Interview with Makoto Tsubasa & Aika Mire, from Takarazuka Revue Splendor of 100 Years

A fate “like split ends of a hair”

MAKOTO: It’s been a while, but it doesn’t really feel like it’s been that long. The two of us have close birthdays, we both debuted in 1985 and were assigned to Hanagumi, and although I moved to Tsukigumi in the middle, we were always together until we retired in 2001.

AIKA: I think two people walking the same path like that might be rare even for classmates.

MAKOTO: We’re like the split ends of a hair. We were always one strand, and then we got divided along the way.

AIKA: You couldn’t come up with a better analogy? (haha)

MAKOTO: We also produced a musumeyaku top, but the four of us becoming a set of otokoyaku top stars simultaneously made it a really rare class (Hanagumi’s Aika, Tsukigumi’s Makoto, Yukigumi’s Todoroki, Hoshigumi’s Minoru).

AIKA: There were people who enrolled without knowing anything about Takarazuka, but if I had to pick one word, I’d say it was a studious class.

MAKOTO: During our debut, Tamo-chan (Aika’s nickname) was the famous one, people would say “Who’s that kid 4 in from the right? She’s pretty.”

AIKA: When I look at the debut video we’re all lined up.

MAKOTO: With Minoru between us, right? Even after that we were always together. Because star-tracked Aika-san felt uneasy alone, it was like she had the idea, “I’ll just stick myself to that Makoto with bad grades who’s also alone” (haha).

AIKA: No, since I was totally average, even though I did nothing but follow everyone I just barely made it.

MAKOTO: You had some good motivation though. Your first Shinjin Kouen leads came quickly.

AIKA: For someone who can’t do anything, It feels like no future exists beyond the end of just the single Shinjin Kouen day. The lead role announcement was such a huge shock. For people with real ability who thought “I’ve waited for this” it may have been a happy thing, but for someone with no real ability, it was like no such hell opened up as that.

MAKOTO: Which show was your first lead?

AIKA: It was one of dance prodigy Ooura Mizuki’s roles, of all things. Since Ooura-san was top, most of the Shinjin Kouen leads were roles that she played, but because of that there were nothing but dancer roles.

MAKOTO: Oh yeah. It was nothing but roles from when Natsume-san (Ooura Mizuki’s nickname) had leads as a dancer, huh.

AIKA: All these roles came along that were like, that’s so not me. Now, I see that they were tests that allowed me to work on qualities that I didn’t have, but back then I worried, why the heck did they choose me.

MAKOTO: In Hanagumi, we had 9 years together before I transferred to Tsukigumi, right?

AIKA: Looking back, I think of it as the era that Mami-chan (Makoto’s nickname) was there. Among classmates there are people who will understand you even if you don’t say anything, and because of that there are also things you can’t say…

MAKOTO: Because we had classmates who knew that the two of us were so clumsy, we made sure we had a system of backup, where we’d just follow each other somehow or other.

AIKA: There were classmates who would always give us advice, but according to those people, since Mami-chan and I have such contrary personalities, even if they wanted us to do the same thing, they’d give each of us completely different advice.

MAKOTO: Like the sun and the moon.

AIKA: People often say that about us, huh.

MAKOTO: Because Tamo-chan has such a cute smile, even if I thought I’d try to learn from her example, there’s no way on earth my smile could pass for that.

AIKA: I am who I am, but I was an otokoyaku, and there was a time when I wondered if I appeared too childish and thought I’d better try to be a little cooler, so one day I planned to act cool like Mami-chan, but the director just said to me, “What’s up with you? You’re gloomy today” (haha). Because of that, I understood that if you mimic someone else’s personality, your own charm won’t come out. But it’s also true that if you understand your partner’s charm, you’ll appear in a way that’s true to yourself. When you’re always comparing yourselves your partner will show you her strengths bit by bit, and because of that you can find within yourself what it is you need to work hard on. As for which applies to me, since I was the type to run away rather than fight, I thought about things like how I could kind of blaze a different trail rather than run away.

MAKOTO: How did you blaze a different trail?

AIKA: For example if Mami-chan was like a city girl creating glittering artificial things, then I’d think “let’s move toward nature, roaming free is great,” and I’d try to run in that direction.

MAKOTO: In those days Hanagumi was jam packed with stars, and it was like I always had to watch my step because I was walking along the edge of a cliff. Before you know it rivalry is burning in your heart, but you end up using that as motivation, right? Now I think recognizing that you have a rival was something really important.

AIKA: During our last year of Shinjin Kouen, Mami got to play the leading part, and I got the role of the lead’s best friend, but all of our classmates were assigned roles that fit them perfectly, and I have profound memories of that performance as one where I felt the true pleasure of my classmates successfully coming together as one. I felt like it was so wonderful to have colleagues like that.

MAKOTO: As for Shinjin Kouen, because it was my first and last lead, everyone followed along when things got out of control. The biggest incident was when I went out without my mic. The mics in those days were about the size of a pen light, but in the scene where I’m watching a dance, Tamo-chan came out to hand it over to me. She did it casually in time with the line, “Oh! So much energy.”

AIKA: Ah, her face is turning such a color, I’ll wait a little and then give it to her… being able to have such natural consideration for each other is one of the great things about Takarazuka. Mami-chan, the last one to get a Shinjin Kouen lead, was the first otokoyaku of our classmates to become top.

MAKOTO: But I was the last one to become nibante. Something I remember even now: during a TCA special, the other 3 had risen to nibante, and they sang in succession. It was so cool and I thought I’d like to do that too if I become nibante, but even when I did there was never another scene like that (haha).

The day of the 4-person lineup arrives

AIKA: When Mami-chan transferred to Tsukigumi, she had a lot of female roles, and I remember thinking, “what the heck does management want from her?” But I sensed how difficult it is to over from zero when you change troupes. Even my debut was with Hanagumi, and then I stayed there till the end without so much as a guest appearance in another troupe… I wonder if they thought I’d quit if they put me somewhere else (haha). When Mami-chan left I wasn’t just lonely; I felt a despair as if one of my arms had been torn off.

MAKOTO: There were also people who had just retired, and the 12 or so classmates who were there waned to just 2. It’s lonelier for the people remaining than the ones who leave, huh.

AIKA: There were times when someone would disappear and I’d realize for the first time how much I appreciated them. But I really respected Mami-chan for her self-reliance in another troupe.

MAKOTO: When I was able to move to Tsukigumi, part of me was glad because I thought I’d have a clean slate. I was optimistic about the thought of ascending from my life on the edge that I’d been living up until that point, but the edge of the cliff remained the edge of the cliff (haha). At first, getting used to a new troupe is really hard. You don’t fit in with that troupe, but you can’t go back to your old one, so it’s complicated.

AIKA: At what point did it become YOUR troupe?

MAKOTO: You know when you’re talking to someone and “my troupe” just kind of unconsciously comes out, it was probably when that equaled Tsukigumi in my mind.

AIKA: When Mami-chan and Ishi-chan (Todoroki’s nickname) became top, Noru and I were still nibante, and I half-jokingly said to Ueda Shinji-sensei, “Please wait, I want the 4 of us lined up!”

MAKOTO: I remember thinking a day would definitely come when the 4 of us would be lined up. As each of us became top our classmates celebrated, didn’t they.

AIKA: Since the 4 of us had different personalities and ways of thinking, I think we showed each different troupe’s unique color.

MAKOTO: The 4 of us were all over the place, but our one common factor was we didn’t shut up (haha).

AIKA: It kind of has an old-school feel, our enthusiasm. We’re passionate about Takarazuka. Because we have such a strong love for it, we could forgive ourselves for the mistakes and failures we committed while we were giving it our all. What was at the “heart” of that process, that was something that was really important to the 4 of us, and it was that way since we were together in music school.

MAKOTO: The thing that came out of that most notably was we called on the upper echelon of people in the company, and talked about what we thought we could do to enliven Takarazuka. We passionately discussed how we’d painstakingly become this 4-person lineup, how we still felt tied to each other, how we were all able to become one, and from there, how it would be good to organize things going forward. We implored them not to forget that they may have various ideas about wanting to reform the company, but it’s because of the unwavering feelings of the fans that we exist at all. We’ve even been told by underclassmen that what we said at that time will save the distant future. If I think of how things are the way they are now because management listened to our opinions that time, I’m grateful.

AIKA: I think because there were 4 of us, united we were able to say such things.

MAKOTO: When each of us became top, since our classmates all gathered, we said we’d invite everyone for the 25th anniversary of our enrollment, and we had a big class reunion. We took a photo, and even though we were going to distribute them we framed them, and one by one Tamo engraved them with each 71st.

AIKA: I like doing it. When each of us would become overwhelmed by what was on our minds, someone would raise a hand and say well, I’ll do it. We have things we do together that complement each other positively. Each has her own specialty, and if I’m comfortable leaving something to Mami-chan, I entrust her with it completely. That’s why when I heard Mami and Noru were going to retire, I got unbelievably lonely, and I thought I didn’t want to be left behind.

MAKOTO: At the last TCA special our 3 retirements were already decided, and we reported that we’d be leaving.

AIKA: I thought I really wanted to retire with you guys.

MAKOTO: We were there at the turn of the century. One era ended, and we crossed paths a little with the people who would carry the next. We were in the threshold between current and former Takarazuka.

AIKA: Since new people came in one after another as well, I thought things could change at any time.

MAKOTO: In those days there was a year between your announcement and your retirement, so I felt like I could leisurely bring the persona of “Makoto Tsubasa” to a close.

AIKA: I didn’t do it as properly as Mami-chan (haha). She was in the wings on the day of my retirement. We tried to attend as much as possible when our classmates retired though.

MAKOTO: If we meet each other once in a while, that’s enough.

AIKA: Classmates are something like family. Especially Mami-chan, she feels like a cousin to me.

MAKOTO: After she retired, Tamo-chan became ill and spent a lot of time fighting her illness, but I didn’t go see her then.

AIKA: I didn’t think I wanted you to see me sick.

MAKOTO: As opposed to seeing each other’s weaknesses, it’s seeing your partner trying her hardest that becomes your own encouragement. I thought someone like Tamo-chan surely had people by her side watching over her, so it’s best if I don’t go see her when she’s feeling weak. We help each other like this and I’m thankful to have someone like that in my life.

AIKA: There’s an implicit feeling of fellowship that ties us together. There are feelings we can communicate without words.

MAKOTO: In Takarazuka the shows continue, but what’s really wonderful is the relay from person to person. We’ll bear the title “Takarasienne” until we die.

AIKA: Even my husband calls me that, like “that’s so typical of a Takarasienne” (haha).

MAKOTO: Tamo-chan was incredibly happy to become a bride, but she got married so quickly.

AIKA: When a reward comes after a difficult time, it makes me think it’s fate’s doing.

MAKOTO: I don’t think I’ll marry till I’m 70.

AIKA: There are people like Todoroki-san who are still with the company, and I think that’s amazing too. And Mami-chan helps Takarazuka with publicity and that’s also wonderful.

MAKOTO: When all the OG gathered at the Grand Theater for the 100th anniversary of The Music School and they sang the school song, every single person on the second floor stood up even though no one said anything. I could see how much everyone loves Takarazuka and I was so happy.

AIKA: I’m so so thankful that I miraculously passed the entrance exam. Even now I can’t believe that I can call myself a Takarasienne (haha). I’m extremely grateful to all the superiors I got to meet for all the advice they gave me.