Keiko Sonoi
{{short description|Japanese actress (1913 - 1945)}}
{{Infobox person
|name=Keiko Sonoi
|native_name=園井恵子
|native_name_lang=ja
|pronunciation=Sono'i Kei'ko
|birth_name={{nihongo|Tomi Hakamada|袴田トミ}}
|birth_date={{Birth date|1913|8|6}}
|birth_place=Matsuo, Iwate (now Hachimantai)
|other_names={{nihongo|Kiyono Kasanui|笠縫清乃}}
|image=Keiko sonoi at takarazuka.jpg
|alt=Sonoi in her Takarazuka days
|caption=Sonoi in her Takarazuka days
|death_date={{death date and age |1945|8|21 |1913|8|6 |df=yes}}
|death_place=Kobe, Hyogo
|nationality=Japanese
|alma_mater=Takarazuka Revue
|occupation=actress
|years_active= 1930–1945
|known_for=film, theatre
|credits={{illm|Muhōmatsu no isshō (1943 film){{!}}Muhōmatsu no isshō|ja|無法松の一生 (1943年の映画)}} (1943, Daiei Film)
|height={{convert|155|cm|ft}}
|awards=
}}
{{nihongo|Keiko Sonoi|園井 恵子|Sonoi Keiko|6 August 1913 – 21 August 1945}} was a Japanese actress, who was a member of the all-female musical-performing Takarazuka Revue during the 1930s and the 1940s, best known for her role as an officer's widow in the wartime film {{illm|Muhōmatsu no isshō (1943 film){{!}}Muhōmatsu no isshō (1943)|ja|無法松の一生 (1943年の映画)}}, and for being part of the {{illm|Sakura-tai|ja|桜隊}} or Cherry Blossom Unit of traveling shingeki play actors who died as a result of the 1945 Hiroshima bombing.
The fate of the Cherry Blossom Unit was later dramatized by playwright Hisashi Inoue, and also made into a feature film by director Kaneto Shindo.
The actress appears to have had a long-held desire to perform shingeki plays, but that was not economically viable due to the need to her support her parents and siblings. As a Takarazienne, she had the manga comic artist Osamu Tezuka as a childhood fan who lived on her block, and Astro Boy may have been influenced by Sonoi's performance of Pinochio ("Pinocchio") from April to May, 1942.
Biography
=Early life=
Keiko Sonoi was born {{nihongo|Tomi Hakamada|袴田トミ|Hakamada Tomi}} on 6 August 1913 in Matsuo, a village in Iwate Prefecture. She was the first-born daughter of {{nihongo|Seikichi Hakamada|袴田清吉}} and his wife {{nihongo|Kame|カメ}}, who both ran a business that made and sold sweets.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|p=302}}{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=151}}
File:Sonoi keiko hakamada family.jpg
She moved to Morioka to stay with her uncle {{nihongo|Tasuke|多助}}'s family,{{efn|The uncle was also a purveyor of sweets.}} in order to attend the "upper elementary school" there.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Namely, the "Upper Course" ({{illm|kōtō-ka{{!}}kōtō-ka|ja|高等科}}) at the {{illm|Iwate Women's Normal School|ja|岩手県女子師範学校}}'s Attached Elementary School. In pre-war Japan, there was a six-year "Lower Course" followed by a two-year "Upper Course". So this was effectively middle school.}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=1–5}}{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=151}}
Later, she and her uncle moved to Otaru, where she attended {{ill|Otaru Higher Girls' School|ja|北海道小樽桜陽高等学校}}.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=1–5}}{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=151}}
Her real name was "Tomi", as officially registered in her koseki (family register). But during childhood, this name provoked the taunting of other children, who chanted the line {{nihongo|iyasa, Otomi|いやさ、お富}} from the kabuki play {{ill|Yowa Nasake Ukina no Yokogushi{{!}}Yowa Nasake Ukina no Yokogushi|ja|与話情浮名横櫛}}. She therefore decided to re-christen herself {{nihongo|Hideko|英子}}, by which she was exclusively known as during her time in the Takarazuka Revue.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=113–114}} She later called herself {{nihongo|Masayo|真代}}, and her last letter, written four days before her death, was signed with that name.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=146–149}} She allegedly chose these aliases from being immersed in onomancy ({{illm|onamancy in Japan{{!}}seimei handan|ja|姓名判断}}), a type of fortune-telling based on the name.
= Takarazuka aspirations =
She learned of the existence of the all-girl Takarazuka Revue through girl's magazines, and by the time she graduated (upper) elementary school, she wished to join this musical revue theatrical company, but this was foiled when her mother opposed the decision.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=151}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=65–71}}
During the time she attended the Otaru high school, she had opportunity to see a {{nihongo|musical revue/musical play|歌劇|kageki}} for the first time in her life.{{Refn|group=lower-alpha|The show was put on by a company called {{nihongo|Shimai-za|姉妹座}}, billed as a Takarazuka girl's revue, as best as she could recall.}}{{cite magazine|title=Osanaki hi no nikki yori |script-title=ja:幼き日の日記より |magazine=Kageki, or the Takarazuka Revue |number=216 |date=March 1938}}, reprinted in {{harvnb|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=65–71}} Her determination to join Takarazuka remained steadfast, and after dropping out of high school, she entered the {{illm|Takarazuka School of Music and Musical Theatre|ja|宝塚音楽歌劇学校}} (Takarazuka Ongaku Kageki Gakkō) in March 1929.
A rather different perspective is taken by other sources, according to which Sonoi as a high schooler went to see a proletarian shingeki play put on by the {{illm|Tsukiji Shōgekijō|ja|築地小劇場}} (Tsukiji Little Theater) performing on road in Otaru, and thenceforth, her true aspiration was to perform as shingeki actor.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The play she saw was probably Kaisen ("Sea Battle"). This piece as well as the theater group was being treated as taboo even by recent theatrical circles, as according to Miwa Yanagi. Also, the organizer who invited the theatrical company to Otaru was the proletarian novelist Takiji Kobayashi, well-known for being tortured to death by the tokko police in an interrogation as a communist party member and supporter.}} However, that would be a road to economic hardship, and instead she entered the Takarazuka School, which paid even first-year students (yoka-sei) a 10 yen (or 15 yen{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=222–224}}) monthly salary, most of which she would send to her family.{{Refn|name=inoue-zadankai|{{harvnb|Inoue|Komori|2003}}, Zadankai Showa bungakushi p. 174; reprinted from a piece in Subaru 20 (4), 1998.}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Sonoi's father Seikichi Hakamada had co-signed a loan taken by a kindling and coal company, and when that company failed, Seikichi had to declare himself bankrupt in 1930. The family all moved to Takarazuka, Hyogo to depend on her. Sonoi then had to sustain her family in the place of her ailing father.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|p=311}} Juzo Kobayashi, the Hankyu-Takarazuka group's founder and president, learned of her ordeal and once gave her an encouraging letter enclosed with 100 yen.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=16–17}}}}
One of the principal actors at the Tsukiji Little Theater was {{illm|Sadao Maruyama|ja|丸山定夫}}, and Keiko Sonoi later did indeed retire from Takarazuka to become a shingeki actor under Maruyama's direction.{{citation|last=Miyata |first=Shimpachirō |author-link= |title=In and Around Books |journal=Japan Quarterly |volume=12 |number=3 |date=1 July 1965 |pages=532–533}}{{citation|last=Yokomizo |first=Yukiko |author-link= |title=Interview: Yoshie Minami |script-title=ja:インタビュー 南美江 |journal=Higeki Kigeki |volume=37 |number=4 |date=April 1984 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynJoAAAAIAAJ&q=%22園井恵子+桜緋紗子%22 |page=90}}
As a student she earned the nickname Hakama from her real name Hakamada, {{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|p=206}} and was particularly close to her roommate {{illm|Hisako Sakura|ja|桜緋紗子}}.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|p=209}}
= Takarazuka Revue =
{{multiple image
| align = right
| total_width = 300
| image1 =Ashihara sonoi L'Arlesienne.jpg
| alt1 = Sonoi seated with Ashihara as her son
| caption1 =Sonoi (seated), as the mother of Frédéri ({{illm|Kuniko Ashihara|ja|葦原邦子}}). L'Arlésienne (1934).
| image2 = Sonoi keiko simon.jpg
| alt2 = As Simon in "Patriotic College Student", 1939
| caption2 = In a male role, as Simon in Aikoku daigakusei ("Patriotic College Student", 1939)
| footer =
}}
In 1930, she became second-year student (yoka-sei) and was now a performing member of the {{illm|List of Takarazuka Revue members (19th class){{!}}19th class|ja|宝塚歌劇団19期生}}. She was assigned to the {{nihongo|Hana-gumi|花組|"Flower Troupe"}} group, and initially performed under the stage name of Kiyono KasanuiAccording to the parent railroad company's press release (2019). {{cite web|url=https://www.atpress.ne.jp/news/182203 |title=Takarazuka Kageki no Dendō no kenshōsha ni Takarazuka Kagekidan sotsugyōsei no Sonoi Keiko san ga arata ni kuwawarimasu |script-title=ja:「宝塚歌劇の殿堂」の顕彰者に 宝塚歌劇団卒業生の園井恵子さんが新たに加わります |website=@press |date=2019-04-16}} making the stage debut in Haru no odori in April. She changed her stage name later that year to Keiko Sonoko.
After graduating in 1931, she was assigned to the Tsuki-gumi (Moon) then moved to other troops.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=156}} In October, she was cast as the old gate-keeper lady in {{illm|Tetsuzo Shirai|ja|白井鐵造}}'s Lilac Time, and was praised as "the greatest (fruit of my endeavor) this year" by Ichizō Kobayashi, the head of the Hankyu-Toho conglomerate.{{harvnb|Shiryōshū|1991|p=312}}; {{harvnb|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=153}}
==Typecasting==
file:Sonoi keiko karuta.jpg card mock-up. {{illm|Takarazuka Graph {{!}}Takarazuka Graph|ja|宝塚GRAPH}}, December 1937.]]
She became recognized as a skilled and versatile supporting actress, especially in comedic roles.{{harvnb|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=122–124}} Her close colleagues Hisako Sakura and {{illm|Kuniko Ashihara|ja|葦原邦子}} recalled that she excelled in her role as Frédéri's mother in {{illm|L'Arlésienne (Takarazuka){{!}}Aruru no onna (1934)|ja|アルルの女 (宝塚歌劇)}}, which was the Takarazuka adaptation of L'Arlésienne.{{Refn|{{harvp|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=204-205, 214, 222-224}}. Including Ashihara interview.}} Other comments include: "Not flashy but giving a 'flavorful' performance"(Yoshio Sakurauchi, politician well known as zuka-fans), "Skillfully executes cheery, witty roles" (Ken Harada, another politician), "Skillfully executes cheery, witty roles" (Issei Hisamatsu, Takarazuka stage director and writer).{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=153}}
Because she was considered too small of stature for male roles, but largish for female roles, she became type-cast for the sanmaime (a short-of- handsome, comic male) or elderly role. Even though one Takarazuka director, {{illm|Chōken Maruo|ja|丸尾長顕}} asserted that the Revue had precious few sanmaime talents, and "only the truly skilled can execute sanmaime parts", Sonoi herself despised being called sanmaime.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=153}}
== Takarazuka Films ==
In 1938, Takarazuka Films was established, and she was cast in several of its movies, until the production company was forced to shut down in 1941 as the war-times situation turned more serious. She appeared in {{illm|Gunkoku jogakusei{{!}}Gunkoku jogakusei|ja|軍國女學生}} ("Female Students of a Military Nation", 1938), Yama to shōjo ("A Mountain and a Girl", 1939), {{illm|Yukiwarisō{{!}}Yukiwarisō|ja|雪割草 (1939年の映画)}} ("Primrose" 1939), Minami jūjisei ("Southern Cross", 1941).{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=324-331}}{{cite book|last=Galbraith |first=Stuart |author-link=Stuart Galbraith IV |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=62UcAQAAIAAJ |pages=29, 33, 49 |isbn=978-0-810-86004-9}}
== Playing outside repertoires ==
File:Wagaya no koufuku 1942.jpg.|250px]]
In January 1941, Sonoi and Toho Studio movie star Hideko Takamine made guest appearances in theatrical productions by comedian Roppa Furukawa's company in Tokyo.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|At the {{illm|Yūraku-za (Showa){{!}}Yūraku-za|ja|有楽座 (昭和)}} theater, operated by the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater Co., Ltd., (which later became Toho). The main Takarazuka Revue company is based in Takarazuka, Hyogo near Osaka/Kobe.}}{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=155}} This received notice as the first time a current Takarazuka member was seconded to appear on stage elsewhere.Bungei Asahi, April 1964, pp. 95–97 According to some sources, Sonoi was specially picked out by playwright {{illm|Kazuo Kikuta|ja|菊田一夫}} who wrote for Roppa's troupe; Kikuta had already regarded Sonoi as a promising talent and insisted she be cast in his Sekijūji-ki wa sususmu at Takarazuka in 1940.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=155}}
== Leaving Takarazuka ==
Around this time, Sonoi had already indicated her inclination to convert to Shingeki acting. Correspondence from Jūzaburō Yoshioka at the Tokyo Takarazuka office{{efn|Yoshiwaka was later to become president of Tokyo Takarazuka; he was also an officer of the parent company.}} shows that management was aware she "wanted to do plays like the Tsukiji" (Tsukiji Little Theater, i.e., shingeki plays), but Yoshioka suggested she settle for performing with Roppa for the time being.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=155}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|p=150}}
In the end, she would not be persuaded to remain, and after starring as the original cast lead in {{nihongo|Pinochio|ピノチオ|extra="Pinnochio", April– May, 1942}}, Sonoi resigned from Takarazuka Revue. {{illm|Shigenori Utsumi|ja|内海重典}} who wrote the script later recalled being stunned by this choice of casting,{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=24–25}} but {{illm|Yachiyo Kasugano|ja|春日野八千代}}, long-lived doyenne of Takarazuka, revealed that she had been tapped for the part, but lobbied to cede the role to Sonoi after learning of her imminent departure.{{citation|last=Kasugano |first=Yachiyo |author-link=:ja:春日野八千代 |title=Shiroki bara no shō |script-title=ja:白き薔薇の抄 |publisher=Takarazuka Revue |year=1987}}, apud{{harvnb|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=155}}.
The Takarazuka Revue tried to retain her by offering her terms that would allow her some leeway to perform in film or shingeki theater, but the compensation and performing restrictions they offered were unsatisfactory, according to her correspondence to Shizu Nakai.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=137–138}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Shizu Nakai was a graduate of an older class at Sonoi's high school, Otaru Higher Girls' School, who lived in the Kobe area, and became the president of the high school alma mater organization, which was effectively a support group for Sonoi at Takarazuka.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=154}} Nakai remained close to Sonoi, and she figures later in the Hirsohima episode (see below).}}
= Film role in ''Matsu'' =
File:Muhomatsu 1943.jpg as Matsu. The child was played by Hiroyuki Nagato.|250px]]
In 1943, Sonoi was cast opposite top leading actor Tsumasaburō Bandō in {{illm|Muhōmatsu no isshō (1943 film){{!}}Muhōmatsu no isshō|ja|無法松の一生 (1943年の映画)}}, where she played Mrs. Yoshioka, whom Muhōmatsu (or Matsu the Untamed, played by Bandō) becomes romantically but unrequitedly attached to.{{efn|A later version (1958) was filmed starring Toshiro Mifune and aforementioned Hideko Takamine.}}{{WorldCat|oclc=775800311|name=Muhōmatsu no isshō (2007 DVD, dir. Hiroshi Inagaki)}} The film became a box office hit.
The child actor billed as Akio Sawamura (actor Hiroyuki Nagato of later years) said he earnestly wished he could marry a woman like Sonoi.
The director, Hiroshi Inagaki recalled that Takako Irie and {{illm|Fukuko Sayo|ja|小夜福子}} had been the first choices for the role but were not available, and the offer was made to Sonoi on Sayo's recommendation.
Due to success of this film, Daiei offered Sonoi a studio contract, but she declined saying she preferred to continue studying with her theatrical company, Kuraku-za (cf. below).{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=24–27}} The director, Hiroshi Inagaki was eager to sign Sonoi onto his new projects at the time; in later years, the director reflected that Sonoi was "not so much a skilled performer as someone with a passion for performing. She had the basics of inhabiting the persona of her role, down pat".
= Non-musical theater =
The theatrical troupe {{nihongo|Kuraku-za|苦楽座||extra="Pleasure and Pain Company"}} was formed afterwards, on July 8, 1942 (2 months prior to Sonoi leaving Takarazuka) by {{illm|Sadao Maruyama|ja|丸山定夫}} and others, namely Tokuemon Takayama ({{illm|Kenji Susukida|ja|薄田研二}}), Keita Fujiwara (Kamatari Fujiwara), and Musei Tokugawa.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=24–27}} Of the initial run of three plays, Sonoi was cast in Genkanburo ("entryway bath").{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=155}}{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=24–27}} She continued performing for the troupe, appearing in Yume no su ("Dream's nest", 2nd run, June 1943 at the {{illm|Marunouchi Picadilly{{!}}Hōgakuza|ja|丸の内ピカデリー}}), Eien no otto ("Eternal husband". 3rd run, January 1944 at the Kokumin Shingekijo{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|This was {{illm|Tsukiji Shōgekijō{{!}}Tsukiji Little Theater|ja|築地小劇場}}, forced to change its name to Kokumin Shingekijō (People's Shingeki Theatre) due to wartime regulation.{{sfn|Powell|2013|p=130}}}}).{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=156}}{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=24–27}}
Sonoi played the widow's role as in the movie when the troupe produced the theater adaptation of Muhōmatsu no isshō, first in Kuraku-za's 4th run at Hōgakuza in October 1944, after which the troupe took this play on the road, traveling through a large part of Western Japan.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=156}}{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=24–27}}
After the regional tour finished in December, the bombing raids intensified in Tokyo and food procurement became difficult. The Kuraku-za decided to disband, but Maruyama suggested the members regroup as a traveling troupe with the objective of {{nihongo|comfort-visiting|慰問|imon}} the populace beleaguered by war, and twelve other actors joined. They came up with the name "{{illm|Sakura-tai|ja|桜隊}}" for the new troupe while they were at the {{illm|Tsunagi Hot Spring|ja|繋温泉}} in Sonoi's hometown of Morioka, Iwate, rehearsing for Shishi ("Lion", written by {{illm|Jūrō Miyoshi|ja|三好十郎}}). But this name was not made official until June 1945 after they became stationed at Hiroshima.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=24–27}}{{harvnb|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=150}}, citing {{harvnb|Shindo|1988}}, p. 14.
File:Sakura-tai 1945.jpg's Ashikaga Plant where they performed January 1945. Front row, left to right: Tsuyako Shimaki, Keiko Sonoi, Yasushi Nagata, X, {{illm|Sadao Maruyama|ja|丸山定夫}}, X. Middle row: Midori Naka, {{illm|Motoo Hatta|ja|八田元夫}} (stage director{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=26, 27}}), {{illm|Jun Tatara|ja|多々良純|fr|Jun Tatara}}, {{illm|Seiki Iketa|ja|池田生二}}、{{illm|Harue Tone|ja|利根はる恵}}, Junko[?] Emori. Left row: {{illm|Shozo Takayama|ja|高山象三}}, X, Ichiro Tetsu (acting coach{{sfn|Maruyama|1970|p=341}}), Yoshio Endo (lighting{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=26, 27}}), Miezō Mizutani (prop manager{{sfn|Maruyama|1970|pp=343, 353, 369}}), Kohei Hijikata (stage effects{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=26, 27}}), X.{{Efn|"X" stands for personnel connected with Fuji's manufacturing plant. Shimaki, Sonoi, Maruyama, Naka, Shozo Takayama became hibakusha in Hiroshima.}}|350px]]
The mobile troupe was only able to do a grand tour briefly, from January to March 1945, travelling to parts of the Kanto area and then Hiroshima. In Kanto they mainly visited manufacturing plant workers, but in Hiroshima they "comfort-visited" wounded soldiers as well.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|p=33}}
The Nihon Ido Engeki Renmei (Japan Touring Theatre League) then instructed all troupes to cease touring city by city, and perform in the confines of an evacuation (sokai) area. It was decided Kuraku-za would be assigned to stay in Hiroshima{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=40–43}} or its vicinity.
= Hiroshima =
The choice of Hiroshima as their evacuation zone was a source of consternation for members, because the city remained relatively unscathed despite its military strategic importance, and a major strike was thought imminent.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=40–43}} Sonoi wrote in April stating that she tried to refuse going to Hiroshima and remain in Tokyo (which had been incinerated in the March bombing), but was pressured to change her mind.{{efn|April 1945 Correspondence from Sonoi to Shizu Nakai}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=143–144}} Also while she was still at Tokyo, she went to the Toho Studio office asking if there were any film roles for her, which she wanted to take to extricate herself from touring under heavy bombardment. In fact director Kajirō Yamamoto was hoping to cast her in his new film (Kaidanji) but the office replied no, and she had left.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=257–260}}
The Kuraku-za's mobile unit, now officially renamed {{nihongo|Sakura-tai|櫻隊||extra="Cherry Blossom Unit"}} reached Hiroshima on June 22.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=40–43, 177}} From July 5, they toured the San'in region.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=44–45, 165–166, 177}}{{sfn|Shindo|2005|p=175}} Due to illness,{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Maruyama coming down with pleuritis.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=44–45}}}} the troupe returned to Hiroshima prematurely ahead of schedule.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|And leaving the task of comfort-visit to Sango-za (Coral Troupe) made up of Shinpa actors and Yoshimoto Kogyo performers.}}{{sfn|Ezu|1980|pp=50, 67}} This marked the end of performance by the Sakura-tai.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|p=169}}
Members either dropped out of Sakura-tai or left Hiroshima, so that in August only 9 members remained at their office in Hiroshima.{{sfn|Ezu|1980|p=48}} Sonoi spent time recuperating in Kobe (at the home of Shizu Nakai and husband Yoshio) August 2 to August 5, returning to Hiroshima on the fateful day.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=342–346}}
Thus Sonoi, Maruyama and others were in Hiroshima when the Atomic Bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945. They both succumbed to the aftereffects shortly thereafter.
= Hiroshima A-bomb =
When the Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Sonoi was thrown from the hallway to the yard by the blast, and momentarily lost consciousness, but otherwise had no visible wounds. She found actor {{illm|Shōzō Takayama|ja|高山象三}} (son of Kuraku-za co-founder Tokuemon Takayama aka {{illm|Kenji Susukida|ja|薄田研二}}) lightly injured, and the two of them fled to {{illm|Mount Hiji|ja|比治山}} approximately {{Convert|1|km|mi|sigfig=1}} away. Sadao Maruyama and Midori Naka also left the scene, each separately, but were in poor condition were taken into custody at different locations.{{efn|Maruyama headed for Mt. Hiji but collapsed and was taken by truck to a temporary facility for the wounded. Naka was found in the water of the Kyobashi River where her strength failed her, and was transported to a Tokyo hospital.}} The remains of the five others members were found skeletonized at the burning wreck of the office.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=342–346}}
File:Sonoi keiko and nakai family.jpg
Sonoi and Takayama subsequently took the train and reached the Nakai residence in Kobe.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Shizu Nakai whom Sonoi called "(my) mother at Mt. Rokko" lived in Kobe.{{sfn|Hatta|1965|p=105}} As noted above, Shizu Nakai was from the same high school as Sonoi and a long-time supporter.}} Sonoi's face and clothing were soiled, and she wore a jika-tabi on one foot and a man's shoe on the other, so that she looked "like a beggar" and was nearly beyond recognition.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=293–297}}
On August 15, when informed the war had ended, Sonoi expressed her gladness at being able to act to her hearts content to Akiko Utsumi who was visiting,{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Akiko Utsumi (stage name Machiko Kako) was Sonoi's junior at the Takarazuka Revue; She was by then married to {{illm|Shigenori Utsumi|ja|内海重典}} a writer/director for the Takarazuka Revue.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=158}}}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=293–297}} and also wrote a letter dated August 17 to her mother Kame in Morioka expressing this sentiment.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=158}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=146–149}}
File:1941 takarazuka stars.jpg, Aiko Kagayaki, Sonoi, Machiko Kako, and Mrs. Nakai's daughter Michiko Nakai.|250px]]
However, Sonoi's condition deteriorated. Her hair started to fall off at night, before suffering high fever around August 19, according to Mrs. Nakai; Other symptoms such as hematochezia, internal bleeding and delusions also presented.{{sfn|Tsuganesawa|Kondo|2006|p=158}}{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=293–297}}
By August 19, {{illm|Motoo Hatta|ja|八田元夫}} who was a stage director for Sakura-tai tracked Sonoi down, and came to see her at the Nakai residence.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Hatta was asked by Sango-za to take along two of its actresses. One of them was Chieko Morokoa, interviewed by the Mainichi Shimbun in the March 2012 article.}} Sonoi asked of news about Maruyama, and sensed he must have passed away.{{sfn|Hatta|1965|p=100–101}} On August 21, Sonoi's fever reached 40 degrees C, and Mrs. Utsumi rushed out to procure ice. Sonoi felt the coolness of the chilled gauze, and said "Oh, how good it feels". Those were the last words she uttered before she died.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=293–297}}
Sonoi's remains were cremated the following day,{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=293–297}} and her bones and ashes buried in Onryū-ji in Morioka.{{sfn|Shiryōshū|1991|pp=342–346}}
The story of the Sakura-tai's demise was written up in a book by author {{illm|Hagie Ezu|ja|江津萩枝}} in 1980, which was adapted into the film Sakura-tai chiru (1988) directed by Kaneto Shindō.{{sfn|Shindo|2005|p=178}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The title of Ezu's book ({{harvnb|Ezu|1980}}) has been variously rendered "Dissolution of Sakura-unit: A theater group's suffering from the atomic bombings" or "Total Annihilation of the Sakura Party, Martyrdom of a Drama Company".}}
Legacy
{{multiple image
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|image_style =
| image1 =Monument of sakura-tai.JPG
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Sakura-tai monument in {{illm|Goyakurakan-ji|ja|五百羅漢寺}}, Meguro, Tokyo.
| image2 =Sakura-tai 20150506-1.JPG
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Sakura-tai monument in Hiroshima
}}
;Influence on Tezuka's art
The childhood home of manga artist Osamu Tezuka in Takarazuka, Hyogo belonged to a row of houses dubbed "Musical Theater Tenements" (Kageki nagaya), and Tezuka recalls that Keiko Sonoi lived at the end of this block.{{Efn|Or "off of the block". The phrase hazure is ambiguous.}} The manga Ribbon no kishi (Princess Knight) was "totally nostalgia of the Takarazuka Revue", in the comic book artist's own words. He was also a devoted fan of the Takarazuka production of {{nihongo|Pinochio|ピノチオ|extra="Pinocchio", which starred Sonoi}}, and his Astro Boy may have been influenced by it.{{citation|last=Tezuka |first=Osamu |author-link=Osamu Tezuka |title=Tezuka Osamu essei-shū roku |script-title=ja:手塚治虫エッセイ集 6 |publisher=Kodansha |year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eCE2AQAAIAAJ&q=%22園井%22 |page=12 |series=Collected Manga Works 395|isbn=978-4-06-175995-4 }}; {{citation|last=Tezuka |first=Osamu |author-link=Osamu Tezuka |title=Tezuka Osamu totteoki no hanashi |script-title=ja:手塚治虫とっておきの話 |publisher=Shinnihon Shuppansha |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pO_TAAAAMAAJ&q=%22園井%22 |page=18 |isbn=978-4-406-01814-2 }}{{citation|last=Takemura |first=Tamio |author-link=:ja:竹村民郎 |title=Hanshin-kan modanizumu ni okeru taishūbunka no isō: Takarazuka Shōjo Kageki to Tezuka Osamu no manga ni kanren shite |script-title=ja:「阪神間モダニズム」における大衆文化の位相--宝塚少女歌劇と手塚治虫の漫画に関連して6 |trans-title=An aspect of mass culture in 'Hanshin-kan modanizumu' |journal=Nisho-Gakusha University journal of the Oriental Research Institute |volume=37|year=2007 |url=http://id.nii.ac.jp/1284/00000384/ |pages=18–22}}
;Matsuo village
In 1989 her birthplace Matsuo, Iwate commemorated the centennial of the founding of the village by holding an exhibit of Sonoi's belongings and related printed paraphernalia, publishing a scrapbook compilation entitled Shiryōshū.{{cite web |url=http://e-iwate.net/modules/content4/index.php?content_id=2 |title=Sonoi Keiko zō |script-title=ja:園井惠子像 |publisher=e-Iwatemachi.Net |year=2007 |access-date=2015-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825112921/http://e-iwate.net/modules/content4/index.php?content_id=2 |archive-date=2013-08-25}}
Related works
- {{illm|Hagie Ezu|ja|江津萩枝}} Sakura-tai zemetsu (1980), a non-fiction account of the demise of the troupe.
- Kaneto Shindo dir., {{illm|Sakura-tai Chiru{{!}}Sakura-tai Chiru|ja|さくら隊散る}} (1988 film), based on Ezu's non-fiction. Sonoi was portrayed by {{illm|Takako Miki|ja|未來貴子}}.
- Hisashi Inoue's play {{illm|Kamiyacho Sakura Hotel{{!}}Kamiyacho Sakura Hotel|ja|紙屋町さくらホテル}} (first run in 1997) Sakura Hotel. Sonoi played by {{illm|Kazuyo Mita|ja|三田和代}} in the original cast.
See also
Explanatory notes
{{notelist}}
References
;Citations
{{reflist|30em|refs=
{{cite book|last=High |first=Peter B. |author-link= |title=The Imperial Screen: Japanese Film Culture in the Fifteen Years' War, 1931-1945|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=2003 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kuRkAAAAMAAJ&q=Muhomatsu |pages=163, 500|isbn=978-0-299-18130-7}}
{{cite book|last=Kimura |first=Motoharu |author-link1= |others=with John M. Carpenter |title=Living with Nuclei: 50 Years in the Nuclear Age, Memoirs of a Japanese Physicist |publisher=Sasaki Printing and Publishing |date=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bLrvAAAAMAAJ |pages=69–70 |isbn=4-915-94800-5}} Translation of Kimura (1990) Kaku to tomo ni 50-nen.
{{cite book|last=Miyamoto |first=Yuki |author-link=|title=Beyond the Mushroom Cloud: Commemoration, Religion, and Responsibility After Hiroshima |publisher=Fordham Univ Press |year=2012|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=POHCftERYuEC&pg=PA215 |page=215 (note 58 to pages 166–75) |isbn=978-0-823-24050-0}}
{{citation|last=Weller|first=George |author-link=George Weller |title=Weller's War: A Legendary Foreign Correspondent's Saga of World War II on Five Continents |publisher=Crown Publishing/Archetype |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38CiN8oS7YYC&pg=PA609
|page=609|isbn=978-0-307-45224-5}}
{{citation |author= |title=From contemporary art to theater, the artistic quest of Miwa Yanagi |date=2013-09-02 |url=https://www.performingarts.jp/E/art_interview/1307/art_interview1307e.pdf |publisher=Japan Foundation |page=6 |access-date=2020-01-29 |archive-date=2021-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806132031/https://www.performingarts.jp/E/art_interview/1307/art_interview1307e.pdf }}
{{citation|last=Young |first=Louise |author-link=Louise Young (historian) |title=Japan's Total Empire: Manchuria and the Culture of Wartime Imperialism |publisher=University of California Press |year=1999 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0T4yShFqZsC&pg=PA378 |page=378, n47 |isbn=978-0-520-21934-2}}
}}
;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book|last=Ezu |first=Hagie |author-link=:ja:江津萩枝 |title=Sakura-tai zenmetsu: aru gekidan no genbaku junnanki |script-title=ja:櫻隊全滅: ある劇団の原爆殉難記 |trans-title=|publisher=Miraisha |date=1980 |url=http://www.coal-sack.com/pdf/kenkyu_pdf03.pdf |access-date=2020-01-25}}
- {{cite book|last=Hatta |first=Motoo |author-link=:ja:八田元夫 |title=Sakura-tai zenmetsu: aru gekidan no genbaku junnanki |script-title=ja:ガンマ線の臨終: ヒロシマに散った俳優の記錄 |publisher=Miraisha |date=1965 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RBs_AQAAIAAJ&q=%22園井%22 |doi=10.11501/1672496|isbn=978-4-624-41001-8 }}
- {{cite book|last=Maruyama |first=Sadao |author-link=:ja:丸山定夫 |others=Commentary by {{illm|Yukio Sugai|ja|菅井幸雄}} |title=Maruyama Sadao |script-title=ja:丸山定夫・役者の一生 |publisher=Rupo Shuppan |date=1970 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z1hlAAAAIAAJ }}
- {{cite book|last=Shindo |first=Kaneto |author-link=Kaneto Shindo |title=Sakura-tai hachigatsu muika |script-title=ja:さくら隊8月6日 : 広島で被爆した若き新劇人たち|publisher=Iwanami |year=1988 |isbn=978-4-00-003054-0 }}
- {{cite book|last=Shindo |first=Kaneto |author-link=Kaneto Shindō |title=Shindo Kaneto: Genbaku wo toru |script-title=ja:新藤兼人・原爆を撮る|publisher=Shin-Nihon |year=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8U1AQAAIAAJ |page=178 |isbn=4-406-03169-3}}
- {{cite book|ref={{sfnref|Shiryōshū|1991}}|editor=Matsuo, Iwate (village) |editor-link=Matsuo, Iwate |title=Sonoi keiko shiryōshū: Genbaku ga ubatta mikan no daijoyū |script-title=ja:園井恵子・資料集 - 原爆が奪った未完の大女優 |date=1991 |pages=}}
- {{cite book|last1=Tsuganesawa |first1=Toshihiro |author-link1=:ja:津金澤聰廣 |last2=Kondo |first2=Kumi |author-link2=|title=Kindai Nihon no ongaku bunka to Takarazuka |script-title=ja:近代日本の音楽文化とタカラヅカ |publisher=Sekaishisosha |date=2006 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JqUvAQAAIAAJ&q=%22園井%22 |isbn=978-4-7907-1173-5}}
{{refend}}
External links
- {{cite web|author=Hiroyuki Senwa (pseudonym) |author-link= |url=https://tetsugaku.blog/2019/08/07/%E5%9C%92%E4%BA%95%E6%81%B5%E5%AD%90%E3%82%86%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AE%E5%9C%B0%E3%82%92%E5%B7%A1%E3%82%8B%E3%80%80%EF%BD%9E%E5%B2%A9%E6%89%8B%E7%9C%8C%E7%B7%A8 |title=Sonoi Keiko yukari no chi wo meguru ~ Iwate-ken hen |date=2019-08-07 |script-title=ja:園井恵子ゆかりの地を巡る ~岩手県編 |work=Chiisana tetsugaku no heya |script-work=ja:小さな哲学の部屋 |access-date=2020-01-29}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naka, Midori}}
Category:Deaths by acute radiation syndrome
Category:Actors from Iwate Prefecture
Category:20th-century Japanese actresses
Category:Japanese civilians killed in World War II
Category:People killed during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki