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Over a history spanning more than a century, the Takarazuka Revue has distinguished itself as one of the world's few all-female theater companies. The curtain rose back in 1914, during Japan's Taisho Era. The theater's founder was Ichizo Kobayashi, the man who contributed to the growth of the Hankyu Railway, opened the Hankyu Department Store as Japan's first department store built inside a train terminal, and worked hard to help found the Toho Group. The creator of an all-female theater company, whose cast members play men and women of all ages, also espoused a motto for the Takarazuka Revue: “modesty, fairness, and grace.“ This refers to the basics of performing arts—the singing, dancing, and acting that create brilliant fantasies on the stage—as well as a desire for each Takarasienne to have etiquette and a good sense of proper manners, and to not forget their dignity as individual women and members of society. &
