The Takarazuka Revue is an internationally acclaimed theatrical troupe. They’re famous for their brilliant performances of traditional Japanese tales, famous Western musicals, and even anime and manga adaptions. But what makes the Takarazuka Revue stand out most is its exclusively female cast.
This combination of talent and girl-power screams female empowerment. And that automatically marks the group as a prime role model for positive feminism and gender equality in Japan.
But it was never intended to be that way.
The business move that started it all
The Takarazuka Revue finds its roots in the town of Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture. Ichizo Kobayashi, the President of the Hankyuu Railroad Corporation, founded the troupe in 1913. He originally intended it as a business tactic to bring in more visitors (and hence, ticket sales) and encourage tourism.
The Takarazuka Revue began as an all-girls choir whose talents centered on singing popular Western songs. Japan originally knew them as the “Takarazuka Paradise”. But they didn’t enjoy the popularity that they do today. Several attempts and failures forced a restructuring of the group, resulting in the now internationally acclaimed Takarazuka Revue.
One reason for the group’s success was that young women played every role – including those of male characters. Thus, people liken them to the female version of Japan’s traditional Kabuki, a theatrical art dating back to the 1600s. At the time, law and custom prevented women from participating in public entertainment. So men portrayed all roles, including those of female characters.
The Takarazuka company is comprised of five separate troupes. Each specializes in a certain style: Flower (花, hana), Moon (月, tsuki), Snow (雪, yuki), Star (星, hoshi), and Cosmos (宙, sora).
International Success
Becoming a member of the troupe was no easy feat. The troupe required all women to undergo intense training in special schools. These schools divided attended into male and female roles. This led to further training to develop their skills in portraying said roles. Once an actor assumed a role, they’d remain in it for the entirety of their career.
The troupe is still active and popular to this day. It has its own TV channel and magazine. And it produces new productions every year.
Their numerous productions include traditional Japanese stories such as The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu, as well as well-known Western works such as Broadway musicals. But their adaption of the popular manga series The Rose of Versailles led to their watershed moment. Versailles brought the troupe national and international popularity. It also paved the way for the production of more anime and manga-based performances. Furthermore, it led to the establishment of 2.5D musicals.
Takarazuka Revue: A beacon For feminism and gender equality?
Given this success, you may feel inclined to shout “girl power” and offer three cheers for women’s rights. These powerful women certainly do bring greater attention and recognition to women in the working and entertainment world. But that wasn’t necessarily the intent.
The obvious reason for Takarazuka’s popularity is the success of women playing accurate and believable male roles. The Takarazuka Revue did initially begin as an all-girls choir. However, the group didn’t reach their current level of popularity until they established the male roles, or otokoyaku (男役). Even today, the most popular actresses of the troupe are by far the women who perform male roles.
As the troupe’s popularity rose, Japanese women began to identify with the otokoyaku. Many felt admiration and a sense of camaraderie with them. Others envied the freedom and power these roles allowed in a traditionally sexist society.
This began to shift the audience dynamics. Spectators were now coming not just to be entertained by a chorus or see an adaption of their favorite musical. They came to fangirl over their favorite otokoyaku.
The Takarazuka Revue’s handling of gender stirred something greater within Japanese society than just an interest in entertainment. It even transcended female empowerment. Instead, the troupe completely challenged the Japanese stereotypes of gender and gender roles. This soon raised red flags for Kobayashi as a threat to his hopes for the troupe and for Japan as a whole[2].
Female empowerment vs. male glorification
The otokoyaku’s popularity raised a new question. Would the group still have achieved such fame and success had the performers played only female roles? Regardless of this success, why did Kobayashi view this boom in popularity as a threat?
Japan can be a highly conformist society. Globally, the country is famous for its group mentality and strict desire to maintain the status quo. This includes (but certainly isn’t limited to) a desire by some to maintain a patriarchial, gender-conformist society.
Despite its glamorous, women-empowering appearance, the Takarazuka Revue was actually established for quite the opposite reason. It was men who founded the group. And those men sought to cultivate women into “perfect wives” for their future husbands. They charged forth under the motto “Be pure, be righteous, be beautiful,” (清く, 正しく, 美しく; Kiyoku, tadashiku, utsukushiku).
Portraying the perfect man
This motto represented what Kobayashi believed to be the essence of the “perfect woman, mother, and wife”. In other words, he sought to enforce (rather than challenge) gender stereotypes and masculine privilege.
So what about the otokoyaku? How does putting a woman into men’s clothing encourage becoming a perfect woman?
Kobayashi believed that his performers were portraying the perfect man of every woman’s fantasy. Further, he thought this portrayal would make the performers themselves better understand the qualities of a man. In turn, this would mold them into more appreciative future wives. Kobayashi created the otokoyaku to glorify men and masculinity.
Kobayashi never anticipated that some Takarazuka women would find themselves more comfortable with portraying men than he bargained for. This led some to denounce their femininity completely, embrace their own homosexuality, and even refuse to marry at all[3].
The Proof is in the Patriarchy
It wasn’t only how Kobayashi sought to portray his ideal versions of men and women through on-stage performances. The labels he used also show his determination to keep the Takarazuka women in their place.
Kobayashi labeled his actresses similarly to Kabuki. However, he was careful never to give them the same level of privilege, power, or prestige that kabuki actors had. After all, the Takarazuka performers were not men.
To understand the nuances behind the labels, we must first understand the nuances behind the Japanese terminology. Kabuki gives performers who play female roles the name “onnagata”. Here, “onna” means “woman” and “gata” means “form,” as in taking the appearance/style of. In other words, males performing female roles were still acknowledged as men. They merely took on the form of a woman for the sake of their performance.
The Otokoyaku Difference
Takarazuka, however, labeled its male-performing females “otokoyaku” (as opposed to “otokogata”). Here, “otoko” means “male” and “yaku” means “role”. In other words, by using yaku (role) instead of gata (model/image), he implied these female actresses performed their male role as a duty. They served as a role model for masculinity, rather than just reflecting the male gender for performance’s sake. Despite performing as men, it was still seen as a service to, and for, men.
The otokoyaku’s success depends solely on her ability to perfectly assume the role, character, and personality of a male. This enforces the gender hierarchy. Here, even amongst females, the ones who stand out and achieve more are those who are the most masculine.
Additionally, the troupe dubbed the female performers “musumeyaku,” or “daughter role”. Using “Musume” (daughter) instead of “onna” (woman) gives the impression of pure, innocent, not fully mature, unmarried women. It emphasizes their “duty” as naïve “daughters” who were compliant to their “father figure” – i.e., Kobayashi. This only deepened the inequality surrounding the group dynamic.
Controversies and Coming Out
Much of Kobayashi’s inspiration for playwriting came from a popular lesbian fiction author, Yoshiya Nobuko. Yoshiya specialized in same-sex literature that painted female couples as a romantic and erotic fantasy.
However, with lesbianism and gender being highly controversial, Kobayashi took those ideas and revamped them in his own heterosexual light. He kept the romanticism but switched up the adored females in Yoshiya’s literature for glorious men beloved by all women.
Yet this stirred even more controversy. Kobayashi sought to reform the popular lesbian content back into what he deemed righteous heterosexualism. However, this emphasis on beautiful, masculine women only birthed a greater awareness of lesbianism. As a result, more Japanese women started to come out.
It started with fans sending love letters to their favorite otokoyaku. Kobayashi’s worry grew when he realized some performers started feeling “too natural” in their masculine roles. This led to rumors circulating about private, off-stage relationships between the performers. Some suspected that the all-female group was starting to embrace homosexuality.
To Kobayashi, this threatened his plan to cultivate women into “perfect women, mothers, and wives” (Japanese: 良妻賢母; ryousai kembo). But for many of the actresses, it was no longer about glorifying masculinity or trying to become a “perfect woman.” They already felt perfect the way they were.
The scandal breaks
Kobayashi made several attempts to combat what he now saw as a hindrance. This included temporarily incorporating male vocalists. He also tightened the rules governing the private lives of the performers. While women were not allowed to marry while in the troupe, having a boyfriend was encouraged. This, Kobayashi felt, would dismantle the circulating rumors of the performers’ sexuality. Kobayashi and company would also dismiss rumors involving individual performers’ involvement in lesbian relationships as a hoax.
But Kobayashi could only cover up the truth for so long. After the love-letter scandal and the coming-out of two performers who were in a lesbian relationship, it was too late. The fans already knew. And they loved it.
Former Takarazuka member and LGBT activist Higashi Koyuki and her partner Masuhara Hiroko were the first same-sex couple to officially hold a wedding ceremony at Tokyo Disney Resort in 2013. This bold move prompted further awareness in Japan of gender equality and LGBTQ rights. Activists called on the government to recognize the relationships of gay and lesbian couples. (This effort still continues today.)
Japan still has many hurdles to overcome in terms of really achieving equality. But Higashi, as well as the group as a whole, have paved the way and opened doors, not just for gender equality and female empowerment, but for LGBTQ rights as well.
Role models – and controversies
Today, Takarazuka continues to expand its audience. It’s even worked on making some of its broadcasts available internationally by streaming them with English subtitles.
Unfortunately, the theater hasn’t dodged controversy in recent years. In 2022, the troupe removed a male director who allegedly sexually harassed his assistant. The director denied any wrongdoing.
Then, last year, a 25-year-old cast member took her own life. Her family and their lawyer allege that the troupe had the young woman and other cast members working 15 hours a day, only allotting them around three hours a day to sleep.
An initial independent review cleared the theater of any wrongdoing. However, the troupe promised to “conduct a review” to ensure the safety and proper instruction of all members.
Despite these controversies and the misogynist intentions behind the establishment of the group, the Takarazuka Revue still managed to open many new doors for women. It expanded opportunities beyond the very limited roles that society had allowed for them.
Indeed, Kobayashi brought the Takarazuka Revue together to glorify men. However, they have achieved worldwide popularity amongst a mostly female audience. Fans don’t admire them for their ability to be exemplary men. The modern Revue challenges societal gender and sexuality norms. More than anything, the modern Takarazuka Revue encourages women to be themselves.
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