Rainbow

Page 2 - Then we have been seeing each other for quite a while now. Mitsuki: I only knew about you [laughter]. - How did you do at that time? Did you enjoy step sequence lesson? Mitsuki: No, it was really hard. I am not good at expressing emotions so it was really difficult. I remember finishing it without understanding anything. - Oh ... I see. Sorry [laughter]. How did you start skating? - Well then, I'd like to start talking about skating a bit. What made you start skating? Mitsuki: There is an ice rink near my home and my mom had fun there many times when she was little. One day I took the skating lesson, and I do not remember if I had fun at that moment but when I realized I was skating. - Well, did you get hooked right away? Mitsuki: No, not at all. Until around the time I was in the first grade of middle school, I felt like I was forced to do it. I was not motivated at all. I was there unwillingly. - Wait. Let’s stop here, because your story is making me sad [laughter]. Well then, until you were a middle school first grader, you hated it? I mean skating. How come you have continued skating so far? Mitsuki: When I watched Hanyu senshu's free "Romeo and Juliet" at the Worlds 2012, I felt the urge to skate. Since that moment I have been skating diligently. - I understand. Um. The one in Nice? Mitsuki: Yes, it is. - That program was pretty impressive. What part of his performance inspired you? Mitsuki: His spirit. - Um, right before the last step sequence? The moment he roared? Mitsuki: The whole thing. How should l say? I felt all his emotions deeply. For the first time skating seemed fun. I started thinking “I want to enjoy skating too.” - I understand. I heard a rumor that you are sort of his fan? Mitsuki: I get that very often [laughter]. Well, after my fans found out that Hanyu senshu is my favorite, they have been giving me many Hanyu senshu merchandises. I displayed them at home and I brought them along to the Finals. Photos in this blog Since then I have been seen as his hardcore fan [laughter]. - Aren’t you his hardcore fanboy? [laughter] Mitsuki: While thinking I'm actually a skater myself, though. - Indeed [laughter]. You are a skater competing at the same time. What do you like about Hanyu-kun? Mitsuki: ... everything [laughter] - Everything! Well, you are a hardcore fanboy, aren’t you? [laughter]

Translation of the transcript of Mitsuki's interview by Kenji Miyamoto broadcasted on 10/31/18. Part 1 of 2, page 1 - 6. https://www.jsports.co.jp/press/arti...111454606.html Page 1 Practice Rink under Reconstruction - Sumoto kun in personal clothes ... I have only seen you in jerseys till this time. Mitsuki: Because I only wear jerseys usually [laughter]. - Now you strike me as a nice young man. So thank you for your time today. Um, Sumoto-kun is now a high school student. In what year are you in? Mitsuki: Third year. - Third year of high school. Do you go to school? Mitsuki: I... yes...somehow. - Studying hard too? You are preparing for your (college) entrance exams? Mitsuki: Entrance exams ... That too, but my practice rink is unavailable now so I am having a hard time. (t/n: Rinkai Rink was closed from April 9 to Sept. 30, 2018) - How do you practice? Mitsuki: At Nishinomiya (t/n: in Kobe), Hyogo during the time they are open to public (regular business hours). I could reserve the rink, but then the hour starts at 4 o'clock in the morning or 12 o'clock midnight. School work is also quite hard right now until the exams are over. So basically, I practice for 2-3 hours around noon with general public from Monday to Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday I’m at Chukyo rink (in Nagoya) every week; elsewhere I cannot run-through the programs to music. - Oh, it is hard. (Early in the morning) you cannot move your body easily, can you? Mitsuki: I cannot go (so early). --Huh? Mitsuki: I don’t. - Oh, you don’t go there at 4 o'clock Mitsuki: It (reservation) is available, but if I did that, I would mess up at school, my study. - So you don’t go there at 4 o'clock in the morning. You got everybody think that you were there early morning and I was talking on that assumption [laughter]. What about starting at 12 o'clock midnight? Mitsuki: I never have [laughter]. - Haven’t you [laughter]. First Encounter between Kenji and Sumoto - Actually, it is almost the first time to talk to each other. Mitsuki: This is my first time. At Nobeyama (training camp) Kenji sensei was teaching steps ... not sure ... Ummm ... was it my first year there? - Nobeyama, the youth talent discovery event? The one where I was a lecturer? You were there! Mitsuki: That's right [laughter].

Here’s a video featuring Sota produced by a local TV station titled “Dramatic Comeback. Three Surgeries. Challenge of Sota Yamamoto, Successor to Hanyu” aired Nov. 18, 2018. I started to translate only the beginning part as the program is sort of a recap of the story we know about, but I ended up translating the whole episode as this is an inspiring coverage of Sota. Q: Don’t people tell you that your name sota is unusual? Sota says “Do you think so? Well, my friends sometimes jokingly call me ‘Kusata.’ (t/n: 草太Sota’s first part of the name 草’so’ can also be pronounced as ‘kusa.’ 草means grass.) It looks like my parents had been unable to deciding which of the two names to pick; Ryota or Sota, and when I was born and the moment they saw my face they went for Sota, the one with 草kusa. He has a pleasant smile and on ice his skating with lovely flow using his long arms and legs is captivating. But… Showing his ankle he says “This is the surgery scar. I have bolts implanted. I am still worried a little bit (about my ankle). I haven’t completely gotten over the feeling that something is not quite right. When he was 13 he moved from Osaka to Nagoya to train skating and started to be recognized as one of the rising star. At age 15 he placed 3rd at the World Junior Championships and he was on the podium next to the winner Shoma Uno (at age 17) who is now a Pyeongchang Olympics silver medalist. Sota says at that time “I want to follow Uno senshu now and do my best to achieve good results as a junior.” The same year at the Japanese Junior Nationals (in November 2015) he won gold successfully landing a quad-triple combination when he was still in the first year of high school. With his high jumps and gorgeous skating he attracted many people’s attention and was expected to be a successor to Hanyu senshu. But… Right before his senior debut, he fell during practice and seriously injured his right ankle. Sota says “It hurt so much that my pain was the only thing on my mind.” He underwent three surgeries until his ankle healed and was forced to be off ice for one and a half year. Sota says “I wanted to quit already. It was painful to even walk. I went through rehabilitation but my recovery was so slow. It came to my mind that perhaps I could not skate anymore.” Although he had thought about quitting skating, the place he chose to be was on ice. In October last year, one year seven months after the injury, he was at the Chubu Regionals which is a preliminary round leading to the Japanese Nationals. His jumps which used to be his outstanding strength were only single rotation jumps. It was far from his potential but he brought out his best. Sota says “From the time I started skating when I was 5-year old I was practicing like it's the most natural thing every day. But once I was off ice I truly realized how much I wanted to skate and to compete.” Two months after the competition where he made his comeback, at the Japanese Nationals he successfully landed triple jumps for the first time after his injury, leaving the clear impression of his reemergence. His coach says “His skating captures our eyes and captivates our soul as well. While he was unable to jump I was watching him working diligently on other things such as polishing his artistic presentation. I hope he will be able to show at competitions gradually what he has gained through his hard work. Two years and eight months after the serious injury he finally got to compete at the senior GPS. At the November NHK Trophy he was sixth after the short and was going into the free. After the opening 3A failed into a single jump he changed the layout and replaced the second jump with a 3A which he successfully landed with a positive GOE. Although he could not yet land a quad jump which he used to be able to when he was a junior, his spins, which he improved while suffering from injury, received his best score. He finished 6th scoring 213.40. Sota says “I have been working so hard in order to compete at this event. So much so that I ended up making a detour, but I want to achieve better results so I want to continue doing the best I can.

I found three video clips about Sota in GS Sota thread and added my translations. There are parts not very clear as Sota mumbled. I listened to these unclear parts many times and tried my best to interpret what he said. https://twitter.com/japaneseperson/status/1053552421396336640?s=19 Sota Yamamoto entered the local Chukyo University in April this year. He is 18 years old and will compete at the Grand Prix series the first time. The road to this event was never smooth. He stood on the podium of junior international competitions alongside Shoma Uno and would become one of the next generation leading skaters. With not only a triple axel but also a quad jump under his belt, he was on his way to be a top level skater. However he fell when landing triple axel jump. “I heard my bone breaking sound in the right ankle.” He broke his right ankle again during practice two years ago when he was moving up to seniors, and underwent three surgeries. "I had to put up with … pain… Honestly I felt stuck." He had to withdraw from the Grand Prix series where he was going to make a senior debut. He could not even be on ice. Still he kept a passion in his heart. “I could not get rid of the desire that I wanted to skate so much, to skate again. I think this desire has been helping me work hard." https://twitter.com/japaneseperson/status/1053553235934425088?s=19 And last year after a year and a half, he returned to the rink in competition. Relishing the joy of skating he made a comeback. What he is working on now is building a body to prevent injury from recurring--strengthening the lower body and improving the overall skating qualify. “My skating changes as well and in that sense everything is going in the right direction.” The first competition of this season is starting. "I thought that I had to raise the difficulty level a little by little, so I felt that first of all I had to overcome a challenge of the triple axel." He was determined to do a triple axel, the cause of the fracture, for the first time after he returned to competition. "These days I’m telling myself I shouldn’t be afraid or I would be ashamed of myself." https://twitter.com/japaneseperson/status/1053555823513751554?s=19 For senior top skaters it is now nothing special to land a triple axel jump. More than anything he should not be defeated by his old self. He landed it for the first time in three seasons and received positive GOE too. He saw a sign of a comeback by overcoming fear. “I finally feel that I took a step forward. I think I should get better so that I could win over myself.” Between busy training he came to a driving school. "I think I have to be more independent. I don’t think about skating while driving and I’m taking it easy." At the age of 18 he is moving on fast to make a comeback. He is heading to the Grand Prix series that he could not go two years ago. "I think my skating at the beginning of the season is a little bit off, so I will be happy if I can deliver good performances that I’m satisfied with.”

Excerpt of Chunichi Sports Article dated Sept. 29, 2018 in this blog. here Translation The injured area with three bolts still inside has not completely healed. He cannot practice jumping on a day when he feels like something is a little off with his ankle. Even so, by this summer he got his five types of triple jumps back, and in August he landed successfully the triple axel which had caused the bone fracture before. "I did not feel like I conquered it, but I was relieved," he said getting rid of the nightmare of that day. He plans to challenge the quad toe loop jump which was successful until injury. He knows that with his current composition he cannot compete against world’s top level skaters such as Uno senpai. At the age of 18, with high skating skills and expressiveness which are praised by many, he is looking at the Beijing Olympics in four years. "I think I still have time. I want to do the best performances in the upcoming competitions where I have to achieve good results," he said.

This blog has a few snippets of a new Sota interview dated Aug. 20, 2018 for Figure Skate Life magazine published on Oct. 10, 2018. The ellipsis (…) indicates the part the blogger left out. Thank you @surimi for giving me the link to read and translate. https://ameblo.jp/kmn-psn/entry-12411618469.html ■ Looking Back Last Season - Looking back the last season now, what are your thoughts? ... At first I had a lot of feeling of hesitation, but gradually it went away and I feel now it’s the season I enjoyed.... - Does that mean that you hesitated because you were still not at the level (you are comfortable with)? That is true and also the fact that I have been alone for such a long time, I mean there were many times when I was by myself so I felt uneasy being with other people. I was wondering how to interact with others (laugh). Feeling that way I wondered how to go about competing. These were my thoughts and feelings that made me hesitant a little. ■ Change in This Season (excerpt) - Has there been a change in your mindset? ... I feel like my mindset this year is back to the one I felt 2 or 3 years ago ... I feel I can do more and more. - In a good way? In a good way (laugh). I think I am facing competitions and practice with that kind of thought. - After you got your jumps back are you absorbed in jumps? Umm, huhu, that's right (laugh). Since I started practicing the axel jumps, the jump practice time has increased. - When did you start practicing axel jumps? Well, maybe around July. I started off with practicing the double axel jump and I had been doing that jump nearly 100 times during the period. ■ Asian Open (excerpt) - How was the competition under new rules? It had not sunk in yet until I did my short program and I skated as before without thinking much, and then I realized that this was so different. When I did free program I kept these (new rules) in my mind.... - What kind of jump is the ideal one that gets +5? After all, considering the past trend so far, I would say Hanyu senshu. It is amazing to see him jump with your own eyes, isn’t it? - The distance of his axel jump. Ridiculously big (laugh) ■Short Program - "Air on the G String" I think it is a very beautiful program. I was moved when I saw you skate to it at Nagano show. No, no, no, it's a beautiful program if I skate to it properly, but if I underperform, this program really gets me into a serious trouble (laugh). - Do you watch the videos of your skating? I do. I watched the one (in Nagano) where I fell on the jump in an extremely embarrassing way (laugh).... - How about the videos of the competition? I have not watched it yet. Hehehe - You’re laughing. You do not have time to watch it yet? No, I thought it was so terrible and not worth watching (laugh). - Lol. How did you work on choreography? ... Even now I record the video of my skating during each practice. I’m trying to polish my program thinking “I should be able to make this move more beautiful" and such every time I practice with the music. But it is quite difficult.... ■Free Program ■ Music Selection (excerpt) - Did you select the music after you watched the drama? I did not watch the drama, I went through YouTube and found the song and I bought an album ... I’m not very familiar with currently popular artists. I only listen to odd songs (laugh). - Odd songs? (laugh). Because I really loved Pokemon it’s my hobby these days to listen to these theme songs thinking nostalgic (laugh).... ■ Costume Change (excerpt) - What kind of image did you give to the designer? What kind of things did I tell her? Oh, I asked her to add flowing ruffles to the one for the short program ... I'm thinking about how to make my program look more beautiful. ■ Off-Ice and Campus Life (excerpts) - I heard you took difficult classes in the previous interview. Hahaha, yes, I do not miss any of my classes. I go to college diligently but ... the test results do not reflect my efforts. ■ Message to fans Thank you for always supporting me. The Asian Open is over, and I was able to compete keeping in mind the joyful feeling of last season and deep appreciation to my fans.

I heard that Shun Sato moved to Saitama from Sendai due to his father's job transfer. That's why he competes at Kanto Regionals representing Saitama Sakae Middle School. Probably it doesn't make any difference whether Shun belongs to Tohoku or Kanto federation as long as he is outside Naogya or Kansai.

Please go ahead. Apologies for my imperfect English.

Sota’s red outfit story is on page 6 of Episode 1 (Page 181 of this thread) After Sota was asked what he would spend his money on if he were given 100 million yen, he mentioned spending little by little such as buying clothes. Then they talked about the recent incident when Sota was wearing a red outfit for choreography group session. Although Kenji thought Sota looked really cool in it Sota took it off right away saying he didn’t like wearing clothes that attract people’s attention. He said 「なんか目立つから嫌なんで」I didn’t like it (the color/that outfit) because it made me stand out. Kenji was amused and teased Sota by reminding him that Kenji had actually made a specific request to him to come wearing something red so that he could easily spot Sota among a bunch of skaters. We can assume that he does not like to be conspicuous and prefers to wear quiet colors. About スタイルいい人 (person with good style), this is one of the Japanese phrases that has a completely different meaning from the original English. In Japanese ‘good style person’ means ‘person of pleasing proportions and/or having shapely body’—it has nothing to do with good fashion sense. Please feel free to ask me questions whenever you are confused about any Japanese words and phrases. When Japanese is translated into English sometimes things become confusing. What’s more, my English is not proficient and I will be happy to clear any confusion in my translations.

When searching the information about Sota on the internet I came across this blog. Has it been shared already? https://ameblo.jp/kmn-psn/entry-12366673639.html It has a video clip of broadcasted by a local station. Sota's segment is from 1min 5sec to 8min 5sec. Warning: Sota's ankle with surgery scar is shown briefly.

Page 5 (last page) Goal K: Last of all tell me what your goal is. S: This season is starting and I want to bring up my performance to a higher level. I do believe that I won’t be able to achieve good results unless I improve my spins, skating, interpretation, jumps and everything else. I would like to do the best I can while giving a careful attention to details. K: Good Luck. We are all rooting for you! S: Thank you very much. I’ll do my best. K: Here you are a gift to you from this program (giving him a custom design [KENJI’s room] shopping bag. S: Thank you very much. K: Try putting it on your shoulder? That looks really good on you. Go to the events with it from now. S: Yes (laugh). K: You said yes. (laugh) S: It is helpful. I appreciate it very much. K: It helps you. I’m glad to hear that. I’m happy that I can be helpful (laugh). Today’s guest was Sota Yamamoto. Thank you for today. S: Thank you very much. Sota after the Interview “I had previously talked a lot with him about skating during choreography sessions before. This time he asked me many personal questions and I am glad I got to talk about various things. I have never talked so much with KENJI sensei before, and I really had fun with him in that room.” THE END

Page 4 K: So you had time to kill (laugh). S: Killing my time? I don’t remember very well. K: Actually different people do different things. Some people take a very hot shower while some others soak in the lukewarm bath for 30 minutes—to energize body and stimulate blood circulation and things like that. So you continue to do this routine? S: Yes I do - before competition. K: What will you do if you don’t get hot water when you’re overseas? S: I won’t have a choice but to give up (laugh). K: You’ll give up. I see (laugh). Measurement by KENJI K: Since you’re the first guest of this season I want you to see me do this because I’ve become very flexible. Figure skaters need to be flexible and me too, as a choreographer.... Can you measure how much I can bend forward? (giving Sota a ruler) S: Yes. K: Here I go! (bends forward on a stand while cheating with bent knees) S: (noticing Kenji is cheating) Wow! I was surprised! I thought you were incredibly flexible! K: Hahaha (doing this time correctly) S: Let’s see. About negative 0.3cm. K: 0.3cm! Yay! I broke my records. Look! I made positive 2cm the last time. Right now I made 0.3cm. Yeah, that’s how we do! S: Well, then the bigger the minus number the better. K: Yeah, you’ve got it. The best one so far made 31. You hear me 31. Kana Muramoto made negative 31cm. Among men one (Kazuki Tomono) hit negative 18cm. (Sota bend forward) Wow…. Negative 31cm! Flexible! S: Hehehe K: Isn’t this crazy? You may be able to go down even further if you take off your shoes. S: Well (starting to take off his shoes) K: You must have bent your knees! S: What?! K: You did bend your knees, didn’t you! I didn’t check your knees. S: No (laugh) K: Please go ahead. S: Yes (bend forward again). K: You reached further down from 30cm by about 2cm! You made about negative 32cm. Incredible! (applauded by the staff) *past skaters’ scores* Sota Yamamoto -32cm Kaori Sakamoto -23cm Kana Muramoto -31cm Kazuki Tomono -18cm Mai Mihara -29cm Chris Reed -15cm Wakaba Higuchi -28cm Aru Tateno -10.5cm Rikako Fukase -25cm KENJI -0.3cm

Page 3 Strong / Weak Elements K: What are your strong elements? S: Nothing special. On rare occasions some people tell me that I am an all-round skater. K: You are pretty good at spins though. S: But when I think of other skaters who are better at spins than I am, it makes me feel that I am not a good spinner. So, perhaps I don’t have any specific strength. K: So you say “I can do everything.”? S: Hmmmm…I wish I could say that (laugh). K: How about the weaknesses? S: I have never been good at interpretation. These days I am consciously working hard to improve it. When I started out I was not good at all. K: You are better now. S: Right now when I give it my best shot, I get to be so-so. K: For real, you are doing just fine. Okay then. Who do you look up to? Do you have any idol skaters? S: There are so many great skaters. When I watch them being cool or skate with great techniques I want to take in their qualities. There are so many good examples to follow by watching. It’s Hanyu senshu--lately I’m telling people it’s Hanyu senshu, so he is one of my role models. K: He is amazing-People’s Honor Award and all. S: Yes, amazing. Preferred TV Camera Angle S: When FS competition is televised and you see camerawork on TV. Did you ever think “If I were the cameraman I would place the camera here,” or “I want to watch this event from this angle.”? S: At the last Japan Nationals where I was in I watched some scenes looking down on an angle showing a large part of the audience, and I though these scenes were beautiful. K: I see. You want to be on camera from a distance and from above? S: It’s not that I want to be viewed like that. In these scenes I could see the ambience of the arena and the mood of the audience so I felt these scenes were beautiful. K: Oh, now I see. Everybody has different preference. Some people told me before that they wanted the TV cameras placed right besides Judges’ eyes. They thought it would be interesting to know what part of the skater in performance the judges are watching. S: Oh, I see. It makes sense. K: We can see “That judge is not watching the performance!” or “Now he’s looking down at his coffee cup!” It won’t happen anyway (laugh). I see they worry about what these judges are watching though. Routine before Competition K: What is your routine before competition such as particular behavior to bring luck? S: I take a hot shower one hour before I leave for competition. K: Morning practice or official practice? So after you come back to the hotel from practice and before you leave for competition? S: That’s right. I don’t take a shower before practice. K: You take a shower one hour before competition. What happens then? S: I feel warm (laugh). K: You feel warm? You should do warm-ups instead. Warm-ups (laugh). Do you take a shower instead of warm-ups? S: No, actually I did well at one competition and that was the first time I took a shower before going out to compete. Since then I make it a habit. K: What made you decide to take a shower at that time? Did you sweat a lot? S: Let me see… Why did I do that? … Perhaps, after a practice it’s a long wait (laugh)

Page 2 Inside the Bag K: I know it’ s sudden, but can you show me what you have in your bag? It’s heavy. S: Yes, nothing unusual. This is my training outfits. I had a practice today. My wallet,seets to wipe my sweat off my body, and a charger. K: (looking at an animal charm attached to a USB cable) What is this? It’s kind of cute. S: Yes, someone gave it to me. It’s from a fan. Then, a headphone, an earphone, a smartphone. K: Then, can I see your headphone? Oh, this is a good quality one. S: Yes, Bluetooth ready headphone. Bluetooth headphones have to be recharged, but this one comes with a connection cord so I can use it even when the battery is dead. K: I have one similar to this one. Huh? Didn’t you say that you lost your headphone? S: No, earphone. I lost an earphone. K: I see. Then, what is this in this earphone case? S: There used to be a brand earphone that came with the same brand case. But I lost it so I now have a different brand earphone in it (laugh). K: This is just an ordinary one (laugh). You are not particular about earphone? S: Well, when I buy an earphone I tested out many earphones at the shop, and decide on the one I like. K: I see. What do you listen to with your earphone or headphone? S: What do I listen to? Umm... Something other than music… K: Rakugo (Japanese traditional comic storytelling)? (laugh) S: No(laugh). I use one of these when I watch Youtube and other videos. K: Oh, not the music. You watch video clips. What are your favorite genres when you listen to music? S: The way I listen to music is always odd (laugh). K: You listen to weird music only? S: Let me see…It’s not like that I listen to particular artists’ music. I like to listen to a variety of music which I may be able to skate to. K: Ummm. I got it. I got it. S: Ah? Really? K: Yes. Then, what are your favorite items among all of these? S: I have many things that my fans gave me. (touching the sweat wiping sheets) I don’t buy these things. K: You were surprised like, “What the heck is this for?” S: Now that I have these sheets I find them pretty useful to me. I can wipe off my sweat right away. This is a gift I was given. This is also a gift. This is a gift too…. K: You cherish the gifts you received? S: Yes, I do. K: Very well. It is thoughtful of you.

Episode 3 of Sota Yamamoto Interview https://www.jsports.co.jp/press/article/N2018092510125406.html Video is uploaded to dailymotion Page 1 SP [Air on the G string] for This Season K: How are your SP and LP programs this season? S: The type of music used for SP is very different from the one for LP, and also different from last season. To me they are new kind. Especially, this is my first experience skating to that type of SP music. I feel challenged but I am pushing myself to improve my skating to a higher level to be able to skate beautifully and carefully. My SP music is [Air on the G string]. K: Why did you pick [Air on the G string]? S: I chose this music after spending a lot of time myself and going over my mother’s suggestions as well in the selection process. When the first time I listened to it as a music piece I thought “This music is difficult to skate to because it does not have a climax.” But after being choreographed to it I realized that there are many parts where I could go for beautiful expression. I cannot rely on the power of the music because it is not dramatic, so I need to make every movement and skating really beautiful to make my performance appealing. This is the point I keep in mind in skating. K: When the music is reaching the climax the audience star clapping their hands and you get excited, but this music is sort of flat. Therefore, I want you to do the performance that captivates your audience. S: Yes. K: It’s not a dramatic piece that reaches a climax exciting the audience, but I choreographed it so that the audience would be enthralled by it. Let’s refine it some more and make it better. I think you did it very beautifully the last time. S: Thank you. I understand. FP [Nobunaga Concerto] for this Season K: What about your FP? S: My FP is [Nobunaga Concerto]. The last half is the main part and I really love the cut. I asked (Kenji) sensei to work on the last half with it. I left the first half cut to sensei. K: You picked that music because you love warriors in the Sengoku period in the first place? S: No, having searched all over I was simply moved by this music. Main Point of This Season K: Is there anything you pay attention to in SP and FP? S: There is a big difference between the tones of SP and FP music. Melody is different from each other. I keep telling myself to work hard to present varied interpretations and skating between the two programs. K: Well, I see you change the way you push forward and also your foot placements depending on which music you skate to. I think they are quite different. S: Yes. K: Is there any particular move in SP that left you a strong impression?--a move that you really want the audience to see? S: Ummm… K: Nothing at all!? (laugh) S: It’s the other way round. There are so many beautiful moves and poses (laugh) K: I do have one. When I choreographed the program I thought that move was very beautiful, and I can see the image in my mind right away (laugh). S: Towards the end of the step sequence, the music ascends subtly and I make a pose that looks like praying. K: Oh, that one. S: Well, it is near the ending and one of the dramatic high points. It is just my subjective opinion though. K: Me too! It is not the only one though. But that’s the one most impressive. Can you do it now? S: Ahh?! (standing up) Umm..I should be doing Ina Bauer to do that move…. K: No, it’s Spread Eagles (laugh) S: Spread Eagle, hmm. Like…this…? K: Wow! Then, what about impressive FP move? S: Oh?!(sitting down) Let me think about it. K: You must have one (laugh) S: Ummm… Memorable move … K: In my opinion it is this? (gesture of drawing a sward off sheath) S: Ah, that was the first one popped up in my mind. K: Then you should have said that (laugh). S: (standing up) The music has Japanese flair and the choreography has many movements that suggest using a sword such as sward-drawing move in step sequence. I think that move is cool.

This portion is the beginning of the Episode 1 before Sota and Kenji meet and talk. Kenji speaking on TV camera Nagano hosted the Winter Olympics 20 years ago. I came to see the games as an audience with the tickets I bought. I might add that I was excited that I was even wearing suits. Well, today’s guest is (showing his portrait of Sota). How do you think of it? I personally think it resembles him. (staff: What is the main point of the portrait?) The point I paid attention to is his eyes that seem to look afar. I really feel all the time that his eyes look into the far distance--like they look into tomorrow. The profound look on his eyes is one of his characteristics. (staff: What is your impression of him?) My impression of him is—he is very quiet and he only says はい (t/n: はいcan mean “yes” or “I see.”) to me. That’s my image of him. Although I explain things to him in choreography sessions, we don’t usually chat. This time I want to ask him various questions—questions such as what he does in daily life and about college life. I want to ask him a lot of questions other than skating. Then, off I go. (showing off his portrait of Sota) Sota on camera The first time I met Kenji sensei was at the training camp, and I thought he was a little scary. But when I was a high school freshman I asked him to choreograph my programs and since then he has been nice to me and I think he is cool. (staff: What’s like to be when you meet him usually?) Well, I only get to greet him when I meet him. Sometimes he pokes fun at me (in a good way) when he passes by me and I enjoy his teasing because it makes me feel relaxed.

As @surimi pointed out there were some missing translations. I'm adding the translation of what was previously omitted in the transcript of Episode 2. Next time I work on the transcript I'll compare it with the video clip first to make sure my translation covers the entire conversation. Here's the translation to be added to page 1 & 2 of Episode 2. *after the question about the occupation of his choice once reborn at the beginning of the 1st page* K: Next question. Q: What is your favorite sport? S: Well, Skating comes to mind first. K: Oh, you love skating. S: Yes I love it. K: Of course. Of course you do. But I didn’t think about it. I sort of thought that you would give me something usual such as baseball. What do you love in skating? (laugh). ETA: Please also note the corrections I made on page 5, Episode 2. S: Ummm…What inspired me to skate is it is cool and fun, so I continue skating. Ummm…in what way? Well, actually when I see figure skating footage I get fascinated because it is really amazing and cool. K: Hmm, amazing, cool. Uh oh? Is it only me? Expecting something other than skating? (laugh). Weird. S: I am sorry (laugh). K: No, you are totally cool. *Next question is what he would be doing 10 year later.* *After they talked about Shohei Otani at the end of page 1* S: Kenji sensei is more kakkoii. K: Don’t be silly. Otani, the pitcher Shohei Otani. Do you want to play baseball? Let’s play baseball next time. S: Thank you, but I’m not good at it. K: Next question. Q : What era do you want to go with a Time Machine. S: Ummm..When I was little I used to say “I love dinosaurs” (laugh). I want to go back to that era. K: Jurassic period? S: Hehehe K: Cretaceous period? S: Yes. K: Really? S: Yes, I wish I could see live dinosaurs with my own eyes. K: I tell you what, me too. Yaay! (high five) (laugh) Oh, yeah. Good. Next time I will buy you a dinosaur souvenir, dinosaur model like the one they sell at freeway rest area. I hope you will be looking forward to it. S: Thank you very much. *moves on to the question of what he looks for in a girl on page 2* ETA: Please note the corrections I made on page 5, Episode 2, too.

Please feel free to share my translations anytime because I joined the forum to share the info. I know some other bilingual members can do superb translations, while my English is limited. I did the translations this time because even I can beat online translation tools which tend to give confusing results. I would be happy if I could be of any help. About the missing bits, you are right. Thank you for pointing it out. Your understanding of these segments is accurate. I'll give you the more detailed (word for word) translations tomorrow. Also, I'm planning to translate the short segment in episode 1 before the interview -- the part where Kenji was talking about Sota and subsequently Sota talking about Kenji.

Page 6 K: Oh, yeah? When you were injured you were planning to move up to Senior? You must have been going through a really hard time, like “I’m injured” and “I’m feeling left behind and upset.” S: At the beginning it was my first experience of injury, and I stayed fully motivated and I was mentally OK. I was practicing seriously and my recovery was going fast and well. Then I re-injured myself several times and I started feeling less driven, I guess. K: Eventually did you come to think “I might as well quit skating.”? S: Seriously, I could not really get into skating. Actually I was barely able to walk. Sometimes I was over-thinking like “I’m in pain when walking. Will I be OK?” K: What helped you move forward when you were having such a hard time? S: Well, the first thing comes to my mind is the support of my family. K: I knew it. They encouraged you? S: Ummm…It’s not like they encouraged me. Surprisingly they didn’t treat me special--just as usual. K: Well, they put you at ease by treating you that way? S: I had a mixed feeling back then though. Looking back I now see I turned out fine (laugh). K: What’s up with that? (laugh) So looking back later you think they treated you fine, but back then you felt like “Geez! You guys should worry about me more.” ? S: Sort of “Leave me alone a bit,” something like that (laugh) K: So you say “Leave me alone.” (laugh) They couldn’t leave you alone, though. But you competed at Japan Nationals and later at an international championship “Coupe du Printemps” and you landed triples properly. S: That’s true, but I want to challenge myself perform at higher level as long as I continue competing. K: Did you see any differences in your skating after recovery and comeback compared to the one before injuries? S: Until recently I was only focusing on jumps. I was thinking if I could land clean jumps everything would be fine. Now I cannot do jumps very well. I can still push myself because I’m carefully working on other elements. I’m more attentive than before to things like spins, expressions, and skating skills. K: You are paying attention and you are getting better at skating a lot. S: Ummm…Or rather, my programs are easier than these of other skaters because mine do not have (difficult) jumps, I guess. K: But skating is difficult. You are improving your skating day by day, and it’s really great. S: Thank you so much (laugh). K: You are welcome (laugh). Yeah, to tell you the truth, you were skating so fast that I almost wanted to tell you to slow down. You skate so fast you almost bump into the wall. S: I get that a lot. K: Then slow down (laugh). Competitions that Made the Biggest Impressions K: In the last season, what is the competition that left you the biggest impression? So many things happened to you. You made a comeback after injuries. S: Ummmm…Japan Nationals simply because I performed well. I remember that although my jumps were not good at all I could do other elements decently. I feel I went all out at Japan Nationals. K: So that’s the ones still vivid in your memory. S: Yes. K: Speaking of competitions, what completion made you the happiest in your career? S: There are so many. I was happy so many times after the competitions. The best one is…… K: You can come up with many. Lots of them! S: So I can give you many. Well, Japan Novice Nationals. I won gold a few times and I was happy. Also World Junior when I finished 3rd. Although I was lucky then. I finished 7th after SP and was in the 3rd group. The last group skaters did not do very well and I ended up on the podium. Anyhow my coach was super happy after the competition, and I still remember this happy memory. K: But that medal did not fall on your lap. You did not get lucky; you earned the medal as a result of competition. I think it’s great. S: Thank you very much. K: Some people fail while others do not. That’s how the results of competitions are determined. You don’t need to say you were lucky. You won a medal because you did well. S: I see. K: On the other hand what competition made you frustrated? You couldn’t compete at World Junior the following season? How did you feel? S: Let me see…I was practicing hard for World as my only goal during… or rather before the season started. So I was really frustrated as I could not compete at World. K: I know how you feel. It’s upsetting not to be able to compete. That’s for sure. I understand. ....Continued to next week Episode 3

Page 5 2015 World Junior Championship with Shoma Uno K: You were at the same World Junior? Any memories? S: We were competing at the same competitions at junior level including the Worlds, and he inspired me a lot. Shoma was able to land jumps that I could not such as quads and his 3A was stable while mine was not. I was motivated to land these jumps. Throughout the seasons I was chasing the goal. That’s one of the reasons why I achieved good results. K: Shoma was an important person? After all you must have felt that you didn’t want to lose, haven’t you? “I want to copy his technique” or something like that. S: Yes. K: Anyhow you gained confidence standing on the world championship podium? S: Yes, but I was not aiming for that. I was simply happy anyway when it’s over. K: thinking “I’m a genius after all”? (laugh). S: No, No, Absolutely not (laugh). K: That’s just what you used to say when you were little (laugh). When you get older you realize that there are difficult things that remain difficult. S: Yes. Breaking Ankle during Great Season K: And during the next season you won a gold medal at Lillehammer Youth Olympics? S: Yes, barely. K: Amazing. But you broke your ankle in that season? Do you remember the incident? S: Yes, I do remember. K: It’s the first time you had a serious injury? Were you surprised? S: Rather than being surprised it hurt too much. K: At the rink? S: Yes, at practice. K: Ah, I see. Then, you couldn’t move? You went to a hospital right away? S: Yes, a doctor my coach helped me go up the front entrance to go up from the rink. It hurt a lot to take off my boots. Every little move hurt, and I needed help to take them off eventually. I was carried to a car. It was terrible. K: Then, you suffered from stress fracture in summer? S: I injured the same spot. K: Are you OK now? S: Right now it’s not worsening. ETA: I noticed the transcript error and made corrections. The transcript says "玄関を上がる” (go up the front entrance), but by listening to the video I realized that Sota said ”リンクを上がる (go up from the rink) and he was struggling to get out of the rink in pain right after the injury. Therefore I also changed the word from doctor to coach who was taking care of him. 先生 usually means teacher and also other professionals such as doctor, so I originally thought that he was having trouble going up the front entrance of the hospital. Japanese is hard to understand and even native speakers make mistakes sometimes.

Page 4 Figure Skating is a “Sport of Feeling.” K: Are there any tips to master jumps?--from a viewpoint of a genius? (laugh) S: Ummm…I’m not a genius (laugh). But everybody says that it’s timing. K: Timing? Which timing? S: What I’m doing myself, or rather thinking is … Ummm.. But I’m not sure. Well skating relies on your senses so I may not be able to come up with anything specific. K: You’re different because you’re genius (laugh). S: Everybody is saying that though. I think it’s the “sport of feeling.” K: “Sport of feeling” is a cool phrase. S: But someone else was saying that. K: Somebody else? Who said that? S: Is it OK for me to tell you (laugh)? Lots of people are saying that, and one guy close to me is Kazuki Tomono. K: Tomono (laugh). Well, then, I will start saying it perhaps. Close Friends K: Are you friends with anyone in the same age group? S: Not many. I hardly ever have any male skaters in my age group. Among someone Kenji sensei knows, then Mai Mihara who is a female skater. K: I know her awfully well! I know everybody! (laugh) S: But I can come up with only a few skaters. Do you know石塚玲雄(Reo Ishizuka)? K: I do! I choreographed for him. S: Really? I rarely see him but whenever I see him we have a chat. K: Then who are you friends with? S: I wonder I told you before? 山隈太一朗 (Taichiro Yamakuma). K: Taichiro-kun. Oh, the good looking guy who looks like an European actor? (laugh) S: Yes, that’s him. He has been at the same competition as mine since we were little like notice days. He beat me many times. There were times that we practiced at the same rink and we spent a lot of time together. K: What do you guys talk about? S: Recently, Ummm… too stupid and silly to remember. We went out to eat. K: Eat out? What do you usually eat? You mind my questions? (laugh) S: No, No (laugh). Taichiro comes over to Chukyo National Training Center in Nagoya on weekend, so we eat Karaage set meal at a Chinese diner nearby. K: Taichiro eats Karaage meal set (laugh). S: He was eating it saying “price-performance ratio is gooood.” (laugh) K: I don’t know what to say (laugh).

Page 3 K: Then, you’re not having fun at college? S: As part of sports science study I have a physical training class. That’s where you lift serious weights. K: (touching Sota’s slender bicep) You lift heavy weights? S: People are telling me that I’m gaining muscle (laugh). K: Small and strong muscles though. S: Buuut, I don’t understand. K: You should say “Yes” (laugh). Anyway, you enjoy spending time together with close friends, don’t you? S: Since I started college I have more people to chat with, but I’m not sure whether I can say they are my friends. K: No, No, you have to call them your friends (laugh). Or they will think “Huh? I thought I was Sota’s friend.”You get it? S: Oh well, I have many people to talk to now anyway. K: 100 people? S: No, about 30. K: Wow, amazing! S: But there are so many students at college campus. K: So many - and everybody knows that (laugh). Genius Type Jumper? K: This is just a same old question, but when did you land double axel? S: I was a 4th grader at elementary school in autumn or winter. Latter half (of school year). K: 4th grader is rather young? S: I don’t know. But my usual coach was away for his other students’ competition and I was practicing on my own and it was the first time I nailed it. Then my coach came back and told me to jump, and I jumped it clean. He went “When did you learn that jump?”I have these memories. K: I remember reading a magazine article where you said “I’m a genius type jumper.” Is that true? S: Yes, I said that (laugh). K: Back then did you think “I’m certainly amazing.”? S: Well, it was in the past. I was trying to land more difficult jumps better than anyone else, and I was somehow doing OK. In that sense I was feeling like I could jump OK. K: So you didn’t struggle for a long time to learn landing jumps, and you could land jumps when you were not expected to be ready? S: Hmmm.. But I had a really hard time with a 3A. K: When did you land a 3A? S: 2nd year at middle school, I guess. K: Middle school 2nd year? You were very young because only 4 years from landing a 2A when you’re a 4th grader. S: But only at practice. I could later land a 3A in a competition when I was in the 3rd year of middle school.

Page 2 Q: What kind of girl are you attracted to? S: I don’t have any ideal girl, but I prefer someone not hyper. K: You like quiet girls? S: I mean…not exactly quiet. K: You don’t like quiet girls, but you don’t like noisy ones either? S: I guess so. It’s OK to be bubbly when having a good time, but goofing around all the time is a bit too much for me. K: You prefer someone sensible and can be quiet depending on the situation? S: Yes, someone with common sense. K: Anything else? Physical appearance? S: Umm.. appearance? Did all of the guests come up with the answers? K: They did. They did. There’s one person who gave me physical features only. S: Who is that person? (laugh) K: Someone called Keiji Tanaka! S: Hahaha. Let me see. Looks? Someone shapely perhaps. Only vaguely though. K: You don’t pay attention to faces very much. S: I guess…if you say so, yes. K: OK, I got it (laugh). College Life K: Sota-kun, you’re in your first year at university. You told me before that you ended up choosing difficult classes. How are you doing? S: Yes I did, but I cannot go back. I somehow manage to go to classes. I took quizzes several times. Also mid-term exam is coming up and I’m trying to get decent scores. K: What are the classes you’re taking? S: I’m taking several. The one I’m struggling with is English. K: English? That’s normal (to have a hard time with it). Say, you said you’re taking one more foreign language class, didn’t you? S: Yes, There’re many English classes but I chose the difficult one. Also, I’m taking Chinese as a second foreign language. K: How come you’re learning Chinese? S: I thought it would be the easiest because it’s made up of Chinese characters (laugh). K: Chinese character, Huh (laugh). You thought it the easiest and everybody told you it is super hard, right? S: I was told that’s the toughest one to learn (laugh). These are the subjects off the top of my head. My major is sports science and it helps me a little because some of my studies have something to do with sports. But there are also the subjects that are “THE・勉強(study)” to me. K: “THE・勉強”？ I never heard of that word (laugh). Are you enjoying study? S: No, Not at all (laugh).

Page 1 Q: If you were reborn, what would you pick as your occupation? S: What’s been on my mind for a long time and it’s something I can say because I’m not there yet, is being a skating coach. That’s the only one I can say right away. K: Oh Yeah? But don’t you have any other sports in mind? S: Baseball. I’m not good at it but I love playing baseball, so that one would be OK. K: Baseball player? I see. Then next question. Q: What will you be doing 10 years from now. S: In 10 years how old will I be? 28? Umm..I love skating and I want to continue skating until it becomes too much burden to me. Skaters older than age 23 are or used to be active, so right now I want to keep skating at that age. K: As an active player? S: Yes, as an athlete to compete. That’s what I am thinking for now. K: It’s great, though. Till age 28, or maybe even till age 30, something like that? S: Yes, if possible. K: Fantastic! You want to continue competing. I think it’s wonderful. Q: Who would be a celebrity of your choice if you could trade places for one day. S: Hmm…I don’t watch TV very much. I sort of don’t want to be a celebrity that seems busy. K: Huh? Celebrity appears to be busy? All celebs are famous and busy, don’t they? (laugh) S: I think you’re right (laugh). One person popped in my mind is Shohei Otani. He’s a celebrity, isn’t he? (laugh) K: I suppose so (laugh). Do you want to throw a ball? S: He’s been in the spotlight particularly these days. He is playing baseball overseas and such. K: What would you want to do if you became him? S: Everybody is saying he is “kakkoii”(cool), so I want to be cool like him (laugh). K: So you want girls to think you’re hot! S: Nooo, It’s not like that (laugh). I mean…not like popular with girls. K: You are kakkoii. S: Eh? Not at all. Kenji sensei is more kakkoii. K: OK. Next question (laugh).

Episode 2 of Sota & Kenji talk was up last night and I'll post my translations page by page separately. https://www.jsports.co.jp/press/article/N2018091809440406.html I haven't finished the last page (page 6) but I thought I should post the finished pages. I'll be back with the last page, probably tomorrow. Episode 3 will be broadcasted on Sept. 25, and I'll work on the translation as soon as the online text is ready. I assume that the interview took place in June 2018 as he was entering the hotel in Nagano and H&F show was held in Nagano. It is great to see Sota so wholesome after all he has been through. I hope he knows that his long time fans as well as many people who are inspired by his courage are rooting for him in Japan and overseas.