Chieko’s grandmother was in Takarazuka Revue!
WAIT NO this is amazing (and here’s the blog entry for mobile people or whoever can’t read the top source for whatever reason. Summary below):
Chieko (Ochi Chieko, formerly Kawabe Chieko of Sera Myu, PGSM, and brief but excellent pop idol fame) wrote this entry commemorating the 1-year anniversary of her grandmother’s death… which to be honest made me tear up, because I remember back in 2006-08 Chieko had an adorable English practice blog and her beloved grandma appeared in just about every other entry. Chieko says she’d heard her grandmother enrolled in TMS and often asked her about it, but her grandmother always brushed it off, saying things like it was such a long time ago I don’t remember at all.
A month before her death, a very close friend managed to get her hands on grandma’s TMS diploma thanks to a 100th anniversary newspaper article she’d happened to see: “Takarasiennes Graduating 67 Years Later”
Turns out Chieko’s grandma was a member of the 33rd class, who would have debuted in 1946. Their records were lost or compromised because of the war, but recently an effort was made to get in touch with whomever was left. There were 5 seito whose whereabouts were unknown, one of whom was Chieko’s grandmother. The friend saw her name on the list in the article and contacted the newspaper.
1946 is in fact missing from the Taka Wiki.
Chieko says when the friend gave her grandmother the diploma, she clutched it to her chest and was as happy as she’d ever seen her.
Her stage name was Aizu Midori (I think… the kanji is 会津緑)
For fun, Chieko and grandma:
