This essay reflects on the irresistible allure of actress Chikage Awashima, recalled through a morning dream, and explores the surprising name connections among Showa-era actresses. Keiko Awaji borrowed the character “淡” from Awashima for her stage name, while Ougi Chikage adopted her name out of admiration as a Takarazuka junior. Through memories of Tange Sazen, comparisons to Kumiko Goto, and humorous recollections of mistaken identities, the piece highlights the intertwined legacies of these iconic Japanese actresses.

Keiko Awaji, who was also a great fan of Chikage Awashima, took the character “淡” from Awashima’s name for her own stage name.
October 18, 2011

This morning I awoke from what I recognized as a real dream, at five minutes before four.
I will describe these things later, but while I was lying back down thinking it was still too early to get up, I recalled Chikage Awashima’s truly unparalleled femininity in yesterday’s Tange Sazen.
Because she appears as the wife of a rōnin living in a tenement, her kimono is loosely worn and reveals some skin, which makes for an irresistible allure.

For readers who may not immediately recall Chikage Awashima, imagine Kumiko Goto at the height of her beauty—during the later years of Otoko wa Tsurai yo, when she was virtually the leading role.
If you picture scenes from the final films in which Goto wears a loosely worn kimono that shows some skin, you can understand the same alluring femininity (laugh).

Thinking such things, Awashima and Keiko Awaji began to overlap in my mind, and I wondered, “Wait, or was that Inako Arima?”
I got up, checked Wikipedia, and immediately found several photos—it had not been a mistake.

While I was at it, I checked Tange Sazen as well, and in this case I had mistaken the Sazen actor.
It had been Bantsuma—Tsumasaburō Bandō—the father of Takahiro Tamura.
Well, they have extremely similar features, so it is hard to call it a mistake (laugh).

Incidentally, the fact that Keiko Awaji had surfaced in my mind was not without reason.
Human connections and associations truly are mysterious.

Because—Ougi Chikage, who was Awashima’s junior at Takarazuka, took her stage name in homage to Chikage Awashima.
And Keiko Awaji, who was a great admirer of Awashima, took the character “淡” from Awashima’s name for her stage name as well.
(From Wikipedia: “Chikage Awashima.”)

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