General Yuzuru Chat

[Sukigirl]

He mentions he wasn’t able to jump presumably quad loop and sal for a while, thereby necessitating front-loading the program. I think there was a separate interview that mentioned he was in a not so good state in October. Does anyone have further information on what happened then? Did the media provide clarification on what exactly happened to him during that time?

[Paskud]

20 minutes ago, Umebachi said:

@axelwithwings team always does an excellent job of translating.  Finally we have the actual transcript of the Sponichi interview, not snippets in the twitter, from which they offer a full translation.   

 

In the original Japanese, Yuzu literally uses the English term "shut down" when referring to his aspirations about the Olympics.  In another interview he said he wanted to put a "delimiter" - i.e. putting a restraint on himself - when thinking about the Olympics.  His words resonate in Japan right now because the government had been pushing to open the economy and very slow in taking action to slow the spread of infection.  People are feeling extremely anxious and angry about this and a recent poll also indicated that majority of Japanese don't want the Olympics to be held in Tokyo this summer.  It is in this context that the frequent interview questions about his plans to go to the Olympics really irks him, as the media seems to be glossing over the pandemic to pry some titillating responses from him about his Olympics aspirations.  We all know how important the Olympics is for Yuzu, and for him to push back so forcefully is sending shock waves  across the Japanese media.  If I were to write a headline it would read something lie:  "Hanyu 'shuts down' own Olympic aspirations, implores leaders to think first about people". 

'

 

 

Thank you for all your explanations.

[Henni147]

Lol Shoma 

 

 

Also... is Yuzu planning already? 

 

EDIT: Looks like it was rather a personal question to Mita-san.

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

[Yuzurella]

 

Meeting the new guys.

[BWOZWaltz]

 

Gift from heaven

[SuzyQ]

Some people have hawk eyes and knowledge in history.  So amazing.

 

Two sparrows on his back may be from the family crest of Uesugi Clan.

 

 

http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/bukemon/bk_uesugi.html

 

Date Clan seems to have a family crest with sparrows as well since these two clans are affinally related.

 

This kind of information is very new to me.

This post has been tagged by yuzuangel as [NEWS].

[BWOZWaltz]

3 minutes ago, SuzyQ said:

Some people have hawk eyes and knowledge in history.  So amazing.

 

Two sparrows on his back may be from the family crest of Uesugi Clan.

 

 

http://www2.harimaya.com/sengoku/bukemon/bk_uesugi.html

 

Date Clan seems to have a family crest with sparrows as well since these two clans are affinally related.

 

This kind of information is very new to me.

 

The costume design also includes 逆さ桜 (upside down cherry blossoms) that relates to lord Kenshin (謙信公).

There's a story about lord Kenshin that he picked a cherry blossom branch to use it for fortune-telling of sending troops to Kanto area for the first time. The cherry blossom branch that had been planted  upside down somehow rooted and bloomed. 

 

[Yuzurella]

 

As Yuzu said, it's uncertain whether the Worlds or Olympics will even take place as planned. But if the Olympics do happen and Yuzu is participating, I will do everything in my power to watch and support him in person when he wins his third Olympic gold medal.

[CaroSkate]

I suddenly have a thought that Yuzu may become a great coach in the future. Of course, he is free to choose whatever he wants to do. Just that I didn't associate him with being a coach before, as I thought naturally gifted people usually find it hard to teach others. While he is a hard worker, landing 3A at the 2nd/3rd try just by watching Mao may not be something he could teach others. 

 

However, after this competition and his interviews, it seems that he can be a great coach in managing the athletes, both mentally and physically. His study in human science is valuable to them as well. If he wants to be a coach, I will be excited to see how it goes.

[Henni147]

5 minutes ago, CaroSkate said:

However, after this competition and his interviews, it seems that he can be a great coach in managing the atheletes, both mentally and physically. His study in human science is valuable to them as well. If he wants to be a coach, I will be excited to see how it goes.

 

I think, before taking any kind of coaching job Yuzu would do everything in his might to help creating a competitive environment that protects the next generations of young skaters from physical, emotional, sexual and any other kind of abuse that we're currently experiencing. It's one thing to deal with this mess of a situation himself as a mature, adult skater, but a whole different thing to take care of his students, especially when they are underage.

 

I got the impression that Yuzu is a very emotional person, who takes injustice to heart and rather swollows his anger than speaking up in public. Imagine if his students showed remarkable performances, but received awful scores. I fear that this would hit Yuzu even harder than any robbery or insult against himself...

[OonsieHui]

#Relatable 

 

[rodica]

On 12/24/2020 at 8:06 PM, Umebachi said:

What a Xmas week this is turning out to be!  As many of us are "stuck" somewhere, away from many of our loved ones, it is so good to have the Planet where we can reach out and connect.  And what better way to enjoy the unfolding drama and joy that is our overlord!  

 

Some personal reflections on his choice of programs:

 

SP LMEY - (we already have the acronym seared into our brain) - I am thrilled to have him turn on the rock star side of his performance!  It's been a while since LGC.  I agree with many of you that the song itself is not particularly artistic or deeply meaningful, but it shows off the playful side of Yuzu who wants to delight and entertain us.  The PC Olympics programs seemed to brand him as a serious and serene skater which, from a branding point of view, could pigeon-hole him to certain segment of the audience (market).  By choosing a breezy, catchy music with a potential for explosive energy - and also not too complicated music - for people unfamiliar with figure skating, he will be able to draw in a huge swathe of new audience into the sport.  Then once they are hooked with his rock gyrations... then BAM!!! he gives you a very cerebral, spiritual yet also "easy" to understand Sengoku-jidai (warring era) epic war hero.  It will give the new audience a whiplash to go from one end to the other.  What a great program concept for the Olympics!  He has matured so much and become masterful at marketing figure skating that reminds me of Steve Jobs at Apple: artistic and technical genius who could also sell to the global market.  

 

FP Heaven and Earth - I am absolutely agog with his choice of the free program.  To give you a bit of background, for many of us growing up in Japan in the 1960s, when we were still recovering psychologically from the scars of the brutal war, NHK's Taiga Drama played a crucial role in teaching us with new eyes about our history, to reconnect with our past and regain our dignity and humanity.  I was a diplomat's child, and wherever we were stationed my father had to remind me that "We had lost the war" and "we must behave with humility and dignity".  I was often the only Japanese girl in the schools, and occasionally faced racists comments from my classmates.  But I learned to hold my head high - perhaps sometimes without adequate humility as this is very hard for a young child - and did my best to hold my ground.  You know how cruel kids can be...

 

Whenever we were back in Japan, we watched the NHK Taiga Drama, every Sunday evening. This was such an integral part of my upbringing which I am only now beginning to realize the deep emotional impact that these programs have had on me.  The earliest and my favorite is the drama based on Minamoto Yoshitsune, with a famous young Kabuki actor playing the title role.  It was a year-long drama revealing all the cruelties and unfairness of war.  At some point in the future, I hope Yuzu will be able to play Yoshitsune in some program, on or off the ice.   

 

But I digress.  I did not watch the entire series of Heaven and Earth since we were moving in and out of Japan that year, but I still recall catching glimpses of the program which had some incredible actors.   The choice of this particular drama and the main hero - Uesugi Kenshin, is truly revealing about Yuzu's mindset.  I recall Yuzu mentioning some years ago (perhaps after Sochi) that he would like to perform to one of the Taiga drama music, so he has been thinking about it for some time.  I often wondered which one he would choose: it would have to be both musically appropriate for FS and with a compelling and fitting storyline.   This choice of Heaven and Earth seems to fit both conditions extremely well.  Uesugi Kenshin is not well known outside of Japan, but he is an iconic warrior - highly educated, spiritual and deeply immersed in Buddhist teachings, artistic and poetic, striving for social justice in the midst of chaos and, of course, a masterful warrior/military leader.  His famous rivalry with another strongman of the time, Takeda Shingen (who was featured in Kurosawa's Kagemusha) is a model of Japanese medieaval chivalry, each showing great respect for each other as they continued to battle for supremacy.  (Their relationship is reminiscent of Yuzu and Javi's rivalry.)  By choosing this program, Yuzu will introduce the global  audience to the side of Japan that is not well known, and in the process bring us closer together by sharing the great and eternal story of human struggle. 

 

I didn't realize myself how emotionally vested I had been in those old Taiga dramas, and when I heard the title "天と地と” I felt a guttral slam and tears came to my eyes as I remembered being together and sharing the story as a family.  Especially moving in this time of pandemic...  So, as we have done for millenia, these epic stories told around the fires in the evening are how we reconnect, share and re-discover meaning in our daily lives. 

 

I leave you here with the poem written by Kenshin on his death bed, whence comes the title "Heaven and Earth": 

 

Even a life-long prosperity is but one cup of sake;
A life of forty-nine years is passed in a dream;
I know not what life is, nor death.
Year in year out-all but a dream.
Both Heaven and Hell are left behind;
I stand in the moonlit dawn,
Free from clouds of attachment.

 

Uesugi Kenshin
1530-1578

   

English translation from this source:

https://phillipjohnston.net/blog/2018/04/25/death-poem-of-uesugi-kenshin/

 

 

 

 

Thank you very much for your explanations. These are very useful for us who are not well acquainted to Japanese history and symbols. Yuzu's FP was enchanting even if we did not know the finesses, but your explanations add a lot more value to it.

 

[TallyT]

3 hours ago, BWOZWaltz said:

 

The costume design also includes 逆さ桜 (upside down cherry blossoms) that relates to lord Kenshin (謙信公).

There's a story about lord Kenshin that he picked a cherry blossom branch to use it for fortune-telling of sending troops to Kanto area for the first time. The cherry blossom branch that had been planted  upside down somehow rooted and bloomed. 

 

 

That is amazing, the amount of thoughts and work that Yuzu and Satomi Ito (it has to be her work, yes?) have put into this is astounding.

[TallyT]

3 hours ago, CaroSkate said:

I suddenly have a thought that Yuzu may become a great coach in the future. Of course, he is free to choose whatever he wants to do. Just that I didn't associate him with being a coach before, as I thought naturally gifted people usually find it hard to teach others. While he is a hard worker, landing 3A at the 2nd/3rd try just by watching Mao may not be something he could teach others. 

 

However, after this competition and his interviews, it seems that he can be a great coach in managing the atheletes, both mentally and physically. His study in human science is valuable to them as well. If he wants to be a coach, I will be excited to see how it goes.

 

He clearly loves working with youngsters, right down to the infants, he is so sweet and encouraging with them (I mean how would it feel to a Japanese baby skater to have Yuzuru Hanyu watching and encouraging as you nervously try things?)

[rockstaryuzu]

4 hours ago, CaroSkate said:

I suddenly have a thought that Yuzu may become a great coach in the future. Of course, he is free to choose whatever he wants to do. Just that I didn't associate him with being a coach before, as I thought naturally gifted people usually find it hard to teach others. While he is a hard worker, landing 3A at the 2nd/3rd try just by watching Mao may not be something he could teach others. 

 

However, after this competition and his interviews, it seems that he can be a great coach in managing the atheletes, both mentally and physically. His study in human science is valuable to them as well. If he wants to be a coach, I will be excited to see how it goes.

One of the things you learn (by osmosis) as an athlete, if you are paying attention well, is how to coach, especially if you've had great coaches train you,as Yuzu has had. If he decides to become a coach, I think he will be very successful indeed.