Umebachi

Good luck to Roman! Glad he got his skates back in time for the practice today!

That was an amazing performance by Kao. He has made an incredible amount of improvement in such a short time, especially his musicality. Too bad about his 4T fall, but he is skating with so much more conviction and confidence. And the outpouring of emotion at K&C was moving. (Also he must have taken Yuzu's advice and eating more veggies... his face has cleared, lol)

The huge news in Japan is Shohei Ohtani's selection as MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the American League baseball. He is the same age as Yuzu and also from Tohoku region, and they often appeared together on sports awards ceremonies. Here Elle Japan is celebrating the two athletes in a special side-by-side photo collection. This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

I share the view expressed by the tweet from maimai: sometime ago she recalls seeing a lot of comments from overseas fans asking why Japan doesn't take better care of Hanyu-kun. She wants people to know that it's only a very very small sliver of people in Japan who make these questionable comments. She recalls fondly how at the time of Pyeonchang Olympics the entire nation of Japan prayed for him to achieve his dreams, and during his performance the TV viewership reached an unprecendented high 46% level. I also recall that moment when he won gold, there was a tremendous amount of celebration and crying tears of relief and joy. He is greatly loved and held in great esteem in Japan, and most are unaware of the shenanigans by ISU and JSF. The detractors' comments get blown out of proportion because they tend to go viral and solict unwarranted attention. It's human nature to attract naysayers against anyone who is popular, as this is the way to call attention to themselves. We should ignore them and let them disappear into the grey oblivion of irrelevancy.

Time to calm down a bit with this gorgeous element from White Legend.

Just a very minor comment on the translation, which should be: "...we were both practicing during the open public hours." In other words, Shun saw Yuzu at Ice Rink Sendai (where Shun used to skate as a young boy) during the regular hours the rink was open to the public. I don't think Yuzu can skate casually in public anymore, even in Sendai.

Once again, this brings to mind the concept of 幽玄 (Yu-Gen) which I think his programs are trying to express. (Yugen is an awareness of the universe that triggers emotional responses too deep and mysterious for human words, and raises to our consciousness the truth about being an integral part of cosmos.) I had more readily connected Hope & Legacy with Yugen, but like @sweetwaterI had not immediately linked Seimei with this concept. I appreciate Max's interpretation of Onmyoji and it helps me to place Seimei within the constellation of Yuzu's Free Programs that are meant to express and embody Yugen. This is also how I view all the myths and old stories of Japan, which appears to be full of superstition but on deeper analysis it is about our integral existence with our environment and our inter-relationship with all things around us that create the truth about our being. An appropriate theme for the times we live in...

I had stepped back in the aftermath of the pre-NHK injury news since that brought back the trauma of four years ago! But I am feeling calmer and ready to face the coming period with a bit more courage, supported by my loving girls, Momo (doggie) and Ella (horsie)! Regarding the treatment of his injury (ligament?) I have some thoughts. Someone mentioned the possibility of using stem cell therapy, which has the potential to speed up the healing process but there is no high level research showing efficacy. For example, Shohei Ohtani went through stem cell injection in his pitching arm elbow in 2017/2018 but he showed no improvements and had to undergo Tommy Jones surgery - which worked marvelously and he had the amazing 2021 season this year as the first two-way baseball player (pitcher and hitter) since Babe Ruth. Ohtani is hailed as the once in a century athlete and is receiving multiple awards from the baseball community. BTW, he is the same age as Yuzu and comes from Tohoku region (Iwate prefecture, north of Miyagi), and Japanese fans hail them as the amazing Tohoku boys. Instead of a Stem Cell treatment, I think he might benefit from a PRP (platelet enriched plasma) treatment. This involves taking the blood from the patient, removing the blood cells and concentrating the plasma, which contains the body's own healing factors like growth hormones, and injecting the enriched plasma into the injury site. Since this treatment uses the patient's own blood there is relative safety in the procedure. PRP is now widely used in professional sports, human and equine, and I can testify that the treatment is commonly used to treat horses for joint and ligament injuries, with great effect. My own ageing horse Andy had osteoarthritis-related injuries to the joints and he received regular PRP treatment that helped to prolong his active life. (Alas, he passed beyond the rainbow bridge in 2019, just after I attended the glorious SCI Kelowna event...may he RIP. ) The main risk associated with this treatment is infection from contamination of the plasma during the process - but when done in a professional clinical setting, the risk is very low. Since Yuzu is such a studious fellow, I am sure he has gathered all the available scientific evidence on different types of treatment for his injuries and will be discussing them with his medical team. Here's to wishing Yuzu a speedy healing process, and may the gods of skating carry him onward toward even greater heights of performance!

ForJoyTV includes all Japanese channels except for Fuji. And it’s good for mobile web and PC platforms.

I checked ForJoyTV and it seems to be taking new registration, even though the website says "This site under maintenance". Have you tried this site? https://forjoytv.com/forjoytv Ignore the "maintenance" sign and go ahead and register. Hopefully it will work for you. I use ForJoyTV everyday to watch Japanese TV.

Speaking of Yuzu staying safe and sound with family in Sendai, I am sharing below a beautiful video of the Mame-shiba family (mini Shiba-inu - Japanese dog breed) taking a walk around Sendai, where they live. There are many videos on Sendai but I found the footage and scenery especially gorgeous, and the beloved doggies add an emotional perspective. I am putting it under spoiler alert because it's a bit off topic, but perhaps not really off topic if we consider that this is the environment in which Yuzu is living his best cryptic life!

Group hug! Please take care of yourself and be comforted knowing that Yuzu will be performing in order to send his healing touch to people like you and others living under tremendous stress and distress.

I agree with you: his calm and confident demeanor indicates that his success rate with 4A has gone up sufficiently that it is close to competition ready. I think he has matured and changed his approach to training and practices completely this past year, due in part to the forced isolation during the pandemic. Having fallen to the depths of despair and clawed himself back up again, he has re-emerged with a new sense of control and equanimity. In particular, he has learned to take better care of himself and protect himself from injury - that wild boy who threw himself through multiple quads and ended up with lisfranc injury in 2015/2016 season is long gone. The way he fell during the 4A practices at WTT showed how he fell always in a rolling manner, protecting his ankles and joints from direct jarring impact. (As a horse rider, I felt some connection in how one has to learn to roll when you fall to distribute the impact across maximum surface area, like in Aiki-do, Judo, or any other sports that involves potential damaging fall. You will end up with multiple bruises across your body, but that is safer than crashing on your joints. ) In many ways I am glad he has opted to remain in Sendai to train, and be supported by his family. In his latest book, he talks about how important his family has been for his mental health, being once again just that (annoying) younger brother and bouncing and rolling around at home. In Japanese, we have the word Amae (甘え）which doesn't have an English equivalent but literally it means to be pampered and spoiled, yet it packs much deeper layers of emotional content than the English term, without the negative undertone. The term implies being protected, cared for, cossetted and hugged, a beloved child. And the term "甘えん坊" (Amaen-bou) comes to mind, which is like that pampered child but without the English connotation of negativity like a privileged child of overly indulgent parents. Instead, the term is more appropriately used to describe that sweet kitty or puppy whose every move elicits guffs of joy and rapt admiration, or a mother holding her crying baby with softness. In the book he talks about being able to be that child again, and I think how healing it must be to be at home and comforted and surrounded by all that love. Now that he has enough knowledge, experience and self-control in his training, he can afford to be "alone" in the training rink, when in fact he is not at all alone in his life in Sendai... Well, these are my thoughts and speculations, but he seems to be happy and at peace back in Sendai.

It's a very "Showa-era" look, i.e. mid-20th century. Those are Towa colors and somehow it invokes a kindly "uncle who brings nice toys to kids and helps out in family outings" look. Towa doesn't want a flashy guy - needs the person to project a soothing and comforting demeanor, which is what this dress code invokes. Squishing Yuzu into those clothes does appear odd and gives me a cognitive dissonance because I can't imagine him being that kind but stuffy uncle! As for Kuroyanagi Tetsuko....she's iconic and has her own style, and that balloony green dress is in line with her fashion sense, imho.

Since it's off topic, I will put it under here:

I preordered the book from Amazon Japan and it arrived this week - by DHL - only two days after the publication date! It's a beautiful book, well made and high quality paper. I just read the last section which contains the part translated by birnasan, above. Will share /translate other sections when I get to them. The book is already #2 best seller among non-fiction sports books, and #4 among all sports-related books (on Amazon Japan). Only 3 days after publication! https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4087900576?tag=shohin-22&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

The OP reports on an interview with Mr Yoshida, the gentleman who has been polishing Yuzu's skate for over a decade (and also Nanami-sensei's husband). The interview was reported in the 20/21 Figure Skating Magazine (the following is my translation): "Recently, I noticed something while polishing his blades. I can no longer find scratches on the edges that I used to get all the time. In the past, I would always find deeper scratches in the same place, but for the past year or so, I have hardly seen any. Do you know what that means? When you practice, the blades get scratched from edge-to-edge collision. Most skaters show this, and Hanyu-kun used to be the same. But for the past year or so, I have not found any (on Hanyu's blades). I think he is now able to refine his control down to the tip of his foot and tip of his edge.... His skating skill has evolved even further." This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

Another humorous drawing by　小トロ　The yuzu children having fun. From left to right "Oto-kitty (Oto-nyan) sleeping after struggling with the mackerel Tenchi-sama saying (using the language of medieval lord) "Indeed, it is good to keep up with the flow of time, but why art thou putting on those separate items?" LMEY-kun proudly showing off his green pants Haru-kun showing off the gold feather necklace Back of Origin-kun, struggling to put on the black jacket while Pooh holds his white jacket.

...and as a Japanese/global citizen I am looking forward to activist-Yuzu leading the nation (and the world eventually) toward environmentally-friendly and socially-just future! Meanwhile, from the sublime to the more mundane: his green pyjama pants are causing another hanyuconomy whirlwind. Japanese fanyus have sleuthed out the product - they think it's brand VENEX, made of special materials that wil wick moisture off your skin. I expect it will be sold out in nanoseconds... This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

Amazing fine cookies baked by kurousagi aka lapinnoirkur using the Fuji flower costume from the 24TV performance of White Legend and Hana-ni-Nare. In the message, the OP had just received the beautiful box of cookies from the black rabbit (kurousagi aka lapinnoirkur). I wouldn't be able to eat them...

Oh, thank you! I guess Jeff was referring to LMEY in this video. Obviously different from Chopin! lol

Re: Yuzu's piano SP - Earlier (around July?) I recall that Jeff Buttle let slip that he had choreographed the SP for Yuzu which is a piano piece, but apparently it's nothing like the Chopin piece. I can't find the original reference - perhaps someone can dig it up?

There is considerable PR effort within Japan to raise public awareness about SDGs - through the public TV (NHK), education systems, and via outreach by leading figures in sports and entertainment. This theme ties in with Yuzu's interest in environmental issues: e.g., I recall reading (can't quite remember the source) about his willingness to work with Kose is because of that company's commitment to supporting reforestation and other green activities in Japan. This also ties in with his expression of "Yugen" - harmony with nature - which is particularly evident in Hope and Legacy, but he has also discussed the notion of Yugen in connection with Tenchi - which is, after all, about the Human as just a moment of expression between the sky and the earth...

Poor Kao Miura. He is so disappointed that he will not be able to compete in JGP. Others are commenting to try to console him.

I was somewhat surprised by the recent discussions about TTCT (Heaven & Earth), so I am bringing back my earlier post under the H&E subject which has become buried in layers of threads. As I noted before, I am probably one of the few who remember watching the original NHK Taiga drama, Ten-to-Chi-to - with the famous (in Japan) actor, Ishizaka Kouji, playing the iconic role of Uesugi Kenshin. I was still very young (it was back in 1967), so I only have a vague memory of the series, but Lord Kenshin in white and blue buddhist monasterial robe riding a white horse has been seared into my brain. I suspect this same image has been burned into the mindset of the Japanese populace from my generation. There is only the very last episode of that series still extant in public archives. (NHK didn't do a good job of preserving their TV films and apparently couldn't find any trace of the recording in their large archive.) The video in the attached thread, below, shows part of the last episode - sadly in poor quality recording. When I found out that Yuzu had selected the theme of TTCT for his FP this last season, I nearly fell off my chair - I had fervently hoped he would select a Taiga theme, but I had given it up as impossible since the stories from the sengoku period are so little known outside of Japan (apart from that distorted hysterical history made famous in "Shogun" or via video games), and many of the musical themes are complex and difficult to turn into competitive programs. I was also impressed to know that he chose Lord Kenshin, a very cerebral, deeply complex & conflicted, musically-gifted monk-warrior - whose aesthetics and ethics both seem to reflect Yuzu's own personal beliefs. I am relieved that he did not choose some other, typical "samurai hero" type character, which would have made me gag. Perhaps the music is not as easy to get into as Seimei (which is more manga/anime like character in the way he is portrayed), but it is a solid orchestral piece with some genuine elements of biwa (lute/rabab) theme woven throughout that evokes the way that this historic instrument has been played. I also provide a link to the traditional biwa player who is recounting a historic story - in the manner that reminds me of the Iranian rubab players who sing the story of rustam and other heroes. There is a long, shared history between Iranian/Sassanid empire and Japan's Nara/Heian Imperial period. Since I grew up in Iran as a child, the use of biwa resonates inside me from all different levels. @Henni147Elanvital on twitter has done a great job compiling the background history in her thread which is quoted below. Traditional Biwa player. Lord Kenshin was known to be an accomplished Biwa player, and his plaintive plucking of the Biwa strings could be heard from the Bishamondo (the Buddhist temple where he had trained), and on some snowy evenings that sad song would waft across the cold Japan Sea to Sado-ga-shima - the large island off of modern day Niigata - the island know for so much suffering and human cruelty...