some translations from Japanese press. Moon Troupe Top Combi retirement

once for a while I can afford serious headlines for my blogposts, eh?

well, let me start my rough translations from Japanese to English

article 1 - sanspo

October, 25th Kiriya Hiromu, the Top Star of the Moon Troupe of Takarazuka, who decided to retire on April, 22nd next year, gave a press conference in a hotel in Osaka city. 'Almost 18 years in Takarazuka have passed like an instant, but this is a precious time. I want to spend the days up until the graduation proud to be a male-role player' she shared her feelings.

The farewell  performance will be a two act 'Edward VIII ~The Love that Cost Him the Crown~ / Misty Station', which will take place in Takarazuka Grand Theatre from February, 3rd till March, 5th, and then in Tokyo from March, 23rd till April, 22nd. The closing day of the show will be the day of retirement.

The face expression of Kiriya in her chic grey pantsuit was quite calm. First, Kobayashi Kouichi, the board chairman, started the conversation: 'Though she was an otokoyaku of the true competency, her path was never too smooth. However, after some recreation, she grew one, or even two levels higher and became a leader of Takarazuka'.

It was some half a year ago when Kiriya made her firm decision to retire. 'The moment when I became the Top anyway... I was thinking. Though I was flurried, I was able to live busy and productive days, and as the others put their efforts too, the Moon Troupe has come to an equilibrium. It is exactly because of this present state, why I decided to retire, as now is the critical point to take the next step' explains she.

Born in Kishiwada, Osaka, she debuted on the 6th year of Heisei era in 'Phoenix'. Having mastered the three key arts - singing, dancing and acting - she was assigned to the Flower Troupe and spent there 2 years, having her lead role in the newcomer perfomance of 'How to Succeed', after which her talent was spotted. On the 9th year of Heisei she was transferred to the Moon Troupe, where she was successfully moving towards becoming a star, but there was a case on the 15th year of Heisei when she took a two months rest because of an illness.

After she returned to the stage, she played well such important parts as Luceni in 'Elizabeth', Oscar in 'The Rose of Versailles' and John in 'Me and My Girl'.

Having succeeded Sena Jun as the Top Star of the Troupe in December of the 21st year of Heisei, February of the 22nd year she debuted as the Top Star, performing in 'Yukariko' in Nagoya and China. She made a Top Combi with her partner, Yuki Aono.

In April of the same year the Broadway musical 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' was announced. The next followed 'Gypsy Baron', 'The Prince of the Land of Roses' and 'The Man from Algiers'.

'I entered Takarazuka because I wanted to play in musicals and I wanted to be a male-role player. I had chances to play female parts too - in 'Guys and Dolls', and to perform abroad, broadening the limits of my performance in different plays. I was able to experience the birth of the fifth troupe - the Cosmos Troupe, the beginning of all the year round performances in Tokyo, the period of drastic changes in Takarazuka. After I became a Top Star, I feel everything is so dear to me' Kiriya made a look back.

The plans after leaving Takarazuka seem to be 'as a blanc sheet', and she said 'I still have two performances, and I want to put all my passion into the male role. There's no end to the road of art, but there is no one from the 80th class already, so it is the last shining. I am looking forward to watching the 100-year anniversary from a seat in the audience'.

Apart from the farewell performance, the future plans are the national tour with 'My Love Lies Over the Mountains / Dance Romanesque' from November, 19th till December, 11th, then 'Takarazuka Special 2011' in the main hall of Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka on December, 18th-19th, and Dinner Show in Takarazuka Hotel on March, 7th-8th and in Daiichi Hotel Tokyo on March, 10th-11th.

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my notes

1. exuse your humble servant for some possible mistakes. the part '...became the Top anyway... I was thinking' is an epic fail, I admit. I have no idea what Kiriya-sama could mean, so I did my best - I simply translated the part literally. any other variant of translation with critical provement would be appreciated. the same goes with the part about the 'last shining'. is it her shining, or the shining of the 80th class, or something else, seems unclear to me, while I dare not to speculate about this.
2. I just read that the 'sayonara kouen' is translated as 'goodbye performance' in TakaWiki. however, I like the 'farewell' variant more, and I would like to leave it this way. after all, the translation depends much on the translator's feelings, eh? my feelings can be described as dark despair and thus the 'farewell' with its shadow of sorrowful parting forever suits me mood much better than simple 'bye'.
3. yes, I am not using the terms of Japanese like 'otokoyaku' or '~gumi'. methinks, if I do a translation, I should translate everything to make it understandable enough to everyone. moreover, I doubt that using the Japanese terms really shows the actual knowledge of a fan. to me, it smells somewhat of a bombast.
4. Heisei is the name of the current era in Japan, which still uses its own calendar. the era started in the year of grace 1987 and mehopes me honourable readers will manage somehow to count themselves. though me is against using specific terms of the Japanese langueage in my translations, I left these facts as they are in the text, primarily to indicate the nuances of the article which consist in the difference between the dates written in the Japanese style and the ones which are in accordance with the European calendar. by the same token, me leaving the Heisei thing in the article is a kind of showing respect to the Japanese culture.

article 2 - yomiuri

Kiriya Hiromu from the Moon Troupe has mastered her male-role playing to the limit?! Retirement on April, the 22nd next year.

Takarazuka Revue Moon Troupe Top Star Kiriya Hiromu, who is retiring on April, 22nd, next year, gave an interview on the 25th in Osaka city. She explained the reason of retiring as 'I thought I should take the next step while the Moon Troupe is stable'. Having no plans of marriage, she is supposed to become an actress. Her submission to the Revue was made half a year ago.
The farewell performance is a two act 'Edward VIII ~The Love that Cost Him the Crown~ / Misty Station'. Her fighting spirit 'I shall do my best until the end, for you to see that I have mastered the male-role playing to the limit' was enough.
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my notes
'the 25th' means October, 25th of the year of grace 2011.

article 3 - sanspo 

Aono Yuki from the Moon Troupe interview: 'together with Kiriya'
Aono Yuki, the Top Female-role Player of the Moon Troupe of Takarazuka Revue, who decided to retire on April, 22nd, next year, gave an interview about her retirement in the office of Takarazuka Revue on the 1st. Her retirement will be on the same day as that of Kiriya Hiromu, who already made her announcement, and the farewell performance will be 'Edward VIII ~The Love that Cost Him the Crown~ / Misty Station'. It will take place in Takarazuka Grand Theatre from February, 3rd, till March, 5th, next year, and in Tokyo from March, 23rd, till April, 22nd, and the closing day of the show will be the day of retirement.
Aono showed up in a light beige dress. 'After I became the Top Female-role Player of the Moon Troupe there were vague thoughts of retirement in my head. When I heard that miss Kiriya is retiring, I made my decision to retire too. It was some half a year ago. I want to put all my efforts into the performance and be myself on the stage up until the closing day' she made her clear explanation.
Aono comes from Okayama, and her debut was on the 16th year of Heisei era. In December of the 21st year she was trasfered from the Star Troupe to the Moon Troupe, and since February of the last year she became the Top Female-role Player as a partner of Kiriya Hiromu. Having a charm of a 'handsome female-role player' with dynamic dance and certain acting ability, she played her most recognizable roles like Anna in 'Anna Karenina', Ines and Miranda in 'The Tale of Coimbra' and the parts she performed when she debuted in the Moon Troupe Top Combi, such as Marguerite in 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', Belle in 'The Prince of tha Land of Roses', and others.
'After I entered Takarazuka, my little dream of performing abroad came true very soon, in 2 years. It was when I played Anna when I was thinking whether I was able to change as a stage performer' she made a look back. About the plans after retirement she answered 'I don't have any intentions to get married and I am not thinking of anything at all. The graduation is only one checkpoint. I think, the experience of every period is important, so now I am absorbed in rehearsals'.
The schedule apart from the farewell performance is:
National Tour - from November, 19th, till December, 11th
'Takarazuka Special 2011' in the main hall of Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka - December, 18th-19th
Music Salon in Takarazuka Hotel - March, 9th and 10th, next year
Kobayashi Kouichi, the board chairman of Takarazuka Revue said: 'The true ability she forged in the Star Troupe blossomed at once when she became the Top Female-Player in the Moon Troupe, and the Top Combi with Kiriya was also good. I want to see her off till the very end gorgeously'.
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1. 'the 1st' means the 1st of November. I am terribly sorry for translating this a month later
2. 'graduation' means, of course, the retirement, that is why I wrote 'the graduation', not 'a'

my intuition

it either exists in an obvious way, or abandones me giving no hint, no tip and no advice.
now, however, me would like to speak of my intuition working.
why is that almost all the girls me grows fond of happen to be of Tsukigumi?
me speaks nothing of Kiriya-sama, who was the reason me had the interest in Moon Troupe, but of the others me would like to mention the following
it turned out me loves the nibante and sanbante very much. well, me calls Masao nibante and Mirio sanbante, though 'tis obvious that everything is not that easy in the Troupe. however, let your humble servant consider the things to be just as they are stated by him.
if me isn't mistaken once again, my beautiful Suzukaze-sama was also a part of Moon in her time. and if the attention me payed to Masao and Mirio is generally explained by the fact me saw them in the first Zuka's performance ever, Suzukaze-sama's case is a REAL coincidence.
the more me read the list of the other Troupes, the more me was astonished with the fact me cannot love all the actors in the other Troupes. e. g. in case we speak of Yuzuki-sama, me cannot say the others attract me that much, though me conclusion still is based on the pics only, and awaits it's provement by watching. if me honourable guests ask me about the Cosmos, me shall answer me dislikes Oozora-san as usual, however 'tis nibante who attracts me attention and who was a kind of compensation for the possible prospects of the necessity of watching Cosmos perfomance in Tokyo.
me should say a couple of words 'bout the musumeyaku-san too. though me doesn't pay much attention to them usually, me really likes Marimo-chan, her voice and her face expressions are, well, one of the best me have ever seen, though me lacks the experience to say for all of them.
the list, however, doesn't end here. the voice of Shizuki Asato astonished me from the very beginning of the 'kimi no na o yobeba'. and though she changed Troupes, she was also a part of Moonies once.
the most surprising thing is that Sawaki Rizu happens to be a Moonie too! and it was her voice that seemed the most unique on the '14 covers' album to your humble servant. me cannot say why me is so glad, as Sawaki-chan doesn't mean anything to me as for now, but me is really pleased that Tsukigumi collects the most interesting personalities and appearances and voices. well, the only thing that doesn't please me is that Oozora was a part of Moonies, too, and she was even ahead of Kiriya-sama. me is so glad she was transferred to the Cosmos. she suits it quite well, and moreover she suits her musumeyaku too. that means, also, that me dislikes the musumeyaku almost as much as me does towards Oozora-san, though this attitude may alter someday (but quite unlikely!)