Kei Aran, real name Touko Yasuda , is a Japanese actress and former top star otokoyaku of the Japanese Takarazuka Revue's Star Troupe. She joined the revue in 1991 and became the top star in 2007, five years after her classmates Sumire Haruno and Hikaru Asami became top stars. She resigned from the company in April 2009 and is currently pursuing an acting career outside of the Revue. She is original from Konan, Shiga, Japan, and her nickname is Touko. She is of Zainichi Korean descent and the first from such background to become the top star of the company. However, she is not the first non-Japanese actress to become a Takarazuka top star: Ran Ootori, who is of Chinese descent, was top star of Star Troupe from 1975 until 1979.
Troupe history
Snow Troupe: 1991–2000
Star Troupe: 2000–2009
Biography
Aran graduated at the top of her class from the Takarazuka Music School in 1991. She was the last member of her class to become top star, and also the last to retire from the Revue when she did so in April 2009. She was one of the promising young stars that were promoted by the company in 1999 along with Haruno and Asami. Before she was promoted to top star status, she was considered as one of top-stars-in-waiting along with former Cosmos Troupe top stars Kei Takashiro and Yūga Yamato, former top star of Moon Troupe Jun Sena, and former top star of Snow Troupe Natsuki Mizu. The last name of her stage name, Aran is from the protagonist of a Korean legend Legend of Ariran. Starting her career in Snow Troupe, she developed her singing and acting alongside Takarazuka legends such as Yu Todoroki, Yoka Wao and Tatsuki Kouju. With the 1996 production of Elisabeth, she became the first to perform the lead role of Der Tod in the understudy performance. Later on, she participated in two Bow Hall performances starring Wao, in which she had prominent roles. In 1998, she had her first Bow Hall lead performance, Icarus. In 1999, Aran formed The Wonder Three along with Hikaru Asami and Kouki Naruse. The trio had a Bow Hall performance under the same name. Although similar trios of younger actresses could also be found at that time in Flower Troupe and Moon Troupe, they were the only trio that was considered official. This trio also held the main roles in the special performance of Arch of Triumph; this is the first, and to date, only, instance of the Revue having three casts for one show. In 2000, she was transferred to Star Troupe and became the second man for Ko Minoru, Tatsuki Kouju and Wataru Kozuki. When Kozuki had the lead inA Song for Kingdoms as her top star debut in 2003, Aran was cast as Aida, a role which brought much applause. In the same year, she also held the lead roles in performances of Singin' in the Rain and Ganryuu. Marking the 90th anniversary for the company in 2004, Aran had special appearances in two Cosmos Troupe productions. The first was Lightning in the Daytime, where she replaced Mizu in the Tokyo performance. This was followed by the role of Count Philippe de Chandon in Phantom, where she rejoined former Snow Troupe troupemates Wao and Mari Hanafusa. In 2006, she had a special appearance in the Snow Troupe production of Rose of Versailles. This was both the first and last performance with classmate and former troupe mate Asami since Aran's troupe transfer.
Like Mizu, Rose of Versailles has played an important part in Aran's Takarazuka career. She is one of the very few that has been in roles of Oscar, Andre and Hans Axel Von Fersen, the three prominent male roles in the production.
