I BOIL THREE CHESTNUTS

Middle child (1 older sister - Ichika, 1 younger brother - Isamu) of an upper-middle class family in Osaka that has spent all their money securing prolific careers for all 3 of their children. Her sister is a news presenter, her brother is studying law. She showed great skill in theatre at school and was sent to the entrance exam for the Yamashita School in Tokyo, prompted by a teacher. She got in at her first try-out which was unusual, considering her background and her parents' finances. Not the best singer in Yurigumi, she has managed to gain a following due to her heartfelt, touching interpretations of characters and her emotional acting. She is liked by most of her troupe mates and lives a quiet life when off-stage, dating girls discreetly and keeping her sexuality a secret from her parents. People whisper about her chances of becoming top star, but Izumi has no ambitions on her own behalf. If she makes top, it'll be for her parents' sake. She just wants to keep creating interesting women on stage, getting the opportunity to live lives very different from her own that way.

On a trip to Tokyo with her mother, she saw her first Revue performance (Yurigumi, then Baragumi the following day) at age 13. Two years later, with her parents' blessing, she decided to aim for the Yamashita School's Yurigumi line entrance exam, which meant she had to take singing lessons. She did this between age 15-17. Once accepted, she moved to Tokyo from Osaka and lived in the dorms at the school, preparing to become a Revue actress. The last transition was to get her stage name. She asked her mother to pick a kanji (秋, autumn, to honour when she was born) and made her stage name inspired by a Tawara Machi poem. Her nickname was still "Izumi". Her mother comes to watch her perform at least two times a year and their dedication to the Revue is something they share.

At the Yamashita School, Izumi fell in love with a girl for the first time. Not until five years later, would she meet the Tokyo Ballet dancer, Watanabe Yuriko, and finally find the courage to initiate a relationship to another girl, one that would last 18 months. They were both from Osaka, strangers in Tokyo and Izumi attended many ballet performances to support Yuriko, while Yuriko began attending Revue performances for her sake. When Yuriko broke up with her, because she'd found another corps position in Paris, and moved away from Tokyo, Izumi was heartbroken.

She's still trying to move on from that.



THE YAMASHITA REVUE.

All-female theatre owned and directed by the Yamashita family in Tokyo since the 1950’s. Currently, the oldest son of the family, Yamashita Kei, is head of the theatre board that sees to the administration of the Revue.

The theatre consists of two troupes, Baragumi and Yurigumi, one focused on honing the skill of dancing (Baragumi) and the other on honing the skill of singing (Yurigumi). Yurigumi is especially famous for its full-length plays and musicals, while Baragumi is famed for its elaborate and sparkling revue dance shows. Each troupe has about 50 members, led by the top combi, one otoko yaku (male role actress) and one onna yaku (female role actress), promoted by the board.

To further promote the “couple” image of the top combi, each pair lives together in an assigned apartment with two separate bedrooms, but sharing all other facilities and living together for as long as they’re working as a combi. This is seen as a condition for rising in rank and cannot be arranged any other way. Once they retire from the Revue, they move out of the apartment, whether together or apart.

Daily leadership happens in combination with Yamashita Kei and each troupe’s kumichou (troupe leader), who is the most senior actress of the group, the show’s artistic director and the lead choreographer, both of the latter depending on show.

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