Clothes are something that we "put on." They hide and protect our bodies, sometimes adding a touch of glamour and sometimes expressing ourselves. However, there is a type of clothing in this world that is "put on" in order to be "taken off." These are striptease costumes. Having heard rumors that the oldest surviving strip theater in Japan, founded in 1947 (Showa 22), has its own in-house costume designer, I visited Asakusa Rockza.
At strip theaters across the country, dancers prepare everything themselves, including the direction, choreography, and costumes, before going on stage, but Asakusa Rockza is the only theater that has an in-house director who creates the shows.It also has its own costume department, which prepares various costumes for each performance. 
Some people may imagine strip clubs as shady places with a lot of male customers, but as entertainment shows, they are highly polished, and the performances that make the most of one's body are almost like art. Recently, a wide range of customers, including foreign customers and women, have flocked to these clubs, and they are full every day.
The passionate days of producing around 180 garments a year
Noya is the exclusive costume designer for Asakusa Rockza. In fact, he studied criminal psychology during his university days and worked as a teacher in a special education classroom. One day seven years ago, a friend invited him, saying, "It sounds interesting, do you want to come with me?" So he casually went to the theater and was instantly captivated. Since then, he has been frequenting the theater, and naturally began to think, "I want to work in this worldview."
"I'd only made clothes as a hobby, and had absolutely no work experience. Teaching special education classes was a long-held dream of mine and a job I was proud of, but I couldn't suppress my desire to work at Rockza. I approached the theater staff directly and luckily there was an opening, so I was able to join."
Noya is in the costume department at Asakusa Rockza. The costume department consists of just two people, including 80-year-old Hisae, a former dancer who has been supporting the department for a long time. "We make about 15 costumes in 20 days for 12 performances a year, and for new productions," she says. 
In the workroom, costumes and fabrics used in the past are piled up. Apparently, there are around 30,000 costumes stored in the warehouse. Noya was captivated by the passion shown as he saw the long history of Asakusa Rockza and the passion and pride that goes into the costumes. 
Noya creates costumes from design drawings in consultation with the director. "If there is a specific image in mind, I'll receive materials, or I'll start with a general request like 'cute.' Sometimes I'll find myself working for two days without even eating."
At first, she taught herself how to make costumes, sometimes getting advice from dancers while operating the sewing machine. However, when the company president learned that she was frustrated and worried about wanting to make more complete costumes, he offered to support her by saying, "If you want to go to school, I'll pay for your tuition."
"I started attending Bunka Fashion College in 2019. I went to school from morning until 5pm, went to Rockza at night, did assignments and work late into the night, and then went to school without sleep. It was hard, but I somehow managed to graduate. At school, I was taught the basics of costume making, from the structure of the human body to how to draw patterns and how to handle materials, and after graduating, my way of making costumes has completely changed."
She began participating fully as part of the costume department around the time of the 2018 performance of "Earth Beat." It was her first time making costumes using satin and sequin fabric, and she has bitter memories of the fabric fading and the dancers' bodies turning pink. "A veteran dancer taught me, 'In times like this, it helps to stick some felt on the inside,' and I was able to get through it."EARTH BEAT 2nd Today is the 16th day
— Asakusa Rockza (@asakusa693) August 26, 2018
Yesterday's venue was sold out early on, with all performances standing room only.
The large quantity of commemorative fans that arrived has also sold out!
If you missed it, you can still join in with your favorite fan at the finale.
Please come and witness the last remaining heartbeat of the Earth. pic.twitter.com/H83haivSuy
The goal is to create costumes that are stress-free for dancers
By removing the costume, the charm of the dancer is highlighted. Combined with the lighting, the beauty of the body being exposed is exceptional. The dancer is the star on stage, and the costume is one of the tools of the performance, along with the direction, lighting, and music. The dancer must appear more attractive than if they appeared naked.
"The design and appearance are important, but the most important thing is that the dancers can perform to their fullest. For example, the dancers will be changing clothes themselves in the dark when the stage is difficult to see, so we make sure the zippers are strong and have a structure that makes them difficult to get caught on. If there is a zipper on the back, we attach a long string to make it easy to pull down quickly. For dancers with large breasts, we take care to make sure that it does not get caught on anything."
At Asakusa Rockza, the same play is performed up to three times, with the cast changing every 20 days. This means that one costume is worn by three different cast members. To ensure that a dancer's body is shown beautifully, after the final performance, the costume is sometimes remade to fit the next performer's body by noon the following day.
"Another difficult situation was when two dancers with completely different personalities were performing the same piece. A cute dancer was replaced by a cool dancer in the costume, so we created something completely different. We want the dancers to wear costumes that will get them excited, so we do our best."
There are two types of strip costumes. One is "dance wear," which, as the name suggests, is the costume worn during the dance time before stripping off. The other is "bed wear," which is put on a round tray at the front of the stage and put on before revealing one's body. Asakusa Rockza has a costume department, but it is customary for the dancers to prepare their own bed wear.
"The bed is a space where the dancers are the ones expressing themselves. It's a time to look into the inner side of the dancer, and each dancer creates their own worldview, so I leave the choice of bed clothes up to the dancers."
This time, we spoke to Shiratori Suwan, an active dancer, about her favorite costumes and the bedclothes she ordered herself.
The process for making bed clothes varies, but in Suwan's case, she often leaves it to the costume shop run by former dancer Ichijo Sayuri.
"I want to dance vigorously even on the bed stage, so I have my bed clothes made with an emphasis on ease of movement. I'll be dancing alone for a long time, so I want to wear something that will get me excited. My favorite is a red lace bed clothes made from fabric I bought in China. When I stand in the center of the stage, the lighting makes my skin look beautiful. Whenever my bed clothes are finished, I rent a studio and study them in front of the mirror over and over again to find the best way to show them and move, and then I come up with the choreography myself."
Noya also praises Ichijo, saying, "Ichijo has a great understanding of how to create outfits that look good on naked bodies, so he creates very beautiful costumes."
Suwan is wearing bedclothes that she ordered in the image of an "angel." Apparently, Chinese fabrics tend to be flashy and stand out on stage. 
Unlike dance wear, which is designed to be easy to take off, bed wear has a zipper in the front to create a beautiful, captivating feeling as you take it off. 
A new production based on "Les Miserables," in which Suwan will appear until June 30th. 
Dance wear for the 2022 performance of "Mugen." A beautiful mermaid line was created using triangular patterns. 
This is the bed wear from "Oborozukiyo" that was performed at the "Mugen" performance in 2022. It is the costume that Suwan wore when she first performed at Asakusa Rockza, and she says that it is particularly special for her.
The town of Asakusa has regained its former vitality, with queues forming in front of Asakusa Rockza before the doors even open. Asakusa Rockza continues to attract many people, and the costumes used in its performances have attracted attention from frequent fans, who have expressed a desire to see the costumes that have been created so far.
"I'd like to hold a costume exhibition someday. But my first goal is to perfect the research into patterns that are unique to Asakusa Rockza. Every costume designer, from the Shiki Theatre Company to the Takarazuka Revue, has something like a 'secret spice,' so I'd like to complete patterns that allow dancers to dance comfortably and without accidents. In the long term, strip theaters are closing down one after another all over the country, so I would like to contribute in any way I can to ensure that the history of striptease continues into the future."
