Umebachi

Wow that is amazing! I wish we could watch the whole program! Please!!

"The Pride of Miyagi, Hanyu Yuzuru" - This is how the group, RAUMI quartetto, introduced their arrangement of "Seimei", performed in front of Lord Date Masamune (at hia Zuihoden - mausoleum) https://www.facebook.com/zuihoden/?eid=ARD6Hy_n1GLQSIBeQEv5W12zzL3kQ58g3ysw_7dcPn8MGWapKVjBdntNxxmxUrtJCcMegmByzPAKxEi3 Thanks to the OP, who attended the event - capturing a rare moment: soft evening rain and reflections of the light from the torch add to the atmosphere.

Elvis Stojko refers to Yuzuru in discussing "Warrior vs Performer" in an interview with PJKwong, at 12'30". Thank you PJ and Elvis! "Hanyu has the perfect balance. He goes out there as the Warrior, and then performs. And does not have the Performer attitude first. If you have the Performer attitude first, you will get destroyed in competition, hands down. I've seen it all the time." - Elvis

This is getting a bit off topic, but I recall when YoI first came out, there was a discussion with the creator of YoI who mentioned that Yuri Katsuki has some characteristics reminiscent of Tatsuki Machida because she is a great fan of his. But even here there are only tangential similarities in their storyline (training in the US, etc.). Yuri Plisetsky is based on Lipnitskaya - with a gender difference. Ofc, Stephane plays Stephane. The YoI characters tend to make references to the generation of skaters before Yuzu. I am glad that YOI brought more people into FS world, but I don't see it making any specific reference to Yuzu, although many casual viewers may make that assumption. Perhaps YOI discussion could be continued on another thread?

The article says Yuna came down with Strep infection in early August and she has been struggling with the other viral infections. At the US International it worsened again and she had to withdraw. When she returned to Japan she slept for 10 days continuously. She is finally feeling better but has not had much time to practice yet. Wishing her a strong recovery toward a successful season!

I suspect it's more than just one person that contributed to the moral harassment situation In the past year, there has been a large number of exposes in Japan of other major university sports clubs exercising power harrassment over coaches and athletes. There is an institutional culture in Japan that has allowed institutions to behave in a dictatorial fashion with little or no transparency and no avenue for complaints or whistleblowing. In such a context, the whole institution is complicit in undermining the voice one of one in order to protect/favor another. In the past, this culture was considered normal and condoned by the public. But today the Japanese public is showing strong aversion to these practices and the media is slowly becoming more willing to investigate into these allegations. Still quite timid though, and there may be some reluctance to confront major power houses like Kandai (short for Kansai Daigaku). BTW, it must really irk Kandai leadership that they have not been able to produce olympic champions despite their powerful position.

No, don't feel sorry for me - I am one of the lucky ones who found a safe haven, and very grateful to Canada for giving me a lovely place to live. I want to give back to society by actively engaging in ways to bring light to such bullying behavior and creating a network of caring people across the world. This Planet is one important example of how we can start to heal this toxic world by spreading compassion and understanding. Yuzu is the guiding light. As you can see from this exchange, Team Japan faces many challenges but people like Yuzu and Nobu will be the hope and legacy to nurture the future generation of athletes.

PM Abe appointed Hashimoto to the cabinet level position as Minister for the Olympics, so I consider him complicit in this. His administration does not pay attention to the mood of the people - they have tin-ears and assign positions based on the need to fill certain quota (satisfaying different factions within the Liberal Democratic Party). Under Team Japan there is a discussion on Nobu Oda's resignation from Kansai University - which is an extension of the toxic environment created by the JSF leadership. Back on topic, Yuzu is the one hope I have that he will be able to overcome this cabal of Japanese sports establishment that has for years fostered such a bullying culture. It's not only in Figure Skating - but perhaps someone with Yuzu's charisma as well as strategic intellect will be able to take over leadership position in the future. He will make an awesome Minister of Olympics, but more than that, he could lead our society towards a brighter future, with compassion and integrity as the foundation of our collective behavior.

She was not disgraced. She remained president of JSF and now promoted to a cabinet level position. Sadly, it's one of the reasons why I have moved permanently to Canada. I know I should have stayed to keep up the fight, but I will have ended up a mental case or too angry to be helpful.

I fully agree. We need to create an environment that will not condone such behavior. I was feeling encouraged that so many athletes in Japan were beginning to speak up, be heard and supported in their fight against bullying. At the same time the government remains totally tin-eared about the mood of the country: by appointing Hashimoto to head the Olympics, Abe admin shows that they are only thinking about increasing the number of women in the cabinet and not caring about the damage this would do in creating trust.

As I noted earlier, Kansai University has powerful connections. The "Honorary Advisor" 名誉顧問 of the Kansai University Skating Club is no other than the recently appointed Minister of Olympics, Seiko Hashimoto. When I heard that she had been appointed to this important position, I felt a cold shiver run down my back. We have had a run of terrible appointments for the Olympics Minister - one of them was forced to resign because he made horrific comments about our top swimmer, Rikako Ike'e when she came down with leukemia. Hashimoto is a fan of Daisuke Takahashi (there are photos of her forcing a kiss on Takahashi - talk about harrassment!), and she also made cutting comments to Hanyu-senshu to his face when she was supposed to congratulating him for Sochi gold. I am deeply saddened. I was so looking forward to Tokyo 2020 events, but her appointment has already ruined the experience for me. I hope Nomura Mansai and Hanyu-senshu can find ways to exorcise the toxic spirits from the Olympics.

Nobu describes it as "moral harassment" in his blog. Kansai University has powerful inside connections...

This is all over the news in Japan. This past year, there has been a spate of power harrassment issues being raised against a number of universities and sports clubs in Japan - in American football, boxing and gymnastics to name a few. Sumo also has faced multiple scandals in recent years. A silver lining is that the public is no longer tolerating these harrassments and more issues are coming to the surface which gives us some hope. On the other hand, the government leadership seems to be populated by people who are from the old school...

I would not worry - I am sure he will get about. He mentioned in one of his post-olympic interviews that he would like to help out skaters - whoever they may be - if they are serious and committed to skating. I have an image of Yuzu in Cambodia helping a local team put together a skating program, and then flitting around the country-side as the UNICEF ambassador. I used to work for UNICEF, and have already contacted my UNICEF colleagues to consider Yuzu as UNICEF ambassador when he retires. At least one of them is a fanyu and she promised to follow up!

As @Yuzurella noted, we should restrain ourselves and refrain from thrashing out against ISU. This will only bring disrepute to the Yuzu community, and will likely disappoint Yuzu himself. This does not mean we will be complacent or poly-annish about the situation. We shall rise and create a new movement in a manner that will remain true to our values of respect, integrity and moral probity. These should be the hallmarks of Yuzu's community and our guiding principles. Yosh-tosh reflected these thoughts in the image below: "those who believe shall be saved". It's not a reference to any religion (I am a Japanese atheist/pantheist). The image resonated with my earlier post relating the Ashura figure of Kofukuji (Nara) to the deep emotional connection that Yuzu engenders amongst us. Ashura kannon understands the cruelty of life and sufferings caused by man, and helps us to overcome these through compassion, understanding, and perseverence - looong suffering perseverence. Yuzu's trials are a collective shugyo (monk's training) for all of us, and will continually test our ability to respond with kindness, not anger. Yuzu would be happy if we can each find a better version of ourselves through these trials.

Shun is practicing and landing 4 Lz (as well as 4T, 4S and 4Lo!). After landing his first 4Lz, he admitted that it was difficult to adjust the timing of his triple Lutz. He is a jumpber but also wants to improve his skating skills. He and Yuma are the next generation of youngsters to watch!

Finally, someone has transformed Hanyu into Ashura Kannon, my absolute favorite Ashura sculpture in Kofukuji Temple, Nara - a National Treasure. The artist acknowledges that this sculpture was indeed the inspiration. The Ashura has the most beautiful expression of compassion, with two other heads revealing different aspects of human emotions. I visited this sculpture as a child, with my mother, and have revisited it many times ever since. Its serene expression has never ceased to amaze me. I hope many PH Satellites will have the opportunity to visit Kofukuji Temple and view this masterpiece in person! So glad Yuzu can serve as a gateway for many people to discover this gem of Buddhist artwork. 阿修羅像　興福寺 Ashura Kannon at Kofukuji Temple, Nara '

Continuing on the Tour de Tohoku theme - a cool MAD bringing the real life Hanyu into Yowamushi Pedal anime world competition.

I had to pass by Shinjuku Station (Tokyo) this afternoon, and took the opportunity to check the Metro Underpass by Marunouchi Line. Since this was not during the rush-hour, the crowd was not too bad (Shinjuku is always crowded). Still, quite a number of people were lined up in front of the Tour de Tohoku posters. The lighting was not ideal for taking pictures - you can get better images by downloading directly from the website - but it was great to see the posters in person. The figures are life-sized and beautifully drawn - really quite moving. I have included the map (from the Tour de Tohoku website), below, showing the locations of each poster. The landscape backdrops are amazingly accurate and capture the feel of the place.

I will be in Tokyo next week, and will probably pass through Shibuya Hanzomon station. Hoping to catch sight of the poster!

@faeline Thank you so much for having taken the initiatve to search for an alternative and to launch Kast for the PH community! It was evidently very timely. Looking forward to accessing your growing archive of videos!

Do you recall how much Yuzuru had to work and work and work (3X) on Chopin in order to polish it to (near) perfection at Pyeongchang? I remember the many difficulties he had in his early outings of Chopin 1.0, when he rarely had a clean run-through. Frankly, I did not like his initial presentation of Chopin because he seemed to have trouble with the choreo and didn't seem to own it. But it was clearly a musical piece worth returning to - time and time again - to refine and hone his interpretational skills. Perhaps he feels that Origin is another piece worth polishing to bring out the deep dark light from within his soul and music...

Amazing and moving! Thank you so much for all your effort in putting this together. It conveys the beautiful diversity of fanyudom!

@faeline Thank you for setting up the Kast - just signed up. Sorry I missed the last streaming party but looking forward to future get-togethers!

This video may have been posted earlier but I could not find it - apologies if it's a repeater: To all the hard-working satellites, here is an inspirational piece to start the new FS season, based on Evangelion Cruel Angel's Thesis - Shounen (boys)-yo shinwani-nare (become a legend). It would be nice to have a version of the song which says: Shoujo(girls)-yo shinwani-nare!** **A bit of a background: An American educator (William S Clark), who helped to establish Hokkaido University in the 19th century under the Meiji government, exhorted to the Japanese youth with the famous parting words: "Boys, be ambitious!" (少年よ大志を抱け Shōnen yo, taishi o idake). My mother, who was among the first cohort of Japanese girls to graduate from a girls' college (not university), rephrased Clark's words and used to say: "Girls, be ambitous!" Shoujo-yo, taishi o idake!