Hello. Sorry for not being around. There’s not really a good reason for it. But anyway.
You may have seen a link floating around to an online interview Makaze did with the magazine Marisol. You can see it here. If you read the translation (available below the cut), then please click through the link to give the proper page views on her article (and see the nice picture.)
Thanks for your support. It’s short, but please enjoy. Apologies for any inaccuracies.
Cosmos Troupe, Makaze Suzuho
“Separating from my ‘role’ (on stage), and resetting to myself. Spending time in my home is very important.” (Happy times for Takarazuka stars!)
2017 January 11
The stars who provide dreams and enriched experiences to the audience. For those women, how do they spend their time happily? Let’s take a peek at the true face you can’t see on the stage!
Changing between “on” and “off” in a short time, having my own way gives me peace of mind
Even among the mix of otokoyaku in Sora-gumi, her especially beautiful frame of long legs, shoulders and broad back is rare. Standing like a beautiful flower, she draws you into the story with her deep, delicate and expressive power- an otokoyaku star who truly pierces the heart of the viewer!
For Makaze Suzuho, her “happy time” is… spending time in her home.
“Before a show, there’s usually a succession of late nights for rehearsals, so during those times my lifestyle becomes- I just go home to sleep. However, having a few hours of leisure before sleeping is important to me. Since I can’t relax in a messy room, during those busy periods I clean up easily in the mornings before going out. Recently, I have a plant known as Sansevieria, and a few other plants in my house. They grow well without me having to do much (laughs), I think it really shows the healing effects of greenery (plants).”
Immediately after coming home while relaxing, how do you reset yourself after your day?
“I used to often have days where I would spend my time only considering my work on stage and nothing else. However, overthinking it really wears me down, as I learned through those very ‘driven’ experiences, so I have to pull myself away from my ‘role’, and I began to think that it would be good to focus on other things as well. Even for a short time, I’ll watch the news on TV, listen to some music that has nothing to do with work, reset the feelings and thoughts in my head, take a bath and eventually fall asleep. Just before properly going to bed, I’ll review any lines I was worried about that day. While it makes me seem rather timid, this is what relaxes me, and then I can sleep happily. There’s also the theory that your memories settle while you sleep (laughs). “
It’s been more than ten years since you began performing on stage. From the experience you’ve accumulated, do you have any thoughts, not only about yourself, but about Takarazuka as a whole.
“The words I received from upper-classmen, even the difficult/strict things, they’ve all eventually become a source of power for me. Now that I’ve become an upperclassman, I realize the true difficulty behind saying things that aren’t easy, and there seems to be a trend of raising people through only praise nowadays. However, in order to create performances that truly move people’s hearts, you need the difficult things too, and growth only comes at the end of intense training. For over a hundred years now, upperclassmen have spared no effort in explaining/telling that form of love to the underclassmen, and I think that’s “Takarazuka”… I also want to continue to appreciate the importance of that kind of “Takarazuka”.”
