A former Takarazienne’s struggle to become the wife of the former most winning pitcher.

Aki Shirakawa, a member of the 65th class of Takarazuka Revue, joined the company in 1979 and was a male star of the Tsuki group. She left Takarazuka after her marriage to Yukihiko Yamaoki, who was the best relief pitcher for the Hankyu Braves in 1984 and the pitcher with the most wins in 1987 with 19 wins. After her husband retired, she became a bartender and now runs “Obanzai Cafe Hanauta” with her husband. We asked her to look back on her life to date.

Marriage” was snubbed before reporting to the opera troupe

It is a well-known fact that “male-female relationships are forbidden” when it comes to Takaraziennes. In such a situation, did she go ahead with her relationship with the 191-cm-tall, well-built Yamaoki pitcher, who stands out wherever he is, and did they end up getting married?

Riseyo Satsuki, one of my classmates, was the catalyst for our relationship. She was a fan of Bobby Marcano of the Hankyu Braves. I used to go to baseball games with her when she went to the stadium. She told me it would be more fun to find someone to root for, and the one who caught my eye was Yamaoki, who was a rookie.

At the time, Riseyo Mayuki had a series of articles in Hankyu Train magazine, interviewing baseball players, so she had some interaction with them. After a game, there was a dinner party with the players and several Takarajennes, and it was there that they met.

We were the only ones who got married (laughs). From that time on, Yamaoki was a good listener and not the type to assert himself. We felt comfortable and relaxed together. Since it was a dinner party with many people, it didn’t develop into a relationship, but I once went to the airport to see him off on an expedition, and that’s when he became aware of me.

Since the two were both busy, they would meet only twice a month, and they developed their love by making phone calls from a pay phone in their dormitory to Yamaoki’s dormitory with a stack of 10-yen coins. It took two years and eight months from the time they met until they were married, but around the end of the second year, Koji Minoda, an outfielder for the Hankyu Braves, told them that they should get married as soon as possible.

At the time, it was the norm for baseball players to retire around the age of 32. As Mr. Yamaoki’s time limit to stay in the dormitory was approaching, he decided to get married and was in the process of making arrangements to report to the Takarazuka Revue when the marriage was reported on the front page of some sports newspapers. Naturally, the people involved were upset because they had not yet reported the news to the revue company. He recalls that he had no choice but to apologize flatly. However, after talking to the Takarazuka Revue, they understood their relationship and held a press conference. The engagement press conference was also arranged at a Hankyu Group facility.

At that time, it was customary for baseball players to hold their brides-to-be in a princess’s arms,” Takarazuka said. But I was a male Takarazienne, so I couldn’t ask her to do that…so I didn’t (laughs). The wedding was very festive, and we celebrated for four hours in the Murasaki Room at the New Hankyu Hotel.

After her marriage, she became a stay-at-home housewife to support her husband. When she first got married, her performance was a little sluggish, and she was sometimes heartbroken when slanderous letters began to arrive at her home, with content such as, “Maybe it’s because you got married. Ms. Shirakawa was so concerned about her husband’s baseball performance that it made her sick to her stomach, but she made it a point never to meddle in his affairs.

My husband was not supposed to bring baseball back to our house,” she said. So I can’t talk about the fact that I received such a letter. It was hard and frustrating to receive such letters, and I felt I had to do something to help him win. But I couldn’t do anything about it, so I prepared his favorite dishes, such as kenchin soup and dried horse mackerel, to make him feel at least a little bit better when he came home.