Towards a Phenomenology of Awe: Suspension of Disbelief for the Moment and Takarazuka Revue’s Sublimation of Ruptures

Abstract

This paper aims at critically observing the alternating concatenation of seasonally inspired numbers and Japanese legends from time immemorial in the show Sekkashō (「雪華抄」, Snowflake Anthology), staged by the Japanese all-female musical company Takarazuka Revue’s Flower Troupe in late 2016. The goal is to disclose some of the strategies employed by Takarazuka Revue’s administrators in pursuing a necessary agenda of breaking with the tradition while steadily moving forward towards a future of self-reinvention, without disappointing the deeply conservative fans’ vast community. The analysis occurs both historically and systematically: on the one hand, the year 2016 was a “bridge” year between 2015, with its two major reconfigurations of the decadelong image of Takarazuka Revue as a bastion of shōjo culture firmly anchored in a delusional past and its stubborn rejection of common sense as well as historical reality, and 2017, with its blatant reconfiguration of soft power priorities in terms of theatrical representation; on the other hand, Sekkashō itself is a symbolical gem of Takarazuka Revue’s most typical features, signifying an effective yet dignified statement of not so much criticizing the past, but releasing oneself from its almighty grasp so that one can change the direction of the present towards a type of future different than the familiar flows of history so far.