Actress Hanayo Sumi, a former top star of the Takarazuka Revue’s Hoshigumi troupe, has died at the age of 94, according to Sports Nippon. The outlet reported that she passed away on August 3 of natural causes related to old age. Sumi, whose real name was Setsuko Takashima, was born in Hyogo Prefecture. A private family funeral was held on the morning of August 6 at a funeral hall in Tokyo.
Sumi was married to fellow actor Tadao Takashima (高島忠夫), who died before her. The couple became familiar faces to Japanese audiences over the years through joint television appearances and commercials. Their sons, actors Masahiro Takashima and Masanobu Takashima, released a message mourning their mother, saying that she remained, in their words, “the great actress Hanayo Sumi” right up to her final moments, Sports Nippon reported. In an accompanying reader survey cited by the outlet, the largest share of respondents said what they would remember most about Sumi was her close, affectionate relationship with her husband, ahead of their joint TV and commercial appearances or her Takarazuka career.
Who is Hanayo Sumi?
Hanayo Sumi began her career as a performer in the Takarazuka Revue (宝塚歌劇団), Japan’s all-female musical theater company famous for its lavish stage productions in which actresses also play male roles. She rose to become the top star of the Hoshigumi, or “Star Troupe,” one of the revue’s several performing units. After her Takarazuka career, she moved into film and television acting and became widely known to the public through her decades-long marriage to actor Tadao Takashima, with the pair frequently appearing together on TV programs and in commercials. Their sons, Masahiro Takashima and Masanobu Takashima, both went on to become well-known actors in Japan.
Author’s Comment
I’ll level with you: "Takarazuka top star marries a leading man, they charm the nation on TV together, and raise two sons who become actors themselves" sounds like a pitch a studio exec would reject for being too tidy. But that was just Hanayo Sumi’s actual life. What gets me is the reader poll attached to this story — asked what they’d remember most about her, people picked the marriage over the stage career or the TV work. Not bad for a woman who spent years commanding a stage as a top-billed otokoyaku. If your own sons are the ones telling the public who you really were, you clearly did something right. Rest easy, Madam.
