Takarazuka Journal

gnfkj;hglsnfk HAT! HAAAAAT!! *puddle*

It's good for my heart that I only go to Junko's site every once in a while. -_-;

I have a rather bizarre fascination with Migiwa Natsuko (Junko), and her Yukigumi. Some of you know this, and are probably hoping right about now that I'm not about to plaster you with more Junko blather. ....Too bad. ;p

She did an interview for Sky Stage's Karei Naru Sotsugyou-tachi in 2003, and she talked about her whole career. It was love. Among other tidbits, we learn that she missed a cue on the first night of her hatsubutai. Apparently she was taking her time in the dressing room, making her makeup just right, when she suddenly heard the music playing that marked her entrance for a dance number.... A dance number with the star of the show and just a few other ken-1s. And something about slippers, which I really need to re-watch because I was tired and dozing off while I was watching it. It might have been that she forgot to take off her indoor slippers when she went out on stage? Needless to say, it sounds like the initiation from hell.

And then she talked about her sayonara performance, and how when asked what she wanted to do, she asked for Berubara. Apparently the reply was a rather exasperated "Berubara?" (I can't put the intonation down properly here, but her imitation was hilarious.) Junko played Oscar in four different Berubara productions, you see. She was rather fond of it.... Anyway, denied that, she asked for a Spanish production. And they gave her.... Sariyukishi Kimi ga Tame ni. Yes, rather a mouthful, I thought. So it really amused me when I heard her say in the interview, "And when I heard the title, I thought it sounded like a nihonmono. It was a little embarrassing." Yes, yes! Exactly as untranslatable as a nihonmono title. XD

For the Sake of Distant You
Snow Troupe, 1980

[ TakaWiki ]

Star: Migiwa Natsuko

Other cast included Asami Rei, Takashiro Tomoe (on loan from Flower), Shou Sumire, Kamijou Akira, and a slew of Senka talents. Check out the TakaWiki for more info.

( Summary: )

What I Thought:

Oh lord. Ueda-sensei did it again. ^^;

Well, let's run through the things standing between me and perfect happiness before I say any more. 1) The generation gap, 2) the cultural gap, 3) Ueda-sensei wrote it, 4) The poor sound and video quality, 5) It's cut down. A lot.

And the things biasing me in the other direction: 1) Junko, 2) Junko, 3) Junko, 4) 70s Yukigumi, 5) Junko, 6) 70S YUKIGUMI, 7) Spanish-themed, 8) Junko ... etc.

( Read more... )

And... I was going to take screenshots of all of my beloved Yukigumi otokoyaku younglings, but... really. How could I miss a second of... that mini revue? It was in turns Love ("Granada" to start things off), and.... caught your attention rather like a gruesome train wreck. More on this tomorrow night. Hold that thought.

Like Junko's Man of Stardust (or however you want to translate it -- I keep changing my mind), and Anna Jun's Nova Bossa Nova (oh, it fired up my NBN mania once more. Evil, evil.). I also was introduced to Takane Fubuki playing a strong female role in a Nihonmono and decided I was in love with her onnayaku.

But, the show I am going to get, no matter what it costs my soul? Yukariko (紫子), Star Troupe 1987. Quick, someone tell me they know all about it! From the minute or so of clips they showed.... I became totally confused. First there was Mine Saori (I think it was Mine, she had the lead in this show) obviously playing a man yet ultra-feminine. Then there was wordless dancing between Mine Saori and Hyuga Kaoru, and I thought: Ah! A kabuki show and Mine is an onnagata! And then... they were talking again and using each other's names and there was.... ninja?! And... romantic angst!? And the theater falls to pieces around them.... and a double suicide!? And Man-in-drag Yukariko!Mine calls out to Fubuki!Hyuga to hold him/her as they die together... and.... Whuh? WANT.

Oh. And Ebira Kaoru. Ebira Kaoru could sing. Damn.

If, by some cruel streak of fate, I were forced to stop being a Zuka fan tomorrow, I would concede without a whimper. For the one thing I never thought I would get, I've gotten, and I am perfectly content.

You've all heard me praise "Oka no Ue no Johnny" until you've gotten quite sick of it, I'm sure. But that song has kept me sane as it played on repeat through 20-30 page papers, through some really shitty moments in the past two years, and even on bright, sunny days as I rode my bike through town and needed something to belt out and scare the pedestrians. It is my absolute favorite Zuka song, and possibly my favorite song. Ever.

And now I've seen footage of Migiwa Natsuko performing it live in the Daigekijo in 1978.

Perfectly happy, that is me.

Feeling the OG love lately. I've been picking through my 『汀夏子の世界』, which I'd basically ignored since I flipped through it to admire the pictures when I first bought it last summer. XD It's rather cool. Although the photographs aren't the best reproductions, there are plenty of original Kageki illustrations, and they are all very cute and 60/70-ish style drawings.

There is a rather amusing section called "Yukai na Gakuya" or "Pleasant Dressing Room" which contains various short articles from Kageki in the 70s all about... you guessed it, things happening back stage. Short two or three paragraph anecdotes written by various 'siennes (lots by Kishi Kaori, I noticed) . There was one about Junko being stuck in a hotel room with Kishi and another 'sienne while on tour, and since she suddenly was the most junior, though she was the main star at the time, they had her boiling the water to make the tea and getting the bath ready. Apparently all the ladies thought this was a very funny joke, and Junko was grinning like a mad thing the entire time. o.0 Oh, sempai-kohai system. How funny you are.

But I think this one takes the cake:

"Stairs Are Scary!!"

Because Otomi (Anna) has been putting in her contacts too much lately while on stage and TV, no matter what she tries, she can't get Miss Contact in one eye.

"Stairs are scary, so I go down them sideways, " she says. To which Junko (Migiwa) replies, "It's all right. You can go down holding my hand."

The two go down the Grand Staircase at double-tempo holding hands! After that, Dai-chan and Tsure-chan say, "I guess we'd better follow form" and holding hands go at double-tempo.

(Kageki Jan. 1971 "Dressing Room Diaries" by Mizunose Akira)

[What makes this even more funny/bizarre is how they use "otete" instead of just "te" for hands, which is kids-speak, from what I can figure. Together with the "contact-chan", it makes this article sound like it's about a bunch of kindergardeners.]