is a Japanese performing artist and a former member of the

Takarazuka Revue The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...

, where she specialized in playing male characters (Otokoyaku). She joined the revue in 1989 and resigned in 2006. She is from Iruma, Saitama . She is the only Otokoyaku and the only student in her class to reach top star status. Also, she is the first otokoyaku top star who joined the company during the

Heisei The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, ...

era.

Troupe history

* Star Troupe: 1989–1997 * Cosmos Troupe: 1998–1999 * Superior Members: 2000–2002 * Star Troupe: 2003–2006

General information

Kozuki is 174 cm tall. When she gained the top star status of Star Troupe, where she started her Takarazuka career, she became the tallest of top stars of the five troupes in 2003 Because of her height, she provided a strong male image on the stage. She progressed gradually after graduating from the New Actor Show cast. One of her notable roles in the 1990s is Lord Henry Wotton of ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...

''. In 1997, she got her first Takarazuka Bow Hall show (Angels at Dawn). One of the characteristics of her Takarazuka career is that she had participated in the most overseas performances among her generation:

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1992,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1994,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

in 1998 and

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

in 2005 (performing ''

Rose of Versailles , also known as ''Lady Oscar'' and ''La Rose de Versailles'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda. It was originally serialized in the manga magazine ''Margaret'' from 1972 to 1973, while a revival of the ser ...

'' as a part of the celebration of the establishment of Japan-Korea relationship). Upon the founding the Cosmos Troupe, she participated in her second production of Elisabeth in 1998 and got great applause with her portrayal of

Luigi Lucheni Luigi Lucheni (April 22, 1873 – October 19, 1910) was an Italian anarchist and the assassin of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Early life Luigi Lucheni was born Louis Luccheni in Paris on April 22, 1873. His father, unknown, and his mother ...

(she played Elmer Batthyany in the 1996-7 Star Troupe production). In the 1998 production of

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their tur ...

, she had the role of Edgar in the previous Snow production, who later succeeded her to be the top star of Star Troupe). During the founding era of Cosmos, she got her second Bow Hall lead ( The Tempest, as a part of Bow Shakespeare Series) in 1999. During her Senka era, she participated in the production of Cosmos, Star, Snow and Moon. Also, she got a lead of show at the Tokyo special performance ''Singing in the Midnight'' (a production of Snow Troupe). Joining her as female lead was

Hikaru Asami Hikaru Asami (朝海ひかる, born January 24, 1972) is a Japanese performing artist and a former member of the Takarazuka Revue, where she specialized in playing male characters (Otokoyaku). She joined the revue in 1991 and resigned in 2006. S ...

, a former troupe mate of Cosmos. When she participated in the Senka-Flower and Senka-Snow production of ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' in 2002, she became the first to be in all five troupe productions in the company. In 2003, she performed in ''A Song for Kingdoms'' (Takarazuka's own version of ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

''), and in 2005 ''Rose of Versailles'' and ''Soul of Sheba'' in Korea. ''Too Short a Time to Fall in Love'' and ''Neo Dandyism!'' followed the next year, when she resigned from Takarazuka. Her first performance after the resignation, in the same year, was the Japanese production of ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during ...

'' as Lola.

Notable Performance and Role

Takarazuka Era

Star New Actor Era

* ''I Won't Forget the Young Day's Song'' - Maki Bunshirou (First leading role) * ''Casanova, Memento of a Dream'' - Casanova * '' A Map Without Borders'' - Herman (Her role in regular cast is John Miller) * ''The Story of a Sword, Love, and a Rainbow'' - Edmond

Star Era

* '' Elisabeth'' - Elmer * ''

'' - Lord Henry Wotton (Bow Hall) * ''The Spirit of the Samurai'' - Ryousuke Kuroda * ''Angels at Dawn'' - Alvar (first Bow Hall leading performance)

Cosmos Era

*''Excalibur'' - Andrew/Christopher *'' Elisabeth'' - Luigi Lucheni *''

'' - Edgar *''Passion: Jose and

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' - Escamillio *'' The Tempest'' - Ferdinand *''Black Rose of the Desert'' - Zelim *''Mayerling'' - Archduke Jan Salvador

Senka Era

* ''

'' (Senka-Snow & Senka-Flower) - Ashley Wilkes

=With Cosmos Troupe

= *''Nostalgia Across the Sea'' - Akizuki Kuroudo *''Castel Mirage'' - Richard Taylor (only at Grand Theater)

=With Moon Troupe

= *''Great Pirates'' - Edgar (only at Tokyo) *''At the End of a Long Spring'' - Claude

=With Snow Troupe

= *''Singing in the Moonlight'' - Lui Man-fu (leading) *''In Search of El Dorado'' - Soujirou Gotou

=With Star Troupe

= *''

'' - Andre

Star Top Star Era

*''A Song for Kingdoms'' (Takarazuka's own version of ''

'') - Radames (Top Star Debut at Grand Theater) *''Eternal Prayer: The Revolution of the World of

Louis XVII Louis XVII (born Louis Charles, Duke of Normandy; 27 March 1785 – 8 June 1795) was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a m ...

'' - Louis *Butterfly Lovers/ Southern Cross III - Yukiwaka *''A Love Story in 1914'' - Aristide Bruant *''Ch'ang-an, Full of Swirling Flowers'' - Hsan Tsung *''Shigure Hill Road in Nagasaki'' - Unosuke *''

- Fersen and Marie-Antoinette'' -

Hans Axel Von Fersen Hans Axel von Fersen (; 4 September 175520 June 1810), known as Axel de Fersen in France, was a Swedish count, Marshal of the Realm of Sweden, a General of Horse in the Royal Swedish Army, one of the Lords of the Realm, aide-de-camp to Rocham ...

*''

- Oscar and Andre'' - Andre (Special appearance for Snow Troupe) *'' Copacabana'' - Stephen/Toni Forte *''Too Short a Time to Fall in Love'' - Fred Walbask(Michael Wayne) (Last musical with Takarazuka)

Personal Concert

* ''Next I'' * ''Aqua - The Blue Sky'' * ''Across''

Selected performances after Takarazuka

Stage

*''

'' - Lola *''

All Shook Up "All Shook Up" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley, published by Elvis Presley Music, and composed by Otis Blackwell. The single topped the U.S. ''Billboard'' Top 100 on April 13, 1957, staying there for eight weeks. It also topped the ''Bil ...

'' - Miss Sandra *''

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late ...

'' - Calamity Jane *'' COCO(musical)'' - noel *'' Silk Stockings(musical)'' - Ninotchka *''BLUES IN THE NIGHT (musical)'' *''ELECTRIC CITY'' - Co-starring ''The Movement'' *''DANCE LEGEND vol.1 BADGIRLS meets BADBOYS'' -Co-starring ''Rasta Thomas'' and ''Bad Boys Of Dance''　 *''DANCE LEGEND vol.2 Argentango'' -produced by Gustavo Zajac *''TAKARAZUKA OG version CHICAGO'' -Velma

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozuki, Wataru Japanese actresses Takarazuka Revue 1971 births Living people People from Iruma, Saitama