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General Yuzuru Chat

Planet Hanyu Staff

By Planet Hanyu Staff
in Yuzuru Hanyu

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micaelis 4Lo

micaelis

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Salior said:

"People often talk about empathy, it seemed like it's a psychological term. A person who is sensitive, would gently, silently think about you, they won't rush up to you to comfort you, but they would show their concern through their actions. Someone who doesn't make you feel smothered at all, he might really be an angel, else how would every fibre of him show such kindness and gentleness." 

 

"Those who are sensitive are often fragile, as a protect mechanism they often isolate themselves when they are sad, but never once did he ignore the distress of those around him. A twenty-plus year old person, from where did he get so much love and kindness..." 

It's been said before but it cannot be said often enough - on the 11th of March 2011 Yuzu's world fell apart.  In fact it was shaken first and then washed away.  He was on the ice when the earthquake hit and he and his family spent three days in an evacuation shelter.  Yuzu himself has said that the earthquake experience redefined who he was and he has tied himself over these last several years to the earthquake reconstruction.  Sendai was virtually at ground zero for the quake and because the area  around Sendai is low and flat the tsunami waters went inland by several miles.  There were over a thousand deaths in Sendai, which has a population of around one million.  Almost certainly Yuzu knew some of those who perished or some who lost loved ones Yuzu himself did not know.  And from up and down that stretch of the Japanese coast nearly twenty thousand people lost their lives.  On top of that Japan saw the greatest property damage it had experienced since World War II.  Yuzu measures his life as before the quake and after it.  He saw so much suffering and for a while he himself was haunted with guilt, feeling that by pursuing his skating, which took him around the world and well away from Japan, that he was somehow not doing his part in helping Japan recover.  Particularly when he moved his training to Toronto the issue became much more intense.  He was able finally to reconcile his guilt feelings when he learned that what he was accomplishing as a skater was helping the morale of those who were still suffering from the after-effects of the disaster. 

 

Because of how he has selflessly put himself out to do what he can to aid in the recovery Yuzu's position in Japan is much different than what one normally expects of famous athletes.  In many respects Yuzu is seen as a national hero who just happens to be a world-class figure skater.  That aspect of his stature is not particularly visible to those outside of Japan, but the one thing that is is that Yuzu, by feeling so strongly about those who suffered from the quake, has also made him sensitive to those whose personal trials are not the stuff of newspaper headlines.  Brian is one example.  I wonder how many more there are?  There must be many but I doubt Yuzu would be willing to list them.  For him the greatest acts of kindness are those that are done outside the spotlight.  

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4Nessie SEIMEI 2.0

4Nessie

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, MajaHled said:

So I just bought the book on impulse even though my Japanese skill is almost nonexistent, which means I'll be decoding it for quite a while, but I regret nothing :hachimaki:

 

Please, where did you get it?

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SparkleSalad StSq4

SparkleSalad

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, 4Nessie said:

 

So your Japanese is actually good enough, you are able to be successfully shopping there... Mine is not. :xD:

 

You can find the ebook on Amazon Japan as well. I only downloaded a sample but it seems you can make use of the kindle Japanese-English dictionary while reading which is very handy.

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LadySnowblood Baby Swan

LadySnowblood

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, sweetwater said:

 

The last part of the summary shared on twitter is a bit different from what Brian wrote.

The part in boldface is not what Yuzu actually said but what Brian felt that it was Yuzu's message. And Brian decided to go through anything with Yuzu until Olympics not knowing how tough the actual Olympic season for them would be.

I bought a copy of this book several hours ago and can't wait to read it reading other fans' impressions. Not like Aoi Honoo, this book must have an English manuscript since Brian is the author. Hope Kodansha (publisher) considers publishing the English version too.

I would love to read Brian's words... Seems like it could sell well in Japan as an English-learning title, with both languages side by side. I think the first time I read Norwegian Wood was in an edition like that. Maybe if it's popular enough!

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