EA 170 Week 9a-b I. The Relationship of the Creation of Takarazuka with the “Woman Problem." A. The Rise of the “Mo-dan Garu” (môga) 1. "She challenged age-old definitions of female-likeness with her open sexuality, her public flirtatiousness, and above all her independence from family -- all products of her income earning ability." [Bernstein 11] B. The Takarasienne as the counterpoint to the “good wife, wise mother,” the forerunner of the môga C. Takarazaka otokoyaku as part of the “woman problem” 1. Claim by conservative male intellectuals that westernization “masculinized” women: a. confusion of "westernization" with "capitalism" 2. Pathology of female sexuality: a. Meiji period male scholars: 1) Continue to relegate sexuality to prostitutes 2) Define ordinary women according to gender roles of daughter, wife and daughter-in law, mother. b. Taisho period male scholars 1) Link the establishment of the Takarazuka Review to the problematic emergence of androgynous females and the diagnosis in women of the newly coined affliction, "abnormal" sexual desire, i.e. lesbianism. 3. Lesbianism and young unmarried girls (shôjo): a. Doseiai: a passionate but supposedly platonic friendship b. Ome no kankei: understood as a butch/femme relationship. 4. Reversal of emphasis from Edo period a. Edo period treats homosexuality as just one manifestation of human sexuality (not an identity) 1) Edo literature has lots of examples of male-male relationships, both platonic and sexual, often idealized 2) female-female sexual relationships are mostly invisible in Edo literature/theater (although they show up in shunga pornographic woodblock prints) and are not considered an issue by male intellectuals b. Meiji period onward, all homosexual relationships are pathologized, and who you choose as a sexual partner becomes a defining identity 1) male-male sexual relationships mostly disappear from literature and scholarship (some platonic boy-love lit from the 20s and 30s but nothing like before) 2) female-female sexual relationships suddenly become major focus of interest and anxiety V. How did Kobayashi, the founder of Takarazuka deal with these issues? A. Critics’ claim: Takarazuka otokoyaku have a negative influence both on the actress playing the part ("masculinizes" her so she cannot take on a "traditional" feminine gender role) and on her audience (encourages lesbian ome no kankei relationships) B. Kobayashi's response: Channeling the aspirations of "modern girls" into a neo-traditional “good wife, wise mother” ideal 1. enforcing male authority in the school, disciplining young women through hard work and submission to strict hierarchies 2. trying to claim that otokoyaku make better wives C. Do the female actors themselves, and the fans, believe this? 1. On the one hand: 2. On the other hand: D. Is marriage at 25 really the only alternative? 1. Today there are five troupes performing across Japan, including a troupe for older actresses (both otokoyaku and musumeyaku) who have "graduated" from being top stars, and a troupe for rising top stars, and a troupe that mainly does musical versions of plots taken from "traditional" Japanese theater (Kabuki, Bunraku, historical dramas). 2. Today top stars can stay at the top for longer (and do) 3. You can go on to other forms of show business: example of Suzukaze Mayo a. Takarazuka (Oscar in 1991 Moon troop version of “Rose of Versailles”; Puck in A Midsummers Night Dream etc.) b. recording artist (image of her record cover) c. voice of a popular anime character, Himura Kenshin in the Rurouni Kenshin anime bonus: Takarazuka does Rorouni Kenshin (trailer and highlights) d. actress in musicals (42nd street) e. Television historical dramas about samurai warlords Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi Toyotomi 1) Suzukaze plays Nobunaga's wife, Lady No, and the bandit Ishikawa Goemon's wife, Otaki another example: former otokoyaku Wataru Kozuki in Takarazuka version of Chicago playing Roxie Hart; also on Broadway II. How do you become an otokoyaku or musumeyaku? A. Primary (genital) versus secondary (gender) characteristics: 1. Assigned gender role based on secondary gender that follows normative stereotypes and is relative a. Ideal man is 1) visual: 2) gestures: 3) voice: 4) personality: b. the ideal woman: 1) physical appearance: 2) gestures: 3) voice: 4) personality: B. Comparison to Kabuki: 1. What the dominant ideology is: a. Kabuki: Neo-Confucian (representing a sexist, patriarchal, rigidly hierarchical society) b. Takarazuka: a conservative all-male management (representing a sexist, patriarchal, democratic society) 2. Movement style (kata) a. Kabuki onnagata (image) 1) realistic? Use of kata 2) who are they modeled on? Bonus: Bando Tamasaburo 3) Compare Shingaku philosophy: "kata ni yoru kokoro": "the heart follows the kata" b. Takarazuka otokoyaku 1) realistic? Use of kata 2) who are they modeled on? 3. Off-stage persona a. Kabuki onnagata 1) Edo Period 2) Today b. Takarazuka otokoyaku (image, image -- Todoroki Yu)
3. What the audience wants a. Kabuki: 1) Merchants, mixed audience of men and women 2) goals: a) management and audience b) management and government censorship supporting normative ideals for women =dominant patriarchal view) b. Takarazuka: three viewpoints: 1) female audience 2) management supporting normative ideals for women = dominant patriarchal view 3) stars themselves III. Do either Kabuki or Takarazuka subvert gender roles? A. Kabuki onnagata: 1. Yes and no: B. Takarazuka otokoyaku: 1. Yes and no: “The otokoyaku is not a male but is more suave, more affectionate, more courageous, more charming and more handsome than a male.” C. If women like them so much, why are otokoyaku not held out as role models for men? 1. Fantasy of male roles in real life: 2. Who is it that is idolized here? V. Takarazuka and The Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no Bara) The Rose of Versailles was originally serialized in the weekly girls' manga (Japanese comic book) Margaret in 1972. It was later collected into a set of paperbacks totaling around 1700 pages. A short segment of English translated manga can be found in the book Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics (New York: Kodansha, 1983) by Frederik L. Schodt. The story line of a young girl, raised as a boy, who becomes the commander of Marie Antoinette's personal body guards, was a natural for Takarazuka. The first performance of Rose of Versailles as a Takarazuka spectacle was performed in 1974 with Haruna Yuri in the leading role of Oscar. From 1974 to 1976, all four Takarazuka troupes staged The Rose of Versailles, drawing a total audience of 1.6 million. In 1989, it was restaged drawing an audience of 2.1 million Because the original manga story was so long and complicated, Takarazuka initially produced two versions, one focusing on the Oscar and Andre love story, the other focusing on the Axel Fersen and Marie Antoinette story. In class we will be watching excerpts from a 1991 performance of the Oscar and Andre story with Suzukaze Mayo playing Oscar. Kabuki-za 1989 version, organized by Ichikawa Ennosuke (Oscar's mother).
Youtube video 1991 performance prologue introducing all the actors/characters Youtube video 2001 performance Oscar's effect on women at the French Court Youtube video 1991 performance Oscar and Andre confess their love Youtube video 1991 performance Oscar and Andre reunited in heaven
Kabuki-za parody of Rose of Versailles (1989)
Bonus: Lareine (band from the 90s that based their look on Takarazuka and Rose of Versailles) video of Lareine singing theme song from anime of RoV, "Bara wa utsukushiku chiru" (Rose petals scatter beautifully). Live performance (kind of blurry). The name, "La reine"(the queen), is supposed to refer to Marie Antoinette. Probably also refers to the band, Queen, which clearly was also influential in their style.
As we look at manga and watch videos we'll think about the following questions: 1. Reading through the summary, how is this story similar to Kamakura period stories about cross-dressing women such as Torikaebaya and Ariake no Wakare? For example, why does General Jarjayes raise Oscar as a boy? How does this affect the gender-biological sex equation? Does the story support or subvert dominant gender stereotypes for women? 2. Note that in Rose of Versailles everyone knows that Oscar, although dressed as a man, is actually a woman. How does this affect the love triangles between, for example, Rosalie, Oscar and Fersen, or Andre, Oscar and Fersen? 3. How does the lack of concealment of Oscar's biological sex change the possible identification of the (female) reader or viewer with Oscar? 4. In the manga version when is Oscar portrayed as most "masculine"? When is she portrayed as most "feminine"? When does she seem androgynous (neither masculine nor feminine)? Why do you think these changes occur? 5. When we watch the Takarazuka version in class, note how Oscar is represented differently from Andre. That is, how does the actress playing Oscar convey that Oscar, although dressed like a man, is really a woman; in contrast, how does the actress playing Andre convey that he is a man? And note that Oscar is always played by a "top star" otokoyaku, not a musumeyaku. Why might this be the case? 6. In the Kabuki version of Rose of Versailles we have an even more complicated performance of gender: a male actor impersonating a female actor playing Oscar, a male actor impersonating a female actor playing Andre. How do these performances compare to "straight" Kabuki acting we've seen in class? 7. Looking at the images, what indications are there that this manga was written in the 1970s? In particular what influences can you see from popular culture in the 1970s? 8. How does setting the story during the French Revolution help the author create the androgynous image of Oscar? How do you think Oscar's dying words, "Liberté ... Égalité ... Fraternité ..." (liberty, equality, brotherhood) resonated with female readers? Do you see any hints in the manga regarding the politics of the author? Do you think she was left wing or right wing?
TV TROPES Raised as Opposite Gender
Crosscast role (mentions all male or all female troupes as a reason) THIS TROPE IS DIFFERENT IN THAT IT DEALS WITH PERFORMANCE PRACTICE RATHER THE PLOT
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