ISSN 2029-2074

TAKARAZUKA REVUE IN

Takashi Kitamura Professor of Graduate School of Language and Culture, Graduate School of Letters, Osaka University (Japan)

Keywords: Takarazuka Revue, intercultural communication between Lithuania and Japan, rela- tions between Japan and Soviet Russia. Pagrindinės sąvokos: Takarazuka Revue, tarpkultūriniai Lietuvos ir Japonijos mainai, Lietuvos ir Japonijos tarpusavio supratimas.

Introduction

When the relationship between Lithuania and Japan comes up for discussion, it is always Chiune Sugihara, a former Japanese Consul who made great achievements during Word War II, that is mentioned first of all. Of course, this is a memorable historical fact, but we could not call it a real intercultural communication between Lithuania and Japan. Instead, we claim that the performances of Takarazuka Revue given in Kaunas and in 1975, when the Republic of Lithuania was still under the rule of the , were the first event that figures in the history of cultural exchange of the two nations. Here, we would like to discuss these performances in Lithuania, almost forgotten between the two nations, hoping to make a small contribution to the promotion of mutual understanding between Lithuania and Japan.

Brief History of Takarazuka Revue

Takarazuka Revue (usually called Takarazuka), which started as an all- female opera founded in 1913 by an enterpriser Ichizô Kobayashi, is an 74 TAKASHI KITAMURA

opera company composed only of unmarried actresses, which is probably unique to Japan. It is based in Takarazuka, a suburban city near Osaka, but it has its own theatre in Yûrakuchô near the Ginza district in Tokyo as well. Many people frequently visit these theatres, and they are both prosperous. The company has also given quite a few overseas performances, including the ones in Kaunas and Vilnius in 1975. Contemporary Takarazuka consists of five troupes named Hana (Flower), Tsuki (Moon), Yuki (Snow), Hoshi (Star) and Sora (Cosmos formed in 1998) with more than 20 directors. They have their own orchestra and even an exclusive channel on cable TV. Their performances entertain the viewers with traditional Japanese dance and simultaneously a musical, the scene of which is usually set in Europe or America.

Project of the Third European Performance of Takarazuka Revue

Takarazuka’s first overseas performance was given from October 1938 to March 1939 in 25 cities in , Italy and Poland in order to promote friendly relations among Germany, Italy and Japan. It goes without saying that this mission reflects the political context of those days. Since then, Takarazuka has performed in a considerable number of countries as part of the goodwill efforts of the Japanese government. After World War II, Taka- razuka visited Hawaii (1955, 1956, 1957 and 1966), New York and Canada (1959), Paris (1965), and Southeast Asia (1973) before the Third European Performance in 1975. When the project of this overseas performance was first designed, the mission of Takarazuka was expected to be carried out with the motive of promoting certain obvious political intentions, that is, an amelioration of the relations between the Soviet Union and Japan. After having established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1972, Kakuei Tanaka, the Prime Minister, sought to normalize diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. In October 1973, the Prime Minister visited Kremlin to negotiate a peace treaty with the Soviet Union. But the Tanaka Cabinet was forced to resign because of alleged financial malfeasance. The result was that Kakuei Tanaka lost his position in December, 1974. Takeo Miki, who replaced Tanaka, had little enthusiasm for Japanese-Soviet relations. TAKARAZUKA REVUE IN LITHUANIA 75

Nonetheless, the projects of Takarazuka performance in the Soviet Union subsisted due to the efforts of the people concerned. According to the article in Kageki (October 1975) written by Ken Harada, a former Diet member, who had a close connection with Takara- zuka, a number of important Soviet people visited his office on September 30, 1973, accompanied by the officials of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and asked him to mediate an invitation toTakarazuka from the Soviet Union. Two years later, though, the relations between the two nations cooled, the overseas performances were achieved but with great modifica- tion; performances in France were added and a series of overseas perfor- mance in 1975 was titled the Third European Performance. The following section outlines the itinerary of these overseas performances.

Outline of the Third European Performance

Program The Takarazuka First Part: Fantasy Takarazuka (by Tetsuzô Shirai) Second Part: Beat on Takarazuka (by Seisaku Kamogawa)

Cast 47 actresses from 4 troupes (Hana (Flower), Tsuki (Moon), Yuki (Snow), Hoshi (Star)) Ran Ôtori, the top star of the Hoshi troup was not admitted to the country because of her Chinese nationality, therefore, she joined the perfor- mances in France. At that time, Chinese-Soviet relations were in a critical situation.

Staff 14 people

Itinerary

1975 September 22, 8 :40 Osaka International Airport (Itami)→(by plane) (via Niigata, Khabarovsk) →21 :40 Moscow 76 TAKASHI KITAMURA

September 23, 17 :10 Moscow→(by rail) September 24, →5 :10 Vilnius→(by bus)→Kaunas September 25~26 Preparation of the stage at the Sport Center September 27, 20 :00~ First performance in Kaunas September 28, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances September 29, 20 :00~ One performance September 30, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances October 1, 13 :00 Kaunas→(by bus)→Vilnius October 2, Preparation of the stage at the Palace of Sports and Theatre October 3, 20 :00~ First performance in Vilnius October 4, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances October 5, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances October 6, 20 :00~ One performance October 7, 20 :00~ One performance (11 :00~ Sightseeing in Vilnius) October 8, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances October 9, 20 :00~ One performance October 10, 20 :00~ One performance (12 :00~ Excursion to Trakai) October 11, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances October 12, 15 :00~, 20 :00~ Two performances October 13, 7:40 Vilnius→(by plane)→9:10 Leningrad October 16, 20:00~ First performance in Leningrad October 30, 17 :10 Leningrad→(by rail) October 31, →5 :10 Moscow November 5, 17:30~ First performance in Moscow November 17, 20 :20 Moscow→(by rail) November 18, →9 :00 Kiev November 19, 17:30~ First performance in Kiev December 4, Last performance in the Soviet Union December 5, 21 :20 Kiev→(by rail) December 6, →9 :00 Moscow December 9, 16 :20 Moscow→(by plane) December 9, →19 :30 Paris December 12, 20:30~ First performance in Paris 1976 January 11, Last performance in Paris January 14, 11 :15 Paris→(by plane) (via Moscow) January 15, →Haneda International Airport (Tokyo) TAKARAZUKA REVUE IN LITHUANIA 77

In total, Takarazuka gave 6 performances in Kaunas, 15 in Vilnius, 17 in Leningrad, 15 in Moscow, 19 in Kiev, and 38 in Paris. We lack the means to find out the reason why the two Lithuanian cities were chosen as the first places of performance by organizers in the Soviet Union. Tokuichi Matsu- bara, the producer of the performances, tells us that he was not informed about this. Further research may allow us to consider the possibility of certain political reasons on the side of the Soviet Union.

Reaction of Lithuanian People to Takarazuka

The report by the actresses and staff shows us how the people of Kaunas and Vilnius fervently welcomed Takarazuka. The researches by Miroslav Stasilo, a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Letters at Vilnius University, and by Shchepetunina Marina, a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Language and Culture at Osaka University, both shows us that the news- papers in those days, both in the Lithuanian and , made a remarkably favourable and beffiting presentation about Takarazuka Revue. If these performances in Lithuania were realized by the decision of the Soviet Government, we cannot deny that tens of thousands of Lithuanian people enjoyed an aspect of the Japanese culture through Takarazuka Revue for the first time in their history. However, there remains an ample oppor- tunity to investigate this event, which requires the cooperation of Lithua- nian and other European reserchers.

References Kauno Tiesa. 1975. September 30. Vechernie Novosti. 1975. September 23 and 30; October 5. Kageki. September 1975~March 1976. Takarazuka Kageki Company, Japan. Kageki. 1976. Special Number of the Third European Performance. Takarazuka Kageki Company, Japan. Takarazuka Gurafu. September 1975~March 1976. Takarazuka Kageki Company, Japan. 90 Years History of Takarazuka Kageki. 2004. Takarazuka Kageki Company, Japan. 78 TAKASHI KITAMURA

Abstract

In 1975, Takarazuka Revue (Japanese all-female opera troupe) gave performances in Kaunas and Vilnius, when the Republic of Lithuania was still under the rule of the Soviet Union. At that time, tens of thousands of Lithuanian people enjoyed a part of the Japanese culture through Takarazuka Revue for the first time in the history of the country. In this paper, we demonstrate the background as well as the itinerary of these performances in Lithuania, hoping to make a small contribution to the promotion of mutual understanding between Lithuania and Japan.

Takarazuka Revue trupės pasirodymai Lietuvoje Santrauka Dar 1975-aisiais, kai Lietuvos Respublika tebebuvo Sovietų Sąjungos dalis, Takarazuka Revue (japonių moterų muzikinio teatro trupė) surengė pasirodymus Kaune ir Vilniuje. Tai buvo pirmas kartas šalies istorijoje, kai dešimtys tūkstančių lietuvių Takarazuka Revue trupės dėka galėjo pasimėgauti Japonijos kultūra. Šiame darbe aptariama šių pasirodymų Lietuvoje kilmė bei maršrutas bei tikimasi bent šiek tiek prisidėti prie Lietuvos ir Japonijos tarpusavio supratimo sklaidos.