Takarazuka is two things: A town in the
Kansai region of
Japan (Specifially,
Hyogo prefecture), and a travelling
theatrical/
musical revue group formed in 1914 that is often compared to
Kabuki. About the only thing they have in common is
spectacle. Spectacle in
spades, I might add.
Why is it compared to kabuki? Because only women are allowed in the group, and it is based quite a bit on many western theater traditions -- the whole concept seems like a mirror image of what kabuki theater has become.
Takarazuka is sometimes associated (in the west, anyway) with shoujo manga, because most of their fans are pre-teen and teenage girls, and they have done at least one production based on a shojo manga -- the Rose of Versailles.
Other Takarazuka productions include adaptations (all in Japanese, of course) of Gone with the Wind, West Side Story, Tristan and Isolde, Arabian Nights, and many more. I have seen once performance live, so far: an original story called Pierre the Mercenary: Joan of Arc's Lover which was alternative history of France where Joan of Arc wasn't burned at the stake, but rather married her pretty-boy mercenary lover "Pierre" and they lived happily ever after. Think I could make this stuff up?
Takarazuka's full name is the "Takarazuka Opera Company" (TOC).
Their motto is "Kiyoku, Tadashiku, Utsushiku", which means "Nobly, Righteously, Beautifully".