Angelic Yuzuru

2014 Spring Garden Party

TV shows have been showing old footage of Yuzuru from 2014. After his Olympic victory, in April 2014, Yuzuru was invited to a ‘spring garden party’ to meet the Emperor and Empress of Japan. In one talk show I watched, people were amazed at how composed he was and how well he spoke, considering that he was only 19 when he met Their Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko. My translation:

1st video: https://twitter.com/yuzu_pino/status/948967944196780032
Reporter: Please show us your medals.
Noriaki Kasai (ski jumper): I don’t have a gold medal. (laughter) (gestures at Yuzu)
Yuzu: I am sorry, I did not bring it with me. (looks very apologetic)
(Kasai-san shows his Olympic silver and bronze medals)

Emperor: It’s really good that you had great results.
Yuzu: Thank you very much.

Emperor: Due to the earthquake, there were a lot of hardships, isn’t it?
Yuzu: Yes, but I received a lot of support from many people and I could skate, so I think I was very blessed.

Emperor: What was the hardest part?
Yuzu: There was a period that I could not skate, so that period was tough. But now I managed to achieve good results, so I am really happy.
Emperor: Yes, it’s really good.
Yuzu: Thank you very much.

2nd video: https://twitter.com/yuzu_pino/status/948978699788959744
Yuzu to reporters: I will work very hard towards the next Olympics. If I am able to win the gold medal, I will come here again with it; I want to work hard so that I can do that.

(Now, 4 years of hard work later….. Yuzu, I believe you can and you will!)

Yuzuru Hanyu 2014 spring garden party always believe in Yuzu

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#Yuzuru Hanyu #2014 spring garden party #always believe in Yuzu

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A bit more from Yuzuru’s interview after FS at Autumn Classic (2016). I translated some that include one sentence he said. “If not, I’m not Yuzuru Hanyu.” Please note that this can also be translated as “If not, it’s not Yuzuru Hanyu” or “If not,... — A bit more from Yuzuru’s **interview after FS** at Autumn Classic (2016). I translated some that include one sentence he said. **“If not, I’m not Yuzuru Hanyu.”** Please note that this can also be translated as **“If not, it’s not Yuzuru Hanyu”** or **“If not, it’s not what Yuzuru Hanyu is.”** Because Japanese sentences often have no subject when the speaker thinks it is understood from context, what he said was just **“If not, ___ not Yuzuru Hanyu.”**
Japanese news reported different parts of his words. Some were badly edited (cut and joined) to make it sound more sensational. I am sharing only the ones that are more well-edited, ie more accurate.
I have also put in the word ‘cut’ to show where there was a snip in the video, ie. some words were cut out.
From news videos:
1) “When you see me next, I want to be able to do a performance that you will say, not one but 10 or 20 layers of skin have been shed, we have waited for this Yuzuru Hanyu; I will practise while looking forward to that. [cut] If not, I’m not/ it’s not Yuzuru Hanyu.” (video)
2) “I really need to practise more. [cut] Next competition I will do it with no mistakes. I will do it, definitely. I will practice that much. If not…. if not, I’m not /it’s not Yuzuru Hanyu.” (video)
3) “It’s tough. But even though it’s tough, it’s fun/enjoyable, and I do get fired up. [cut] Next competition I will do it with no mistakes. I will do it, definitely. I will practice that much. If not…. if not, I’m not/it’s not Yuzuru Hanyu.” (video)
So basically he’s saying if he does not practise that much, so as to do a much better performance, then it’s not him.
(my translation; thanks to pino2 for the videos) (a lot of this stems from huge frustration immediately after his FS, but it is also very much part of his character.) (Yuzu, please take good care of your body.)

interview after FS at AC please take care of your body Yuzu thanks to Shuko Doyle for confirming that my translation is correct Yuzuru Hanyu

Yuzuru Hanyu International Fan Group’s birthday messages for Yuzu: a total of 256 messages from 47 countries, put together by Nancy Yang and hand delivered by her to Cricket Club.
(Video of album in link below. Shampoo Neko noticed the page colours match with ‘Otoñal’, ‘Origin’ and ‘Haru yo koi’, with details in silver, gold and dark pink… A true work of love 💝)
Nancy said, “I just want to say thank you all for your beautiful submissions; I was very moved while putting this together and got to experience a wonderful feeling from realizing that people I’ve never met before from many different cultures could have sentiments that matched mine exactly.”
Thank you so much, Nancy!!! I’m so touched!

YUZU, WE LOVE YOU. HAPPY 24th BIRTHDAY!!! FROM US ALL OVER THE WORLD.

Credits: Nancy Yang and Yuzuru Hanyu Int’l Fan Group (thanks to Nancy for permission to share in my tumblr)

Yuzuru Hanyu 24th birthday Nancy you are amazing!

Article from Nikkansports- partial translation
Will this be the source of another world record?
Autumn Classic, Yuzuru Hanyu’s first competition of the season, he was first in both the short and free programmes and won the competition. Free skate... — **Article from Nikkansports- partial translation**
Will this be the source of another world record?
Autumn Classic, Yuzuru Hanyu’s first competition of the season, he was first in both the short and free programmes and won the competition. Free skate score was 172.27. The programme has a high level of difficulty with 4 quads included. Out of the 8 jump elements, he made mistakes on 5.
When his performance ended, after 10 minutes, his breathing was still not regular. Behind the rink, he said, “Ah~ it was tough.” First time doing this programme in competition, he had a string of mistakes and felt the difficulty.
“It was hard. But it was fun/enjoyable and I do get fired up.”
He found issues to work on and spoke with a smile.
[omitted: some details on his FS performance]
Towards the end, one could see that his body was exhausted.
To heal the lisfranc injury on his left foot, he rested for 2 months from April and started to practise from June. While protecting his left foot, his lower back started to hurt, and just before this competition, his right foot also had some pain. When September started, the pace was still ‘work 2 days, rest 1 day’; he did not have sufficient practice. But even so, Hanyu said the issue is not about stamina. “Jumps use up physical strength. If I can do each one more efficiently,” it will be well managed. “I will do it clean next time,” he declared. 　
[…….]　
Coach Orser said, “It’s the first competition of a long season. I am satisfied/ it is satisfactory.” But that did not matter to Hanyu. He said, “Next time, a performance that you will say, not one but 10 or 20 layers of skin have been shed, we have waited for this Yuzuru Hanyu, I will practise so that I can do such a performance, I will practise while looking forward to it.”
Next competition will be GP series, Skate Canada (opens on Oct 28 in Mississauga).
Q&A with Hanyu:
–You succeeded in quad loop again. What is the effect of putting in this jump?
It is not that I got tired due to the 4Loop. There is a way to jump all the jumps more efficiently. The programme is one programme, so the flow is important and I will practise while taking care of that. 　
–Specifically?
This time I poured my attention on the steps. I was aware of each element and the way I moved my body. Besides that, some things were inadequate, like the way I was breathing.
–Quadruple jumps 4 times, you really tried it, how was it?
It was hard, but fun.
There was the Japan Open yesterday, in which (Shoma) Uno-senshu got 198. Javier (Fernandez) also did well. In contrast, I did such a (horrible) performance, and I feel really ashamed of myself. However, even though I feel this shamefulness which is normally a negative feeling, I cannot see it as anything negative. Rather, I can’t help grinning since just now. (laughs) I want to resume practising as soon as possible.“
[this part is translated partly from this article and partly from a video of his interview]
◆ On 2nd October, International Skating Union (ISU) gave the official certification that Hanyu succeeded in the first-ever quadruple loop jump, done in the short programme of Autumn Classic on September 30. ISU said the judging team confirmed that Hanyu jumped the quad loop clean and the rotation was also enough.
(translated by me, some parts are left out) (source: nikkansports)

thanks to Sophie Moroi for helping with his last answer interview after AC yuzuru hanyu

Article from SPUR magazine ‘Skating is Life!’ by sports writer Naoko Utsunomiya, translated by me:
…… 2016-17 season has started….. But when I first started writing this article, it was just after Hanyu had announced his music for this season. At the... — **Article from SPUR magazine ‘Skating is Life!’ by sports writer Naoko Utsunomiya**, translated by me:
…… 2016-17 season has started….. But when I first started writing this article, it was just after Hanyu had announced his music for this season. At the venue of the open practice (Toronto Cricket Club), he said, “I want to evolve even further.”
World Championship (Boston) in March 2016; after it ended, Hanyu could not be seen, to an extreme degree. He had plans to perform in ice shows, but in the end, his performances were all cancelled. In the shows, his video message was played, and in the audience, there were fans who were in tears. Some had their hands clasped together in front of their chest. I was moved at the sight. And then, I realised, I was also crying. Really, many people were waiting for his return.
“Please look forward to my new programmes!” It was August when we finally saw him, saying that with his refreshing smile. It was the news of the certification of his Guinness World Records for the short programme 110.95, free skate 219.48, and total score 330.43, achieved at Grand Prix Final 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. Of course, I already knew about this achievement, but watching him receive the certificates officially, I felt very proud.
**“If only wings grew on my back”**
The certification ceremony was actually planned to be held in spring. It was pushed to later because of waiting for him to recover from injury. Hanyu’s left foot recovered slowly. Because of that, he must have been deeply troubled. During days when he could not jump well, he mumbled, “If only wings grew on my back.”
In the past, I heard from skaters abroad, ‘if you are away from the rink for 3 days, the control of the body becomes difficult’. That is how complex figure skating is. For Hanyu, there was a period that he could not go into the rink at all. And there was a period that his jumps were limited. Jumps are supported by delicate balance. Hanyu must have fought against impatience and frustration. It would also affect the completion of the programmes (for competition). However, 4 months after Worlds, Hanyu is able to jump like he did before.
For me, I love his jumps which are like a dance in mid-air. They have great distance and are so beautiful. If I am allowed to be indulgent in expression, there are even times when he looks like he has wings. Perhaps, this is what first class skaters are like. On the ice, they are free, they can become anyone.
In any case, whether or not he has wings, Yuzuru Hanyu really seems to have had something special from way before. Of course, without something special, one cannot become an Olympic gold medalist. That he is very special, everyone already knows. However, I am going to talk about something from more than 10 years ago. When Hanyu was an elementary school student, he participated in a ‘national promising newcomers discovery camp’ (全国有望新人発掘合宿) held in Nagano. At that time, he was not very good at jumps (although it’s hard to think of that now). In his own words, he was a boy who was “only falling down”. “But in spite of that, I was kept on for some reason and I am grateful for that,” he said.
**“An ordinary boy who continued to have an exceptionally cool dream”**
Not anyone can participate in this camp; there are clear entry qualifications. It is a system to gather outstanding young skaters from all over the country and only a handful of them can advance to the end. ISU judge Nobuhiko Yoshioka (吉岡伸彦) who also served as supervisor for the Vancouver Olympics, said this when he thought back about the camp at that time. “It has always been a sport with very few people at competitive level. Generally so for girls, and for boys, it is really insufficient. To find a ‘promising newcomer’ is extremely difficult. It will vary from year to year, but out of 100 participants, the ones retained are 2 or 3 at most. It was that kind of feeling.”
In that small number, Hanyu was retained. He prevailed through the stringent selection tests. But there is no exciting story in there. Yoshioka said, “Talking about Hanyu, I have no memory of thinking ‘Oh this boy is amazing’. In his novice days, he was not very different from the others. They were sorted based on skating, jumps, overall ability, and a few were retained. Hanyu’s skating was beautiful and he was good at music expression. But at that point in time, he was not a skater that had great expectations put on him for the future.”
An informed person’s words have weight. Actually I like this episode a lot. The story did not end there. The ordinary child who was not very different from the others continued to have an exceptionally cool dream. Then 10 years later, that dream was fulfilled, the dream of ‘winning the Olympic gold medal’. Almost nothing is more exciting than this story and it was written by Hanyu.
At that training camp, what if there was a promising newcomer who stood out from the rest.
What if his skating did not catch their eye.
Perhaps the birth of a star, unexpectedly, starts in that way. From a very small chance, it goes on to change fate, like a rolling snowball. Yuzuru Hanyu has special strength. And he has the strength to draw good fortune to himself too.
– apologies to Utsunomiya-san if I did not translate it well enough. Much thanks to Charliebenbrown for sharing the article with me.

translation of article yuzuru hanyu

Journey of Giving Back Continues
An interview published on 10 May 2012 where Yuzu talked about his sprained ankle at Worlds 2012, the earthquake in 2011 and how it changed him, and briefly on the change of coach from Nanami Abe to Brian... — **Journey of Giving Back Continues**
An interview published on **10 May 2012** where Yuzu talked about his sprained ankle at Worlds 2012, the earthquake in 2011 and how it changed him, and briefly on the change of coach from Nanami Abe to Brian Orser.
**Japanese article by Takaomi Matsubara:** (translated by yoko71)
He gave everything he got to that performance - it still glows in my mind even though several weeks have passed.
Yuzuru Hanyu won the Bronze Medal at his very first Worlds back in March in Nice, France. At 17, he was the youngest Japanese man to do so. After having been regarded as the next figure skating star after his accomplishments in the Junior circuit including the gold medal at Junior Worlds, he made quite a stride in two senior seasons. At Worlds, he showed us everything - his reliable quad, great flexibility, and the charisma.
It has been almost a month since Worlds. Yuzuru showed up at our interview in Sendai, and opened his mouth with a bit of a shy smile: “I may be overpraising myself, but I really do think I did pretty well in my first Worlds.”
It isn’t an overpraise, however, considering he even thought about withdrawing on the night before SP.
**Thought of withdrawing due to injury**
On March 29, Hanyu was practicing for next day’s SP. Throughout the season, he struggled with the 4TLo in SP. So he chose to keep trying it 5-6 times instead of quitting after 2-3 tries. That is when he landed an under-rotated 4tlo and felt a pain in his right ankle. He sprained it.
He could not walk at all that night. It was swollen the next morning.
“I thought about withdrawing when I could not walk that night.”
In the end, he decided against withdrawing.
I thought about all the people who support me, the team doctor, trainer, my mother who came with me, and felt that I owed them to do it.
He ended at the 7th place after SP in which he singled the triple lutz.
“I didn’t expect to double the second part of my quad combo, and then I didn’t land a very clean 3A. After that, I think my injured ankle affected my performance. I did try to protect my ankle while performing. With all that, and my lutz taking off on the right foot, I must have hesitated.”
He was disappointed that he could not end SP within the top 6. But more than anything, he was mad at himself for getting injured.
“I was most mad at me for getting injured. The sprained ankle resulted in the poor performance. I was mad at me for the practice.”
How did Yuzuru regroup for the FS that was coming up the next day?
“I thought about all the people around me. My mom told me I did well considering the situation. She and I talked about that I did okay because of the immediate support from the team doctor and trainer as well as the moral support from the audience and fans back home. When I realized that I am supported by so many people, I decided that I will give everything I have the next day.
He began his FS. He nailed the quad at the beginning, followed by a flawless performance. The audience’s cheer started to become louder and louder. Then he fell.
“I fell while I was on my left leg. I think my left leg was exhausted because I was trying to protect my right foot. Yeah, I was mad. Excuse me for my word choice, but I yelled ’$#@%^&’ during the following jump.”
How did he regroup so quickly from the fall?
“I heard the audience’s encouraging cheers when I fell. That made me want to do the best I could. Sure, I felt the pressure - Worlds is a huge competition. But the audience cheered louder because it was Worlds, and I think I was able to use all that, the pressure, the significance of the competition, the audience’s cheer, to my advantage.
After the fall, he finished the rest of the program flawlessly. The audience applauded even more emphatically. Hanyu did a small fist pump, then he bent over as if to bow.
“I rubbed my right foot and thanked it for holding up. I was just so thankful for my right foot!”
His FS earned 173.99, and the total was 251.06. Both the FS and total scores were well above his season’s best. In the end, his FS TES topped that of Chan’s. Despite the little fall, it was a great performance.
“It must have been hurting when taking off and landing jumps. But I didn’t feel any pain because I was so focused.”
The pain returned when he was being interviewed in the mixed zone. I started to feel the pain while I was standing and getting interviewed. But I didn’t want to make an excuse because talking to the media is how I can thank all the people who have been supporting me. After the mixed zone, though, I rushed to take of the boots and had my ankle iced. (laughs)“
In the end, he never even talked about the sprained ankle during Nice 2012.
"I didn’t want to let people know about it. Some workers and media people saw me with the ice, but the team doctor and trainer covered up for me by telling them that the ice was for a preventive purpose.”
This episode - that he didn’t let anyone know about his injury - reflects his personality. He didn’t want to reveal his weakness.
Hanyu watched his own performances on video afterwards.
“I saw me protecting my ankle every now and then. But maybe I skated with more care because of the injury. Also, it was important that my mind remained cool. The audience totally helped me with my last step sequence, the one that begins with my yell, with the loud cheers and vigorous clapping. During the step sequence, I was thinking - I’m gonna let the audience help me with this so I can conserve the last bit of my strength for the jump that’s coming up. I am so thankful that the audience gave me the strength. The owe the bronze medal to so many people.”
Before the season began, Hanyu said his goal for the season was to finish the season strong. His truly kept his words by skating an extremely strong FS at Worlds.
**Pain and suffering of disaster changed his thoughts towards skating**
While discussing Nice 2012, he repeatedly mentioned that the fans and supporters gave him strength. He said he changed a lot during the past year.
“The earthquake and tsunami changed me. The experience defined who I am.”
He was at his home rink in Sendai practicing when the earthquake struck on March 11. The ground swayed so greatly that it was not possible to stand or walk. He crawled out of the rink.
He and family spent several days at an evacuation shelter.
“It was hard, and I was sad. It was very hard to think about my and my family’s life and future. I was very sad about my hometown Sendai.
There was no electricity and no TV. There was little information about what was happening in the entire region. Finally, newspaper was delivered that showed the awful disaster.
"I saw pictures of the tsunami and all the damages. I was overwhelmed by sadness. I couldn’t think about skating. Even if I did think about it, I wouldn’t have talked about it.”
Despite the circumstances, he was able to start skating again within 10 days of the disaster.
“Several skating coaches invited me to their home rinks. It was starting to look like my family was able to settle down to a semi-permanent living arrangement, so I decided to go stay with a coach in Yokohama who used to look after me.”
Going back on ice would have been a welcome step forward at this point. However, he could not get his mind focused on skating. He kept feeling guilty: (Why am I even skating? Why am I jumping, spinning and skating while so many people are suffering?)
“I should have been ecstatic about going back to skating, but in reality, I felt burdened. I didn’t know what to do. It was the most difficult time.”
The difficult times ended in early April, when he participated in the charity ice show in Kobe hosted by Daisuke Takahashi and Kenji Miyamoto. He skated in front of an audience for the first time after the quake. The audience cheered him on as he spoke in front of them as well as skated an encore.
This show got him to start looking forward to skating again. He then skated in many subsequent ice shows.
One of those shows was an invitation-only show in late July in which those who were still living in evacuation shelters were invited.
After its finale, all the skaters left the rink and the show was over. Hanyu returned to the rink alone, and jumped a quad. He then waved at the audience and left the rink.
“I wanted to land a good quad during the program but couldn’t. I was unhappy with myself that I couldn’t do a perfect performance for those who are still living in shelters. To me, quads are the most difficult thing I can do, so I wanted to convey to them that their difficult situations will change as they remain positive and move forward.”
In the end, he skated in 60 ice shows.
“I wanted as many people as possible to see me skate. Also, by participating in shows, I was able to use the rinks for training, since my home rink wasn’t going to be repaired until summer.”
Before each show, He would come to the rink early so he could train. Traveling wasn’t easy, but this way he was at least able to prepare for the new season.
At every show, he was made to feel like he was representing Tohoku. He didn’t particularly like it.
“Towards the end of the summer when the season was approaching, I was definitely getting tired of being looked upon as a skater representing Tohoku. I wanted to be a skater, not "a skater from Tohoku.” I hated every time the media talked about me and mentioned that I was from Tohoku.“
In the end, though, he was able to come to terms with it.
"I think my attitude changed around the end of 2011. Now I feel honored to be representing Tohoku. If people associate my name with the disaster, and I remain as a top skater, then the disaster will not fade in people’s memories. This gives some meaning to me being here.”
He used to say he was skating for Tohoku. But at some point, he started saying that Tohoku was giving him strength.
“After Japanese Nationals, I had some free time so was able to read the fan mails. Then I realized that there are people who are helping me help people. Because of those who are supporting me, I am able to help. I realized that it is me who is being helped instead of the other way around.”
He wrote a reply to every single one of ~500 fan-mails.
“Lots of things happened and I had to deal with so many feelings and thoughts during the past year. Up until 3.11, I was like an innocent child, just chasing after my own dreams. But now I know that I am here because of all the people who support me. Now I know that I want to do well for those who support me.”
He continues that his performance has become more expressive because of all the things that happened since 3.11.
“There were incredibly difficult times, and there were great joys. I think I became able to handle a wider range of emotion because of these experiences. The joy I felt back in April when I skated for the first time in front of an audience was greater than any joy I felt before. Because of the disaster, I experienced stronger emotions than I ever felt before. I feel like I need to express these emotions, and also I feel like I am more capable of expressing them now.
The disaster that struck Hanyu also made him experience strong emotions. It made him more mature as a skater and as a human being.
By the end of the season, he had become one of the top international skaters. He talks about what is next for him:
"I want to become a great all-around skater. I want to be known as a skater who is good at everything. That would be the way to become an unbeatable skater. For now, my weakness is the skating, so I want to focus on skating. I hadn’t done much formal training on dance and expressions, so I think I want to take dance or ballet lessons.”
In order to further grow into the skater that he want to be, he made one important decision.
He decided to part with Nanami Abe who was his coach for many years. He chose Brian Orser as his new coach.
He first thought about Orser when he read an article on a skating magazine. The article talked about Orser’s Cricket Club in Toronto, and discussed how it boasts a number of coaches who take charge of different aspects of skating techniques.
“I’d never been in an environment where I would train alongside other top class skaters. That’s what made me want to move to Cricket Club. I want to be ready for Sochi. I will miss Nanami-sensei. I discussed this with her, and she gave me her wholehearted blessing. So, I really want to work hard, to give back to all the people who support me, and to Nanami-sensei.”
Yuzuru Hanyu is determined to keep reaching for the top. He has big plans for Sochi.
(END)
Source: Number 803号　2012年5月10日発売　独占インタビュー　松原孝臣　文　羽生結弦「恩返しの旅は続く」
Translation credit: yoko71
Japanese article: [x] and [y]

May 2012 interview yhtranslations yuzuru hanyu this interview is so precious helps us understand who he is now and why he does what he does

The thoughts that Yuzuru Hanyu put into his new exhibition programme ‘Requiem of Heaven and Earth’, written by Oriyama Toshimi in Sportiva (translated by me):13 July 2015
Fantasy On Ice Kobe July 4. Not for one moment could I take my eyes off Yuzuru... — **The thoughts that Yuzuru Hanyu put into his new exhibition programme ‘Requiem of Heaven and Earth’**, written by Oriyama Toshimi in Sportiva (translated by me):
13 July 2015
Fantasy On Ice Kobe July 4. Not for one moment could I take my eyes off Yuzuru Hanyu skating in the midst of quiet piano sounds.
‘Requiem of Heaven and Earth’, the new exhibition programme that started in Kanazawa the week before. Shock, anger at the heavens, hopelessness and helplessness fell upon him. Feelings that are rampaging in his heart to the point of insanity surged out from every part of his body as he skated.
For Hanyu who had been thinking of creating a programme that would express his thoughts on the Great East Japan earthquake, his encounter with “Great East Japan Earthquake Requiem, 3 · 11 ” that Yasunobu Matsuo composed was striking. He decided to skate to it after listening to it just once. And when he started skating it, he felt like something was coming down upon him inside.
The programme was created in early June. Hanyu said,
“Up to now, I have been doing many different programmes but I think I am not very good at conveying a message. Sometimes, some teachers would tell me, 'You are entering too much into yourself. Try to direct your awareness more to the outside.’
But for this new exhibition programme, I will put into the performance my experience and my feelings at that time, just as they are. I want to totally enter into myself, putting into that world my body and my emotions, and merging everything together as I skate.”
Hanyu also said that it is difficult to express because it is a piano piece with no lyrics. Moreover, being that kind of music, what people on the receiving end get may be different from one’s own thoughts.
“Choreographer Kenji Miyamoto-sensei makes it more concrete by saying "do it with this image”. But he doesn’t mean 'I want you to just take and accept’. An ice show is alive; the image that you make there happens only for that one time. So, for the people watching, the feelings at that time, the scenes that floated in, the thoughts that came to mind, I hope they can treasure it and keep it in their memory, even if just a bit.“
Experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake is a very personal thing. It is not about pushing those feelings onto other people. He just wants to present his own thoughts.
3 minutes and 27 seconds of skating that was full of tension, Hanyu created a period so dense that there was no space to clap, cheer nor even take a breath to exclaim.
At the end, 2 rows of flowers were projected on the ice. Hanyu quietly quelled his blazing emotions and ended the performance.
A programme that is loaded with thoughts of the Great East Japan Earthquake. It is of great significance that Hanyu performed it in Kobe, I felt. Because Kobe is the land that recovered from the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.
After the show, Hanyu was handed a mic.
"I am happy that I could perform ‘Requiem of Heaven and Earth: 3.11′ here in Kobe. Rather than saying that it has recovered, Kobe has been built anew to become such a great city. To be able to skate in front of everyone like this, I am really very happy.
The other day I visited Fukushima, it is still not recovered.
Not only the Tohoku region but also Ibaraki and Chiba were affected by the disasters. I would like to ask you not to forget these areas and for your continuous support to them too.”
After saying this, he lowered the mic, and used his real voice to say his words of gratitude, “arigato gozaimashita!”, and then he left the rink.
One week later, at 'Aore Nagaoka’, even though he was in a state of accumulated fatigue, he volunteered to perform 'Requiem of Heaven and Earth’ at the 2nd show. Again, Niigata is the land that suffered great damage in the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake.
His thoughts of the earthquake that were kept in his mind, he has now expressed them as his own work. Hanyu has once again made a new step out.
-my translation, Japanese article: sportiva.

requiem of heaven and earth FaOI Kobe 2015 yuzuru hanyu

sovsport.ru

Наталья Бестемьянова: Заходим в гостиницу – и тут все японцы кланяются!

21 марта легендарные фигуристы, олимпийские чемпионы Наталья Бестемьянова и Андрей Букин отпразднуют 40-летие своей пары.

From Sovsport.ru’s interview with World and Olympic champion Natalya Bestimianova, a small part related to Yuzuru [we know Natalya helped Yuzu with his RJ1 choreography back in 2011] :

- Among the current skaters, are there any that you are fond of?

- Together with my husband Igor Bobrin, we took part in the preparation of Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu when he just moved from junior to senior level. We worked with him several times a year: sometimes he came to us in Moscow, sometimes we went to him in Japan. This lasted for couple of years until he moved to train with Brian Orser. Till now, he still congratulates us on holidays/anniversaries. On the 30th anniversary of our theatre, he sent flowers and a card with these words: “To Natalya sensei and Igor sensei”, his best wishes, and signed “Your pupil, Yuzuru Hanyu”.

Translated by Marina Khevkh in FB, YHIFG. (he has such a grateful heart….)

natalya bestimianova yuzuru hanyu gratitude thanks to Marina for translating and for permission to post it here

Mount Olympus seemingly next stop for Hanyu Japanese skater was a god among men for most of 2015-16 season
Posted 5/6/16 by Wei Xiong, special to icenetwork
Before the 2015-16 season, 200 points in the free skate and a total score of 300 were the... — **Mount Olympus seemingly next stop for Hanyu**
**Japanese skater was a god among men for most of 2015-16 season**
Posted 5/6/16 by Wei Xiong, special to **icenetwork**
Before the 2015-16 season, 200 points in the free skate and a total score of 300 were the “magic” numbers for men’s figure skating. Patrick Chan came close to those benchmarks, posting a 196.75 in the free skate and a 295.27-point total at 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard.
When this season ended, the bar was raised to 110.95 for the short program, 219.48 in the free skate and 330.43 for overall score. The magic numbers of “200” and “300” were exceeded six and four times, respectively.
The men’s field has undoubtedly gone to the next level, and the one who took it there wasYuzuru Hanyu.
There was no sign that Hanyu was about to embark on this record-breaking streak back in October, when the reigning Olympic champion skated probably the worst short program of his senior career and lost to Chan, who skated a lights-out free program, at Skate Canada.
That’s when he and his coach, Brian Orser, decided something needed to be done.
“I knew that after Skate Canada we had to make a change,” Orser recalled. “My change was a little bit more conservative, and [Yuzuru’s] change was more ambitious.”
On the last Wednesday of November, the first practice day at the NHK Trophy, Hanyu stunned the media by declaring that he would take the triple lutz out of his short program and replace it with a quadruple salchow, the jump known as his nemesis, and change the solo quad toe into a quad-triple combination, which he had never landed in competition.
What was more stunning was what happened next: a close-to-perfect performance, one that netted Hanyu 106.33 points, a new world record by almost five points.
“I don’t think it is necessary to add two quads in the short now. In fact, I was able to get over 100 points by doing only one quad while receiving positive GOEs (Grades of Execution) in all the elements,” Hanyu said at the time, “but the rule allows two quads at maximum. If you do two quads and jump beautifully, present your program well, earn positive GOEs in all your spins and steps – if you can pull off such a program, no one can beat you. Someday, we will have to do it.”
The next day in the free skate, the Japanese champion delivered as close to a perfect performance as can be: three quads, two triple axels, all Level 4 spins and steps, and positive GOEs on all of his elements. The result was a score of 216.07, another world record, smashing the old one by almost 20 points.
But he still wasn’t satisfied.
“The score will become a new barrier for me,” Hanyu said. “This is not PyeongChang Olympics or the next Olympics, and this is not my retirement competition. From now on, I will train harder, in order to deliver a better performance.”
In the second week of December, the defending Grand Prix Final champion redefined “perfect” with two more back-to-back surreal performances. Hanyu rewrote the record book again, with scores of 110.95, 219.48 and 330.43. People in the Barcelona International Convention Centre chanted his name, as if it was Camp Nou (home of the FC Barcelona football club) a few miles away.
“I used Viktor Petrenko as my motivation; he must be looking at one of the gods on Mount Olympus for his motivation,” Kurt Browning commented. “What’s the rest of the group going to do to pull him back?”
They followed; they had to.
One month later, reigning world champion Javier Fernández upgraded his program layouts at the European championships by adding a second quad in his short program and a second triple axel in his free skate.
In February, at the Four Continents Championships, three-time world champion Patrick Chan went for a second triple axel, the jump that for years has been his bugaboo, in his free skate. Olympic bronze medalist Denis Ten added a quad salchow in his free skate in preparation for the world championships. The next month, Japanese silver medalist Shoma Uno became the first man to land a quadruple flip in an ISU-sanctioned competition, doing so at the Team Challenge Cup.
Every top gun is upping the ante now.
“The competitiveness of the men’s field now is probably the highest of all the categories,” Chan said. “It is scary, but that’s what makes figure skating fascinating.”
Hanyu predicted this trend back in 2014, when, after winning the gold medal in Sochi, he said, “To aim for PyeongChang Olympics, there is no doubt that the bar of difficulty needs to be raised. Not only that, I think our generation of skaters needs to lead the development of the sport.”
But when I asked him at the NHK Trophy how many quads and how many types of quads would be necessary to win in PyeongChang, he didn’t have a concrete answer. After spending almost six minutes talking about the history of the technical development of men’s figure skating, and analyzing the basic values of jumps and the pros and cons of adding quads to a program, Hanyu concluded, “I don’t think there is only one right answer. But for me, I want to make my best efforts and work hard for more difficult quads, and higher-quality quads.
"I don’t know [what] an unbeatable program will look like,” he continued. “I don’t know, and I think this is what makes the sport so enjoyable. I want to enjoy my improvement every day and keep challenging my own limit.”
But this constant need to stretch the boundaries of the sport is also what makes it painful at times.
While he might be looking at the gods on Mount Olympus as motivation, at the end of the day, Hanyu is mortal. No one except those closest to him knew that he had been experiencing pain in his left foot for months, an injury that worsened as the season wore on. In fact, the pain became so acute since the new year that he couldn’t practice his quad toe for almost two months.
After the world championships in Boston, where Hanyu settled for second, the skater revealed the injury to the media, and then went to Canada for treatment. The pain stemmed from a damaged Lisfranc ligament, and he has to be off the ice for two months in order to recover.
“I think the reason (for the injury) lies in the way I train,” the skater said in Boston. “It may come from the impact my foot receives over the years, and adding a quad toe in the second half of the program may impact not only the muscles but also the bones and ligaments.”
With the field upping the ante, the risk of injury increases.
“I kind of feel that the technical development has reached a level that the human body cannot follow yet,” Hanyu shared. “However, with further development of techniques, maybe we will find a way to reduce the impact to our bodies. Or maybe the wave (of increased difficulty) will calm down suddenly, like at the Vancouver Olympics. Every era has a trend.”
Nevertheless, Hanyu has shown no sign of slowing down.
“Although there is risk of injuries, I feel proud of myself for having raised the bar,” he said. “Though I only got second place at this event, as the holder of current world records, I want to be the man who further opens new doors for the field.”
Just like us mortals, the gods on Mount Olympus are eager to see what the future holds for men’s figure skating and its unquestioned leader, Yuzuru Hanyu.
web.icenetwork.com/news (Icenetwork will announce its choice for 2015-16 Person(s) of the Year later this month. This is icenetwork contributor Wei Xiong’s nomination.)
–what a great article! Thanks, Icenetwork and Wei Xiong!

icenetwork Yuzuru Hanyu

Written by photographer Yutaka Nagakubo on 1 Sept 2016 (translated by me):
- Yuzuru Hanyu’s triple axel that spans a distance of 12 seats-
When Yuzuru Hanyu jumped these ‘alien’ triple axels, it was last November, during NHK Trophy in Nagano. It was... — **Written by photographer Yutaka Nagakubo on 1 Sept 2016 (translated by me):**
- Yuzuru Hanyu’s triple axel that spans a distance of 12 seats-
When Yuzuru Hanyu jumped these ‘alien’ triple axels, it was last November, during NHK Trophy in Nagano. It was in the morning practice on the day of the free skate. His SP the day before was far ahead of the 2nd place skater and the rest. The practice with music for all the skaters was over and there was a relaxed mood in the camera-men area. Putting some distance between himself and other skaters, he jumped 3A twice. Then he increased his speed on the approach for a 3rd one. And he jumped an axel over a shocking distance. One turn, two turns…. From the gaps of the shutter clicking, it looked like he stopped short in the middle of the rotation and landed.
“He gave up?”
“Mm, landed halfway.”
Failed? I checked my camera monitor and confirmed it really was 3-and-a-half rotations.
Then the axel for the 4th time. He jumped a scary height, and had a spectacular fall.
A jump with a huge distance and a jump with a huge height. Was it just a variation or was it the process of challenging a quad axel, that I do not know.
27th of last month (Aug), Hanyu-senshu showed his healthy appearance to TV viewers. Since (news of) his left instep injury in April, there had been only fragments of his news; anxious fans must have been many. Next month, GP series will start and there will be more and more voices asking for information about his new programmes and costumes.
Pre-season to Pyeongchang Olympics. The conditions for winning will be seen. For the free skate, will it become the era of '3 types, 4 quads’, or even more? Jin Boyang has 4Lutz and Shoma Uno has also done a flip. It is natural for attention to be on the 3rd type of quad for the Olympic champion.
During practice and exhibitions, we have seen a successful quad loop many times. End of last year, in Makomanai (Sapporo), I saw him trying a quad lutz. (I went to the rink before the doors open to put down some equipment and saw him by chance. I’m sorry.) But all this is last season’s talk. 　
I knew the 17 year-old him.
2012 World Championships in Nice, France, which has now become a legend.
At that time, I also knew his leg was injured.
“Stop him. If he skates more, his ligament will be damaged.” (I had thought it was a knee injury, but later I found out it was an ankle sprain.) Maybe similar words were also whispered to his ears. He roared as if to shake that off, and danced for 4 and a half minutes with an intensity that the camera’s viewfinder could not hold.
Amidst the cheers that erupted, there were voices saying, “That boy’s leg, it’s injured, right?”, “I’ve known him since he was little”, “That fella, he has come a long way”, and they were crying. These camera-men’s faces, I remember them.
I know that his nature has not changed at all. Because I know, I am afraid. Just talking about this season, even if his rivals increase the types and number of quads, his absolute dominance does not change. But still, he will probably try to win with an overwhelming programme. He cannot become Lysacek of Vancouver Olympics.
He is a person who turns anxiety about injury and all our worries into motivation for battle, so I will not say more. It might be too early to say this, but at Pyeongchang, after he finishes skating, I would like him to point a finger up to the sky. Just like in Nice. If that happens, I will be crying too….

**Yutaka Nagakubo is a 54 year-old photographer who has received the Tokyo Press Photographers Association Awards Grand Price 4 times. He has the same family name as famous skating coach Nagakubo and has often been thought to be related to him. But they are not related.
Source (thank you, Nagakubo-san) (apologies if I did not translate it well enough)

photographer yutaka nagakubo yuzuru hanyu

yuzusorbet

Some numbers from Yuzuru’s victory celebration parade (22/4/2018) in Sendai…..

1) The temperature of parade day was 29.9°C, the highest ever recorded for April in Sendai. The next day, the temperature fell to 14°C and it was cloudy with brief rain. (*thank God for good weather on parade day!*)

2) Yuzu received the total of ¥10,000,000 /approx.US$93,000 (¥5,000,000 from Japan Olympic Committee and ¥5,000,000 from Japan Skate Federation) as the reward for his Olympic Gold. He donated the whole amount to be used for the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake/Tsunami (¥5,000,000 to Miyagi prefecture and ¥5,000,000 to Sendai City), at the ceremony before the parade.

He did the same four years ago, after Sochi Olympics. At that time, the money he received from JOC and JSF was ¥6,000,000 in total, and he donated it all as well.

(Btw he also donates all royalties he receives from his 2 autobiographies, ’Aoi Hono’ 1 & 2, to Ice Rink Sendai.)

3.a) Yuzu’s parade T-shirts and wristbands were manufactured and sold to cover the cost of the parade. The T-shirt is ¥2500 each and they made 80,000 shirts, and 70,000 shirts were sold by the day of the parade.
70,000 x ¥2500 = ¥175,000,000 /US$1,623,500
b) The wristband (a set of 2 wristbands, purple and blue) is ¥1000 /set and they made 10,000 sets and all were sold out on the day of the parade.
10,000 x ¥1000 = ¥10,000,000 /US$92,800
a) + b), the sales of those items were ¥185,000,000 / US$1,716,300 in total. In addition to this, many people donated for this parade and their donations reached ¥20,000,000 /US$185,550. (note: these are not the final numbers as the amount was still going up at the time of original post)

【¥205,000,000 /US$1,902,000】take away【the material and labour costs (yes, it gave a good influence to the local economy too)】was the profit = fund for the parade. If it is more than the actual expenses for the parade, the rest will be used for the recovery of Tohoku. (They did the same for the parade after Sochi).

4) Over 100,000 people (the official announcement is 108,000, but many who were there say the number should be higher!) turned up for the parade, and 1000 volunteers were ready for the after-parade clean-up, However, hardly any rubbish was found on the streets. Yes, almost zero rubbish!! (*I’m so proud of us! haha*)

5) Another interesting figure… according to the TV program ‘Kininaru’, Yuzu said “arigato” more than 294 times on the parade van! xD

********

Translated by Shuko Doyle, info from yahoo.co.jp and other Japanese media sources. Much thanks to Shuko for giving me permission to share this in my blog; original post in YHIFG. Pic credits are marked on each photo; last 2 photos (showing sale of T-shirts and wristbands) are mine.

yuzusorbet

On this day in 2018 (22 April)….. what awesome memories….. 2-time Olympic champion with heart of gold.

sendai victory parade so glad i was there!

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The thoughts that Yuzuru Hanyu put into his new exhibition programme ‘Requiem of Heaven and Earth’, written by Oriyama Toshimi in Sportiva (translated by me):

Наталья Бестемьянова: Заходим в гостиницу – и тут все японцы кланяются!

Mount Olympus seemingly next stop for Hanyu

Some numbers from Yuzuru’s victory celebration parade (22/4/2018) in Sendai…..