The Takarazuka theater troupe held a sports day to celebrate its 90th anniversary, the 20th such event in its history, at Osaka Castle. The all-female troupe, which has hordes of fanatical – and mostly female – fans, last held an “undokai” in 1984. In 1998, it added a fifth sub-troupe, so this year a total of 520 current members and students at the Takarazuka school took part. Even the actresses who normally play only male parts wore skirts, a rare sight for fans. the overall event was won by the Moon Troupe, with top star Ayaki Nao taking the MVP award.
• There were a couple of press events yesterday for tear-jerking dramas featuring couples. Matsuda Seiko (photo, 42) and Funakoshi Eiichiro (44) play the parents of a child with Down Syndrome in a TV dramatisation of a true story. It airs on NTV on October 26. And Takeuchi Yuko (24), who stars alongside kabuki actor Nakamura Shido (32) in the new movie “Ima Ai ni Yukimasu,” says she was moved to tears when she read the original novel.