Tomu Ranju
| Tomu Ranju | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Mayu Sakamoto (阪本真由) |
| Born |
12 August 1975 Nishinomiya, Hyogo |
| Years active | 1996 – Current |
| Height | 5'7" (170 cm) |
| Website | http://ameblo.jp/ranjunokai/ |
Tomu Ranju is a Japanese actress/singer most widely recognized as Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe's otokoyaku (男役 Takarazuka actresses who play male roles) top star from 2011 to 2014. Ranju is considered one of the best singers the revue has had in the recent years, and was selected to record songs for many of Takazuka's albums, both while she was with the revue and after she "graduated" from Takarazuka Revue.
After her "graduation", Ranju began to actively pursue a career on stage, focusing mainly on musicals; but she can also been seen on television, playing supporting roles and as co-host of the monthly TV show "Takarazuka Dream Tours".
Tomu Ranju was born Mayu Sakamoto (阪本真由) in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, a city in the same prefecture as the city where the Takarazuka Revue is based and got its name from.
Sakamoto started to take ballet classes at the invitation of her friends while she was in elementary school, and has been dancing ever since. In eighth grade she heard about the revue for the first time and became interested. On her off days she would take morning trains to Takarazuka to line up for same-day tickets for shows. She was particularly fascinated by Mizuki Oura's () performances - who was famous for her dance skills, and also a Flower Troupe otokoyaku top star.
Sakamoto continue to go to Takarazuka performances, but it wasn't until she was in high school that she decided to try out for the extremely competitive entrance exam of the Takarazuka Music School, known for low acceptance percentage.
In 1994, a year for record low acceptance percentage of only 2%, Sakamoto was admitted to the Takarazuka Music School with the highest score. Throughout her 2 years at the music school, she maintained the status as No. 1 pupil (all Takarazuka students and actresses are considered "pupil" until they leave the revue, regardless of their seniority, popularity and stature).
In 1996 Sakamoto graduated as top of her class, and successfully joined the revue. By tradition, pupil would have already decided on her stage name (subject to revue approval), and switch to be addressed by it now. Sakamoto began to be billed as Tomu Ranju. The stage name was suggested by her teacher and family. The first name "tomu" was going to be written in kanji as "人夢", which means giving people dreams; but the kanji was considered too complicated, so it was changed to Hiragana form "とむ". The last name "蘭寿" is the kanji form of "l'ange", French for "angel". Following Takarazuka customs, she also has couple of nicknames (given by fellow Takarazuka actresses and fans): Tomu (とむ), Mayu (まゆ), Rantomu (らんとむ).
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