Takarazuka Music School Does Away With Longstanding Rules

The Guardian has reported on the ways in which Takarazuka Music School is changing decades-old rules in order modernize and shift with the times.

Read the full story HERE.

The school trains its students to become professional singers, dancers, and actors, and until a recent change, has always abided by a strict set of rules including bowing to passing trains on the local railway line lest the passengers include older students; limiting their vocabulary to 'yes' and 'no' while in the presence of senior trainees and more.

"We want to preserve good traditions, but we also need to change so we can fit in with the times," said Naoya Horiuchi, a school official.

Tatsuya Kusaba, essayist and expert on Takarazuka shared: "The more the school attempts to modernise - or liberalise - the more it risks losing some of the qualities that make it special, including the strict hierarchy among students... I want Takarazuka to continue being what it is now - a place where women can realise their dreams."

Check out the full story HERE.