Glossary

[yukinojou]

Bow Hall - a smaller stage in Takarazuka. Also: a small play with only part of a troupe, featuring younger performers or a top star's small-scale recital, performed at the Bow Hall and/or Nippon Seinenkan in Tokyo. Bow Hall plays tend to be experimental and often adaptations of works of culture such as Shakespeare plays or video games.

Casting - Takarazuka show casting is usually by troupe ranking, with each actress getting the role whose importance corresponds to her rank, but sometimes there are auditions. And sometimes people just steal the show...

Chirashi - promotional leaflets/posters (A4 format) for Takarazuka shows.

Chuuzume - usually the halfway point in the revue, a big group number with the entire troupe on the stage.

Classmates - members of a single graduating class of the Takarazuka Music School. Since there are usually about 40 of them in a class and they spend two years going together through a very exacting schedule of lessons, they tend to be close acquaintances. Also: Douki.

Daigekijou show - a show performed with one run each at the Takarazuka Grand Theatre in Takarazuka and the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre. Daigekijou shows feature the whole troupe and usually consist of a play half and a revue half, though full-length musicals are also performed.

Demachi - fans attending as the Takarasiennes leave the theatre for the day. The routine is similar to irimachi, but the time's usually fixed and the Siennes leave more or less en masse, while the fanclubs all line up in order of Sienne importance and/or seniority. It can be cancelled for some actresses if they have obligations in the evening.

Dinner show - a personal concert of a Takarazuka actress. The dinner comes first, then the singing while everyone's still seated at the tables. Backup is usually limited to two or three other actresses, as opposed to full-on concerts that can feature over a dozen underclassmen as support.

Douki - classmate(s) from the same year of the Takarazuka Music School, with the same hatsubutai. Classmates generally know each other very well, since they spend two years in constant contact. A taidan tradition is for the taidansha, especially a top star, to get flowers both from a representative from her troupe and from one of her douki, often an already-retired one. Lit. contemporary.

Ginkyou - lit. Silver Path, the walkway in front of the orchestra pit.

Hankyu - the company that runs the Takarazuka Revue. Also: the company.

Hatsubutai - the debut performance of a new class of actresses, usually in a play and revue performed in the spring during the play's Daigekijou run. They appear in the obligatory Rockette line dance. Also: Hatsubutaisei, the actresses during their hatsubutai.

Irimachi - fans greeting the Takarasiennes as they go in before a play or rehearsal. Fanclubs usually get a standby time from a Takarasienne's staff, because due to obligations and personal preference, the actresses arrive at different times. They also collect letters from the fanclub at this time, and depending on personal preference and mood, may talk to the fanclub for a while.

Ken-X - short for kenkyuuka, the number of years since an actress's hatsubutai (+1). For example, an actress who debuted in spring of 2003 would be ken-7 in the autumn of 2009, and just finishing her underclassman period.

Kumichou - troupe leader, the oldest and most experienced person in the troupe. Takes part in leading the troupe, along with the top stars. Is assisted by the fuku-kumichou / vice-kumichou, the second oldest person. Note: if a top star or nibante is the oldest or second-oldest person in a troupe, a non-star track seito is appointed as kumichou/vice-kumichou instead.

Musumeyaku - performer of a girl's role. Compare: Onnayaku.

Nibante - the person who gets the second most important male role in shows and is generally expected to become a top star eventually. The nibante musumeyaku position for musumeyaku is much less firmly defined.

Nicknames - every actress has at least one, often many. They can also change. Sometimes they're easily derived from the stage name (Maki Ichiro - Ichiro or Maki), but often they come from the actress's real name (Ayaki Nao - Saeko) or are just strange (Kotobuki Tsukasa - Susshii, because her father runs a sushi restaurant).

Nihonmono - a play or revue with a traditional Japanese theme (from mythology up to and including Meiji-era)

Nippon Seinenkan Hall - small theatre in Tokyo where plays that also have a Bow Hall run are performed. Not very comfortable seats.

Ochakai - a fanclub-organised meeting with a Takarasienne, usually featuring a chat, quizzes, a lottery, photos (by table, individual two-shots only for lottery winners, or some other combination) and/or a song or three. Fanclubs often record ochakai and later sell the recordings. Also: ochanomikai (a similar type of fan meeting).

OG - retired performers of the Takarazuka revue (literally: Old Girl/s)

Ohirome - ohirome kouen, the first performance of a new top star. May be chosen by the top star, especially if it's a revival of a popular play.

Okeiko - rehearsals before and during a play (literally: lessons)

Onnayaku - performer of a woman's role. Many fans in Western fandom prefer this term to musumeyaku especially for experienced actresses, since it's considered more respectful. Compare: Musumeyaku.

Otokorashii - male-like, one of the biggest compliments for an otokoyaku.

Otokoyaku - performer of a male role.

Rockette number - the obligatory kick-line during each revue of a Daigekijou show. Rockette costumes are leotards and head-dresses with as many feathers, sequins and bright colours as possible, often featuring motifs from the revue's theme. Usually performed by underclassmen, both musumeyaku and otokoyaku, though sometimes prominent upperclassmen are given a lead role.

Sanbante - the third-ranked star-tracked otokoyaku in a troupe. Compare: nibante.

Sayonara show - the final performance of a retiring top star. May be chosen by the top star. Always a Daigekijou show. At the end of the revue at the last few performances of each run, the top star sings favourite songs from her career in a sayonara concert. After the final performance, the top star is given flowers from the troupe and from a classmate. The sayonara parade for a popular top star is usually watched by thousands of people.

Sayonara video - A VHS or DVD with a compilation of clips of a graduating top star's best roles, her arrival on her last day in the Takarazuka run of her sayonara show, and the sayonara concert after the show. A Last Day video is from the Tokyo run and replaces the compilation with a longer segment about the post-show press conference and taidansha parade.

Seito - a Takarasienne (literally: student)

Senka - the special troupe, a depository of sorts for experienced actresses who do not perform regularly with one troupe, but are on loan whenever reinforcement is needed. Advancement to Senka is an alternative to retirement for actresses who no longer wish to perform on the gruelling troupe schedule. Many performances feature at least one Senka member, usually in the role of an older person or providing vocals in a revue. Todoroki Yuu is the official Top Star of Senka. Also: Superior Members.

Shinjinkouen - the understudy performance once in each run of a Daigekijou play, where all roles are played by underclassmen. Often shortened in comparison to the original play and not featuring the revue. Also: shinko, shinjin. See: Underclassmen.

Shugobi - first day of rehearsals for a play. Retirements are announced on this day, as are (usually) full casts for the show and possibly shinjinkouen leads, with the rest of the shinko cast to follow later.

Sky Stage - the all-Takarazuka TV channel. It airs shows, talkshows, play reports and other Takarazuka-related material. It also airs shows that are not available on DVD or VHS, like shinjinkouen performances, Bow Halls and performances from before the mid-nineties when the Revue started publishing most Daigekijou plays on VHS/DVD.

Star track - the career path to eventual top star status. Not all Siennes are star-track, and the company does not list the ones that are; it's also possible for a Sienne's status to change, since the decision on whom to promote is often made by judging the fan interest through things such as sell-through of photos, club size, ticket sales for shows where the Sienne plays a prominent role. Guessing who's star-track and who's stumbling is a popular fan passtime. Common indicators of being star-track include programme photo order, shinjinkoen leads/roles, prominence of roles in plays and revues, features in Takarazuka magazines Graph and Kageki, lead roles in smaller shows, and being paired up with a firmly star-tracked actress as a potential partner or nibante. Note: while for many otokoyaku star-track status is only firmly estabilished once they are upperclassmen, musumeyaku very often become star-track and even gain top star status as underclassmen.

Taidan - Graduation/retirement from the Takarazuka revue. Retirements at the end of a play are announced on the first day of rehearsals, except for prominent performers (top stars, occasionally nibante) who announce them in advance. Also: Taidansha, persons who are retiring after a given play. At the last performance, the taidansha appear onstage in green hakama (though otokoyaku may opt for a tailcoat) and accept flowers, often say a few words, then walk out of the theatre to say goodbye to their fanclubs. Taidansha fanclubs always wear white for the last weeks of the show's run. Top star retirements are especially grand: see Sayonara show.

Takarasienne - An actress currently performing in the Takarazuka Revue. A portmanteau of Takarazuka and Parisienne. Also: Sienne.

Top star - Leading performers in a troupe. Usually both a top otokoyaku and top musumeyaku at the same time, always playing the lead male and female romantic interest role. After a run usually lasting from six months to five years (about three is standard), they're expected to graduate and leave the revue, though at least in a few cases Top Stars moved to Senka instead.

Toujitsuken - Same-day tickets for a Daigekijou show, sold from 10AM onwards. They're always in the back row of the balcony and are much cheaper than regular back-of-the-theatre seats, while affording an excellent view (especially when one is equipped with opera glasses). For popular shows and on weekends, it may be advisable to be in the toujitsuken queue an hour or two earlier.

Transfer - an actress changing troupes. Transfers can be announced at various times. Often used as a way of shuffling actresses for better development in a troupe that fits their acting style and/or to let them advance on the star track without displacing the people who ranked before her in the original troupe.

Troupes - Separate troupes that perform various plays on various schedules, only coming together for special concerts and rarely lending people to each other for guest performances. Current troupes are Snow Troupe (Yukigumi), Flower Troupe (Hanagumi), Star Troupe (Hoshigumi), Moon Troupe (Tsukigumi) and the newest Cosmos Troupe (Soragumi).

Umeda - Umegei, Umeda Arts Theatre in Osaka. A stage often used for medium-scale plays (along with Hatakaza, Akasaka ACT, Nippon Seinenkan, Theater Drama City and others) that usually feature the top star or nibante and part of the troupe while another part performs in Bow Hall, a national touring show etc.

Underclassman - A Takarasienne from her hatsubutai to the end of her initial seven-year contract with the revue. Also: kakyuusei. Compare: Upperclassman.

Upperclasman - A Takarasienne who has completed her initial seven-year contract and has been asked by the company to stay on. The status conveys more respect, especially from the younger actresses. Also: joukyuusei.

Yonbante - the fourth-ranked star-tracked otokoyaku in a troupe. Compare: nibante.