Takarazuka – Is the Ideal Man a Woman?
by spinshellIt’s the opening performance of Takarazuka’s Phantom of the Opera. The theater is hushed as the Phantom rests in Christine’s arms. The main lights dim to a single spotlight and all that is left is a tender moment between two forlorn lovers. The emotion wells up in the audience as they are caught in the moment, but one thing is amiss.
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The Phantom, Sumire Haruno, is not your average male-lead. Actually Haruno is not even a male.
Takarazuka, a Japanese all female performance group, strikes a chord with some while leaving others puzzled. However, having survived through the ups and downs of Japanese society, the group continues to thrive today.
With theaters located in Tokyo and Takarazuka city in Hyogo prefecture, nine hundred dedicated employees both behind the scenes and on stage, and an annual audience of approximately 2.3 million people, they must be doing something right.
The Tokyo Takarazuka Theater has a capacity of 2069 people and in one year alone they have around 1300 performances, most of which sell out. The shows they perform tend to be a mix of both foreign musicals and local productions and over the years popular Japanese comics, like the Rose of Versailles, have also made their way onto stage.
The numerous Takarazuka fan clubs typically consist of housewives aged between thirty and fifty years old. These clubs and their fans motives are often the topic of speculation. It is debated as to whether the fans’ support towards the actresses is one of admiration or more romantic in nature, romance being an element that some say is lacking in these women’s lives.
Takarazuka is said to play on this hope for ideal love. Especially since all their performances are love stories, in which the male lead portrays the perfect man. The women who play this faultless man are the star of the show and will have a greater fan base than any of the other performers.
Fan activities vary from simple pleasures like buying merchandise, purchasing tickets for distribution amongst the group and attending performances together, to dressing up like performers and dutifully waiting outside the theatre before and after performances, rain, hail, or shine, to catch a glimpse of their stars.
But as society changes and more women choose to follow their own careers, work longer hours and lead busier lives, the question has been raised as to whether Takarazuka will survive in our modern world.
Leonie Stickland thinks it will. A professor who completed her thesis on Takarazuka, Stickland believes that this theater company exudes a special magic that is unconnected with the everyday world. She says these characters and performers have a certain mystique that ensures its popularity will continue, both as entertainment and as a careeer which girls may aspire to enter.
It seems like there will always be a place for fantasy.
If you would like to see what Takarazuka is all about visit their website. If you decide to go see a performance, tickets start at ¥3,500 and go up to ¥10,000.
And if you are looking for stage and theater performances in English, check out our article “Live Theater in English”. We list several local theater companies in Tokyo with regular performances in English.
Story by Karryn Cartelle
All Rights Reserved, Spinshell Inc.
Spinshell Reports are three-minute episodes of useful information about visiting and living in Japan.
Related articles:
- Live Theater in English
- Expecting in Tokyo Part 1
- Finding Funnies in Tokyo
- Big in Japan: The Foreign Music Scene
- Expecting in Tokyo Part 2
Tags: acting, cross-dressing, gender, plays, rose of versailles, spinshell report, takarazuka, theater, theatre, Tokyo, women
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