Takarazuka Revue - Actors of Takarazuka

Actors of Takarazuka

While on the surface it would appear that the Takarazuka Revue was intended to grant Japanese women freedom from social oppression, ironically, it began as quite the opposite. According to Takarazuka scholar Lorie Brau, “The production office and corporate structure that control Takarazuka are overwhelmingly patriarchal.” Although Takarazuka embodies Shiraishi’s idea that the actresses become “good wives and wise mothers” upon leaving the company, it also simultaneously represents progressive feminist points of view. Some believe that its appeal to the female audience is on account of the perceived link to freedom from traditional Japanese society’s imposed ideas of gender and sexuality. So while Takarazuka “reinforces the status quo and sublimates women's desires through its dreamy narratives, there remains some possibility that certain spectators find it empowering simply to watch women play men.”

Some Takarasienne shows, such as The Rose of Versailles and Elisabeth, feature androgynous characters. Ryosei and chusei are two Japanese terms used to refer to androgyny, chusei meaning “neutral” or “in between,” neither man nor woman, and ryosei referring to the combination of the sexes or genders. The otokoyaku represents the woman’s idealized man without the roughness or need to dominate, the “perfect” man who can not be found in the real world. It is these male-roles that offer an escape from the strict, gender-bound real roles lauded in Japanese society. In a sense, the otokoyaku provides the female audience with a “dream” of what they desire in reality.

In addition to their claim to “sell dreams”, the actresses of the Takarazuka Revue take on another role, empowering themselves as women in a male-dominated culture. Kobayashi's desire to make his actresses into good wives and mothers has often been hindered by their own will to pursue careers in the entertainment business. It is becoming increasingly more common for women to stay in the company well into their thirties, beyond the conventional limits of marriageable age. The actresses’ role within the Takarazuka Revue thus overlaps into the culture surrounding it, adding to their appeal to the female-dominant audience. “In fact, it is the carrying over of this 'boyishness' into everyday life and the freedom that this implies that captures the attention of some fans.” The otokoyaku, however, is not bound to her assigned male role in the theater. Tsurugi Miyuki, top otokoyaku star of the Moon Troupe, said that she conceived male impersonation as just a "role" that she wore like the makeup and costume that helped create her otokoyaku image. She said she reverts to her nonperforming “feminine” self after performance.

Although traditionally an all-female troupe, in 1946 the Takarazuka employed male performers who were trained separately from the female members of the troupes. Ultimately, however, the female members opposed these new male counterparts, and the department was dissolved, the last male department terminating in 1954. A recent Japanese musical, Takarazuka Boys, was based on this chapter of the company's history.

While the casts are all-female, the staff (writers, directors, choreographers, designers, etc.) and orchestra musicians may be male or female. It is not uncommon in Takarazuka for a predominantly male orchestra to be led by a female conductor.