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babylonclo translated, they say an unprecedented 10,000 have waited for Wao...I had every intention to make a long post, but I got killed dead before I could even try.
››"She' the most gorgeous man I've ever seen. I love her and only ever think and dream of her," a young woman swooned as she clutched a photograph of a Takarazuka star to her breast while we stood in the lobby of the Grand Theater in Takarazuka. "Don't you think she's lovely, too?" she asked. Undoubtedly, the picture of Makoto Tsubasa decked out in a silvery gray shirt, tie and navy blue suit was that of a stunningly beautiful woman who could easily have been a model,...‹‹
››1000 Days is one of the biggest theaters in Tokyo, and Asaji fills it. She is only 170cm (just shy of 5'6"), but can cross its stage in a few giant strides. Her makeup is swarthy; her hair is cropped short with the forelock left long, the trademark style of otokoyaku, the actresses who play men in this all-female revue. "Her embracing power and untamed spirit project real masculinity into her male roles," say the gold-on-black T-shirts her fans wear.‹‹
››But Asaji's forte is considered to be acting and dancing. And because each Takarazuka troupe's repertory is built around the strengths of its Top Star, the Star Troupe is a showcase for high drama and grand staging. In the first half of the double-bill show, Asaji played Nero in 'Emperor," an original musical romance culminating with the sacking of Rome, the stage enveloped in flames, with collapsing pillars and chunks of mortar tossed onto the stage. She didn't have time to fiddle.‹‹
››The fantasy of Takarazuka and the public relations machine that enforces its secrets is the subject of a controversial new book by Jennifer Robertson, "Takarazuka: Sexual Politics and Pop Culture in Modern Japan" (University of California Press 1998). You won't find the book in Quatre Reves, the shop next to the theater devoted to Takarazuka books, manga and memorabilia. According to Robertson, she was stonewalled and sabotaged by the Takarazuka establishment every step of the way as she tried to pull aside the veil and uncover the truth behind the all-female theater and its huge female following. That's understandable: Takarazuka is all about the veil.‹‹[Indeed, it is understandable. I see nothing wrong, and if she would have understood that very basic thing about Takarazuka, she wouldn't have complained, and maybe wouldn't even have tried to write a book about it.]
››The relationship between Takarazuka and the fans is love-hate. While distancing itself from them, Takarazuka shamelessly exploits the electricity and tease of androgyny. Obviously, if it wanted its actresses to play men with verisimilitude it wouldn't dress them in heels and coif their hair. Unlike Kabuki's onnagata, who betray no trace of their masculinity, Takarazuka actresses wear their gender like a filmy costume.‹‹
››At the same time, a review in the Guardian newspaper dismissed the show, calling it "Curiously sexless". But this attempt to pan the show is in fact closer to the truth than the reviewer may have intended. After all, while attitudes toward sex in Japan remain liberal to this day, the prominent sex industry is run by and for men. Takarazuka provides a form of escape from this harsh reality for many women.‹‹
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