- 29 Jul 2013, 02:12
#2562366
The Takarazuka Revue (宝塚歌劇団 Takarazuka Kagekidan?) is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales.
Part of the novelty of Takarazuka is that all the parts are played by women, based on the original model of Kabuki before 1629 when women were banned from the theater in Japan.[4] The women who play male parts are referred to as otokoyaku (男役, literally "male role") and those who play female parts are called musumeyaku (娘役, literally "daughter's role").
Before becoming a member of the troupe, a young woman must train for two years in the Takarazuka Music School, one of the most competitive of its kind in the world. Each year, thousands from all over Japan audition. The 40 to 50 who are accepted are trained in music, dance, and acting, and are given seven-year contracts. The school is famous for its strict discipline and its custom of having first-year students clean the premises each morning.
The first year, all women train together before being divided by the faculty and the current troupe members into otokoyaku and musumeyaku at the end of the year. Those playing otokoyaku cut their hair short, take on a more masculine role in the classroom, and speak in the masculine form.
Kei Aran (安蘭 けい Aran Kei?), real name Touko Yasuda (安田 瞳子 Yasuda Touko?) (born October 9, 1970), is a Japanese actress and former top star otokoyaku (an actress who plays male roles) of the Japanese Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe.
Part of the novelty of Takarazuka is that all the parts are played by women, based on the original model of Kabuki before 1629 when women were banned from the theater in Japan.[4] The women who play male parts are referred to as otokoyaku (男役, literally "male role") and those who play female parts are called musumeyaku (娘役, literally "daughter's role").
Before becoming a member of the troupe, a young woman must train for two years in the Takarazuka Music School, one of the most competitive of its kind in the world. Each year, thousands from all over Japan audition. The 40 to 50 who are accepted are trained in music, dance, and acting, and are given seven-year contracts. The school is famous for its strict discipline and its custom of having first-year students clean the premises each morning.
The first year, all women train together before being divided by the faculty and the current troupe members into otokoyaku and musumeyaku at the end of the year. Those playing otokoyaku cut their hair short, take on a more masculine role in the classroom, and speak in the masculine form.
Kei Aran (安蘭 けい Aran Kei?), real name Touko Yasuda (安田 瞳子 Yasuda Touko?) (born October 9, 1970), is a Japanese actress and former top star otokoyaku (an actress who plays male roles) of the Japanese Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe.
