Kouju: When I was in Flower Troupe, Nao-chan (Iori) played my role in the shinjin-kouen (“Rookie Show”). You were in my Bow Hall show too, weren't you? Unfortunately, other than that, we were never in a regular show together.

Iori: We weren't, were we? Even after we were both assigned to senka, the only chance we've had is in TCA Specials and so on.

Kouju: So, I was thinking that it would be nice to look back on everything with you and I requested you as my conversation partner, but…

Iori: Thank you very much. It's such an honor. What I thought was, “What, me?!” – I was so surprised. (Laughs)

Kouju: (Laughs) But, you know, just when I was thinking of you for my partner, you also…

Iori: Announced that I was retiring?

Kouju: Exactly! (Laughs)

Iori: Sorry. (Laughs)

Kouju: Well, I think it'll be good to take this chance to talk about our Takarazuka experiences up till now, what we're going to do from here on out, and so on.

- - - - - - - - -

Iori: To me anyway, Tartan-san (Kouju) is, how should I put it…?

Kouju: Like a beloved mentor? …Say something like that. (Laughs)

Iori: But that's really how I feel. (Laughs) I joined Takarazuka without really knowing anything about. You taught me everything, from Kenichi's time on up – All the basics, starting with, “What kind of place is Takarazuka anyway?” You worked with me in the Bow Halls and there were a lot of times when we appeared in the same scene. I learned so much from you about theater work. Though at first I was incredibly nervous; I made the same mistake so many times… (Laughs)

Kouju: Yeah, you really did. (Laughs)

Iori: Like forgetting to put on my microphone. (Laughs)

Kouju: Yeah, yeah! At the rehearsal for the shinjin-kouen. (Laughs) And for Aki… Fuyu e no Zensokyoku (“Autumn… Prelude into Winter”) and for Berusaiyu no Bara (“Rose of Versailles”) you forgot to put in on. (Laughs)

Iori: I'm afraid so. (Laughs) And then, the teachers would get angry and be all, “Wa- !” and I would just completely panic and have no idea what they were saying to me. (Laughs) Afterwards you would always come and explain it all very simply for me. “What sensei meant was…” “Ah! I forgot again!” But I'd still repeat that same mistake over and over again… (Laughs)

Kouju: (Laughs) But that's the cute thing about Nao-chan! (Laughs) There's never been anything two-faced about you; you're just amazingly genuine. You were a girl who never held spite in her heart and, even now, you haven't changed one bit.

Iori: Or rather, I'm simple-minded. (Laughs)

Kouju: (Laughs) With all those bad times at the beginning, Nao-chan got this reputation for always making the upperclassmen angry. (Laughs)

Iori: That's true. (Laughs) Tartan-san, you were always so strict with yourself. You did everything flawlessly while, back then, I was more just “Satisfactory.” But still, you took such care to teach me so many things in detail. To me, you're a mentor and an older sister, both on-stage and off. You're someone that I can truly rely on.

- - - - - - - - -

Kouju: Back when we were in Flower Troupe, we were close friends, always together, huh?

Iori: That's right.

Kouju: Let's see, back then our usual group's members were… Rika (Shibuki), Zunko (Shizuki Asato), Charlie (Takumi Hibiki), Gaichi (Hatsukaze), and Kou-chan (Shiokaze). I was the most senior.

Iori: And I was the most junior. It felt like we were all glued to your back! (Laughs) You were always holding us together, so whenever there was something we didn't know, we'd say, “Let's ask Tartan-san, she'll know.” We were constantly running off to ask you something. (Laughs)

Kouju: (Laughs)

Iori: Sometime back then, when we were all always together, wasn't there a time when we all appeared in the same scene together?

Kouju: Yeah, yeah.

Iori: During independent rehearsal for that scene, you told us “This goes like this,” and taught us the gestures and steps just like a teacher. And, when we'd have the company lessons, we always made sure to watch from behind Tartan-san or Rika-san. We would steal your good-looking motions. (Laughs)

Kouju: As for me, I learned the same way from Yan-san (Anju Mira) and Miki-san (Maya Miki). Upperclassmen really took care of us in so many ways. But, these days, there aren't many chances for that…

Iori: Compared to back then, it seems like rehearsal time has gotten shorter.

Kouju: Yes, exactly.

Iori: Back in our day, there were no Athletics Competition Club activities, were there?

Kouju: No-! (Laughs)

Iori: So, to me, you were like my club senpai. Back then, I was in trouble a lot, but it wasn't a bad thing. I cried, I laughed… After all, isn't that youth? (Laughs)

Kouju: Isn't it? (Laughs) Right now I'm in the middle of the run of Garasu no Fuukei (“The Glass Landscape”) and there's a line that goes, “But, in the passion of those days, there's something irreplaceable, something nostalgic. We were flooded with true spirit.” Whenever I speak that line, I always think back on those days. They really were delightful.

- - - - - - - - -

Kouju: There's one thing I want to say to the girls who'll be entering Takarazuka in the future. Times are changing now – I'm not saying I want things to be the same as they were for us, but when you're an underclassman you should cultivate relationships with both your seniors and juniors, as well as those in the same class as you. I want you to study the heart, not just the body movements – you have to put in more than just perspiration.

Iori: That's true.

Kouju: In life with Takarazuka, there'll be happy things, and there'll be terrible times. When all these different kinds of things happen to you, you should throw yourself into the experience and think, “This is how I should have done that,” and, “That was really horrible.” Ponder your experiences and draw out the emotions from yourself. Save them all and use them on stage. In theater, you can sing very skillfully, you can speak your lines cleanly and perfectly, and all those techniques are really important. But in the end, you need to move the audience's hearts – I think that it's wholeheartedly expressing emotion as strongly as you can that's the true duty of a performer. People can use words and bodies, but when you really need to communicate, the most important thing is heart. So, you should feed your performer's soul and value every day that passes. Also, I want everyone to shine while they're with Takarazuka, so that in the end they can say, “Takarazuka was a wonderful place!” and leave the company with good feelings.

Iori: Oh-! I got caught up in your words! But, you're absolutely right. I think that for a performer heart is incredibly important. Relatedly… You know, last year I did a lot of outside performances, but – out there, the other performers change with every run, don't they? In comparison, at Takarazuka, aside from switching troupes, the troupe members almost never change. And that's exactly why the troupe can have this amazing solidarity. You look ahead to the next show and think that you can make that next step up, to number one.

Kouju: That's true. Outside shows, it switches every time. They just line up, one after another.

Iori: Along those lines, in Takarazuka the troupes have a warmth to them. The upperclassmen look after the underclassmen and the underclassmen grow by watching the upperclassmen. I think this approach is really good for you when you're young. Although, when I was an underclassman, I didn't understand the value of it. (Laughs)

- - - - - - - -

Iori: When Star Troupe will be having its Tokyo show, I'm scheduled for a show at the Grand Theater. I really regret that I won't be able to see your last performance. In any case, you've been so much help to me in everything that now I have such a deep feeling of gratitude. Truly, thank you so much for everything.

Kouju: No, no! (Laughs)

Iori: Right now, I know that you're incredibly busy. But, somehow or other, stay “Dandy” till the very end…

Kouju: (Laughs)

Iori: I truly think someone with a Dandy's voice like that is obligated to share it. Thrill the audience with that Dandy voice and find a way to make it “Otokoyaku: Kouju Tatsuki!” right up till the very end. That's what I want. (Laughs)

Kouju: Yes, ma'am! (Laughs)

Iori: Even though I announced my retirement around the same time, when I heard you were retiring, I thought, “Everyone's leaving!” Aki (Nagisa) is going too…

Kouju: I thought the same thing when I found out you were retiring! All of us who tried so hard together, one by one we're leaving… It's like the end of an era…

Iori: That's what it feels like.

Kouju: Although I'm sad thinking how our era is over, another new set of people is creating a new Takarazuka. Even though times change, Takarazuka will always be a good place.

Iori: I believe that too, from the bottom of my heart.

Kouju: From here on, we'll be leaving Takarazuka behind and each going off to walk the separate paths of our lives. But even when we've become old ladies, we'll still hold inside ourselves this one thing we shared. Maybe we'll become ridiculously important people, but between us we have the precious memory of our experiences with Takarazuka. In our later lives, we need to create something just as monumental.

Iori: Yes!

Kouju: Nao-chan, I really want to keep in touch with you, so please put up with me… (Laughs)

Iori: No, I'm the one who'll be a bother. Please keep looking out for me after we retire. And then when we're old ladies, we'll still be great friends in the Alumni Association…

Kouju: Yeah! (Laughs) Let's do it!

Note: The original Japanese text used on this site is the property of the Takarazuka Revue and Hankyu Corporation. It is used without permission, with the intent of publicizing the revue to a larger audience.

The translations on this site were done by me. I reserve all applicable copyright on them and DO NOT give permission for them to be redistributed, published, retranslated, used as fansub scripts, etc.

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