[Faculty of Modern Social Studies] Associate Professor Ebi gives lecture on "Takarazuka Digital Museum" utilization course

On Sunday, March 9th, Associate Professor Ebi Ryohei Faculty of Modern Social Studies gave a lecture titled "Leisure Life in a New Era: A Look at Takarazuka 100 Years Ago" at the "Takarazuka Digital Museum" course held at Takarazuka City Central Library.
First, I explained how "Hanshin Modernism" was formed, which includes the Takarazuka area and flourished from the end of the Meiji period to the beginning of the Showa period. The area between Osaka and Kobe was industrialized by the Industrial Revolution, and developed into suburban residential areas due to the opening of railways, which, combined with the penetration of Western culture, created a new lifestyle, and the architecture, art, literature, and entertainment that developed there can be considered "Hanshin Modernism."
Next, I explained the new leisure lifestyle of the time. In an era when salaryman families (with set holidays, set working hours, stable income, etc.) were emerging, railway companies and the media encouraged people to spend their leisure time at suburban beaches as a health measure to combat overcrowding in urban areas and environmental deterioration caused by air pollution. This led to a lifestyle of families enjoying their days off at suburban facilities, and to the development of suburban leisure facilities.
In this historical context, Takarazuka developed into one of the country's leading suburban leisure areas, with hot springs, an amusement park, a zoo, etc., following on from the Minoh area, which was quickly developed as a leisure area by the Minoh-Arima Electric Tramway (now the Hankyu Railway).Then, the plays for girls that started in the hot springs became known as Takarazuka Revue and became widely known through charity revues held in Osaka and other places.
Takarazuka has grown alongside social changes such as the blossoming of "Hanshin Modernism" with the development of industry and the penetration of Western culture, the birth of the salaryman family and the new era of leisure life, and the development of suburban leisure facilities, and is now known throughout the country as "the town of opera."

(Source: School Public Relations)