018real\u2019 women, and instead perform the part of Takarazuka \u2018women\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onnayaku students have to become \u2018skilled at service\u2019 in a way, so even if they get married, they don\u2019t resent serving their husbands at all, one could say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what about otokoyaku!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otokoyaku are\u2026otokoyaku. Since they have the opportunity to perform as the \u2018ideal man\u2019 of most women in society, even if it\u2019s for a role, they will think a lot about things like \u201cIf I was a man, in this position, would I choose my duty or my lover!?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, maybe, otokoyaku are able to understand \u2018the struggles of a man\u2019s position\u2019 better, perhaps\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if they get married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if they\u2019re not a \u2018serving wife\u2019 (although it depends on the person\u2026ahahaha).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do I put this\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since she is \u2018experienced\u2019 with a man\u2019s life, even though she is a different gender from her husband, she can become a wife who also has a feeling of being a \u2018partner\u2019 of the same gender\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I kind of feel like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although I think to actual (!?) men this might seem presumptuous\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I feel this keenly after having the opportunity to be an otokoyaku for 14 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing a man is\u2026really hard, isn\u2019t it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though this was only for my roles,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would have to lead my wife, and my children, while also doing my own work\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though all the responsibility was on my own shoulders, I had to be generous towards everyone else\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then, adultery, somehow\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the man\u2019s perspective\u2026I kind of\u2026understand\u2026a bit\u2026\u201d (Ah, that\u2019s scary!?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wife is a wife, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She keeps the home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, if you think about Oishi Kuranosuke, from my retirement performance, he trusts his wife, O-Riku, so much that he can tell her \u2018You take care of things,\u2019 with 100% confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as he is preparing for the attack on Lord Kira, this being something not to do with \u2018the home\u2019 but with \u2018the world\u2019, in this situation he ends up in a different sort of love than with his wife, for O-Ran. He becomes very fond of this woman who betrays his enemies and joins him\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A full-time housewife who is solely devoted to her husband, an \u2018O-Riku type,\u2019 might say \u201cI don\u2019t understand at all!\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuranosuke loved both O-Riku and O-Ran\u2026. Although, since I am a woman, I can\u2019t say that I \u2018understand\u2019 perfectly, but even so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI can see why\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I were to get married, I might end up being someone who understands men from a really unique viewpoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When my husband gets home, tired from \u2018fighting the good fight\u2019 outside the house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI get it! It was like that for me to!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That kind of thing. Ahahahaha!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d be a wife who was more like a comrade-in-arms\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since I had the opportunity to be an otokoyaku for so long, I am thoroughly acquainted with having women serving and helping me, and how grateful I felt for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just when I was playing a role, but the Takarazuka student \u2018Mori Keaki\u2019 was cared for by so many staff members and fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ll never forget how happy all of that made me\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I were to get married, this time I think I would want to make my husband think \u2018This makes me so happy!\u2019 the way so many others did for me\u2026and I think I\u2019d really be able to do that!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, to make a long story short, perhaps I\u2019ll really be able to become the \u2018good wife\u2019 that my father dreamed of\u2026 What?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut will the housework be okay?\u201d you say!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ehehe. Currently that\u2019s a \u2018no\u2019, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, I have my \u2018perfect woman!!\u2019 mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it came down to it, I\u2019m sure she could train me into an above-average housewife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you know of a good match for me, please let me know (!!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ah, but don\u2019t misunderstand, please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mori Keaki, after graduating from Takarazuka, is going to be an actress first!! I am an\u00a0actress<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – \u2018Onnayaku\u2019 and \u2018musumeyaku\u2019 are terms that are sometimes differentiated in meaning, but Mori here just means musumeyaku.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mori Keaki published this essay book the month before her retirement as Top Star of Snow Troupe. It is mainly a memoir of her personal journey in Takarazuka, as well as her early life. Her writing\/formatting style is kind of … 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":[11],"tags":[255,256,362,355,189],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958"}],"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=958"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":959,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958\/revisions\/959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zukalations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}