[Video] 2015/12/15 Hodo Stn. Special Interview (w/I. Furutachi)

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

Whelp, let it not be said that our man Hanyu with his wise words isn't a massive motivator. Thought this would take me ages but only ended up taking me a few hours over a couple of days. There are probably some minor inaccuracies here and there but for the most part, this should be pretty much par for the course.

 

Requested by Killaa over at the Media Link Request thread. 

 

If anyone knows the exact date this was aired, please share. ^_^ (ED: Thanks kiki. Not sure how I missed that. Thanks also for correction on the program name. Dara said as much but I absentmindedly put in its nickname instead of its official one -.-;;)

 

Again, if you wish to share this elsewhere, it would be lovely if you could run it by me first. Thank you!

 

~*~

 

2015/12/15 Hodo Stn. Special Interview (w/I. Furutachi)

 

Quote

Furutachi: 

So our staff cracked their heads thinking what kind of set to welcome the one and only Yuzuru Hanyu onto and eventually came to the conclusion that hey, if he likes Pooh so much, let's give him the Hundred Acre Wood! We were aiming for the effect of Pooh suddenly appearing out of nowhere and surprising you but then you saw it right away. Nothing escapes your notice, does it?

 

Hanyu: 

Ahaha, yea...I saw him just when you all were setting him down like, "Whoop."

 

F: 

You're famed for covering every square inch of the ice so when you came in, I was all ready to distract you and usher you to your seat the moment you step in but then you just went, "Oooh I see Pooooh." That was too quick.

 

H:

I was actually pretty puzzled about the whole forest motif but the moment I saw that I was like, "Ah."

 

F:

We asked a lady director who's an expert on you, "Why Pooh?" and she told us it's a sort of anchor for you?

 

H:

I suppose you can say that. I mean, if you're looking for a straight up reason, then that one's as good as any. But if you're asking if I use him as an anchor of sorts for every and all situations, then I'll have to say that's not exactly right either. At this point, he's more like a good luck charm, really.

 

F:

He's always with you at competitions propped up at the boards and watching you from rinkside, but for times when he does act as an anchor, does seeing him give you comfort?

 

H:

More than that, I'd say he's closer to being a brother-in-arms than anything.

 

F:

Oh. Brother-in-arms. Nice.

 

I was thinking that maybe you needed within yourself the same calm and inner peace that he always seems to project, and that without it you'd fold under all the pressure so maybe he was a source of balance for you. Am I wrong?

 

H:

I have absolutely none of the chill he has, though I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Either way, he's always been with me through thick and thin.

 

F:

I see, I see. Now we all know that it's just today that you got back and we really appreciate your coming here despite how tired you must be. The reception at the airport was impressive, as usual, and amidst all the cheering, we saw you looking all shy with your head bent in perplexity as you said your hellos. How is it for you really? Are you maybe a little embarrassed about all the attention?

 

H:

I suppose there's some degree of that, and there's also the fact that I don't know how to react to all of that. I mean, these people took time out of their busy schedules and came all this way for you, so you do kind of want to repay them for that and stop to say thank you to each and every one of them, maybe shake a few hands and sign a few autographs but if you do it for one, it's also natural that others would go, "Oh! Me, too! Me, too!" So in the end, all you can do is quietly apologize. 

 

F:

And that tasteful way of declining seems to have been conveyed to everyone, which I suppose is part of the Hanyu magic especially.

 

H:

Hehe...I sure hope that's the case...hehehe....

 

F:

When you emerged in the arrival hall, you were wearing a black short-sleeved tee, those who saw will know what I'm saying, but here you are all dressed up in a suit and looking very slender and thin, and your face being so tiny magnifies the effect even more, which, all in all, is a look that's very you. In your tee, however, (some of) your muscles were in full display which just drives home the reality that, while thin, you've got a very well-defined build. Do people ever tell you that?

 

H:

(Figure skating) is the kind of sport where the femur and legs play a key role and the balance of those with the upper half of your body is equally as important, and while (this balance) varies from skater to skater, generally speaking, we're a pretty muscly lot.

 

F:

But when it comes to you, with your extremely long arms and legs, and with your performance ability which all comes out in an absolutely massive way on the ice, do you figure it's all innate talent or do we all have your ancestors to thank for all of those?

 

H:

Haha I wonder. I can't really say I have my parents in particular to thank for all these...

 

F:

No?

 

H:

Yeah...I can't exactly credit either of them for them but I probably do resemble one side more than the other.

 

F:

And which side is that?

 

H:

I think I get more from my mother's side of the family.

 

F:

I see. Well, they say that a person's name often matches their nature. In your case, it's the ability to fly like you've got feathers growing out of your back, a flexibility that rivals that of a bow's, and the plucking or quavering of a string. Have you given any thought to your name (and what it represents) at all?

 

H:

Well, I've had it since before I can remember so it's as normal as they come to me...

 

F:

So there's no strange feeling at all?

 

H:

None. But so far in all my living experience, it's during my nursery and grade school years that I got asked how my name was meant to be read a lot. Most of the time, people thought it was "Habu".

 

F:

Oh! So people used to get your name wrong a lot?

 

H:

Yeah, more times than I could count.

 

F:

I think Aoyama-san here has something she'd like to ask you.

 

A:

That's right, I do. You had a lot fans come greet you at the airport today and you're deemed by many with descriptions like "an angel descended upon earth", or "a nymph on ice" and now they've gone all the way and we now have people calling you "god-like". How does it make you feel to be likened to fantastical and mystical beings like that?

 

H:

I don't think I completely understand what those mean just yet so they haven't really sunk in. I just do my thing, I train and practice hard to bring my best into my performances, and in doing so get all nervous and work up a good amount of anxiety--all too human things, really. So I don't think I live up to being called all those things just yet.

 

A:

No way....

 

F:

Why does it sound like you're having a hard time believing all that?

 

A:

No, but the fans went all the way to label him a god so...

 

F:

It's very significant, though. Being labelled by terms such as The Champion. If it were me, I'm not sure if I'd lay all that pressure on your shoulders--well, I haven't been asked to, but if I were the one commentating, and have to keep things snappy, I'd likely be compelled to more go for something like "The Great Onmyoji of the ice with the icy-hot expression of a fierce God*", after having seen that incredible performance. I can't imagine what the weight of something like The Champion must feel like.

 

*there's a clever play on words here cos ice and face (expression) sound the same in Japanese --but since they're nowhere near each other in English, consider the wit lost in translation...I mean, I tried but it's not the same.

 

H:

Hmm, it's certainly not easy, I'll admit. From here on out, whenever I go out there to perform, my personal averages would have become 100 for the short, 200 for the long and 300 for the combined total and I become really afraid of what people might say if I ever get anything less than 300. Not to mention the fact that I would start losing confidence in how I perform so yes, I went into the GPF full of all these things in my head.

 

F:

You're all of 21 and people are wondering just how high up you'd continue to reach but going back to what you said just now, the world is indeed a fickle place. When you do exceptionally well, the mass media, us included, would hype everything up to the heavens but when you don't, it's like you no longer exist. Doing this for as long as you have, do you feel that's the case yourself?

 

H:

I suppose I do. Last season after that win at Sochi, when I wasn't able to deliver with that mishap and injuries, the whole thing was about as well-covered as that initial period when I wasn't able to deliver and the blackout afterwards was almost like a void. Although, it did allow me some room to breathe and to concentrate on practice, it also lit a fire under me to work even harder.

 

F:

It all sounds really frightening but we all know there are those out there who thrive on fear...

 

H:

*snicker*

 

F:

I heard this from a male director (who did a program that featured you) and last night he was telling me at 15, you were already able to give great interviews. What he found astounding was at such a young age, even while daunted by all the attention focused on you, and you seemed rather shy at times, you said that you love the feeling of having all eyes on you when you're on the ice. Do you remember saying that?

 

H:

Yes, I do. And that's probably one of the main reasons why I came to love skating as much as I do.

 

F:

Oh?

 

H:

I have a strong desire for people to see me (do what I do) but I admit it does get uncomfortable when everything else beyond that goes under the microscope as well, like what's been happening lately. But I'm happy for people to see me doing what I love to do, something I'm good at, and getting evaluated based on how well I do it. That's a feeling that remains unchanged even until today.

 

F:

So you're saying that by laying that feeling you have as a foundation, and having it in your self-awareness as well as always keeping it in mind, is how you've been able to face your fears?

 

H:

The fear is there and it'll always be, make no mistake about it. But I've never thought to shy away from it. I had thought long and hard about how to face this fear going into the GPF and it wasn't until after it that I realized it. That both fear and excitement, or any other positive feelings you might also be feeling besides fear, can actually coexist. And if you're able to strike a good balance between the two and bring out a performance from that balance, then that performance is only able to exist precisely because of that fear. 

 

F:

I suppose there are always two sides to everything...

 

H:

Exactly.

 

F:

When it was finally your turn as the final skater--the camera was focused on your expression then--when you entered the ice, I figured that perhaps you were already in the do-or-die mode but that moment right before you stepped onto the ice, was that when you came to terms with your fear and everything else that you might be grappling?

 

H:

Skaters whose turn is next usually have a bit of time to warm up our bodies while waiting for the scores of the previous skater to be announced and we go out when our names are called. It is during that time while waiting for our names to be called when we feel the most jittery--it's insane the amount of jitters we feel then. After being called, we have a maximum of 30 seconds to prepare, and we can start anytime within those 30 seconds but the real question is always, "So *when* should I start??" and it is in that short time that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves and feel like there's no going back.

 

F:

Can we say that what comes into mind then would essentially be both the terror and ecstasy of being chosen? I'm certain that many things must be going through your mind then.

 

H:

It was definitely a situation where there's nothing to do but to face what's coming.

 

F:

When it's finally over, like say for example, the very moment you ended your short program at the NHK, that expression you had on would look right at home on the face of a scary god. Those eyes....! Well, your look softened almost immediately after but what were you feeling at that exact moment? What exactly were you thinking then?

 

H:

The "I did it!!" feeling was very strong then. Before this competition--this is actually my second season sticking with this program--I've never once had a clean performance of it. And because there were some new elements in it and I was basically able to perform it clean on my first try, instead of showing something that was more appropriate to the music, I ended up unable to mask what I was truly feeling then, which was along the lines of "Hah! Didjall see that??!!!" Hence, that possessed look.

 

F:

So, in a manner of speaking, you *were* taken over. 

 

H:

Lol! I suppose so, yeah.

 

F:

We humans are contradictory creatures and it's when we see both contradicting sides staring us in our faces like that that we get really surprised. Strangely enough, we didn't see hide nor hair of that possessed look in Anan...

 

H:

Lolololol!

 

A:

And it was a very special feature, too...

 

H:

Yeah...

 

F:

There were very many shots of you on those glossy pages. When those cameras were snapping away, it's completely different from the usual when you normally have your pictures taken in sports-related events. This time you have the cameraman going, "Do this!" or "Do that!" or "That's it! That natural pose right there is the money shot!!" Frankly, isn't it unnerving when dealing with cameramen like these?

 

H:

You can't really tell when or where the camera's going to be clicking and when they tell you to just "act natural", there's really nothing harder in the world than doing just that (when you know you've got a camera focused on you). It was a tough gig.

 

F:

Although we've only heard good things about that photoshoot...

 

H:

But the truth is, everyone working on that shoot were all very gracious and made it in an environment where even an athlete like me (with zero modeling experience) could somehow relax in. 

 

F:

Ah, but that obliging and nice guy nature of yours deserves a lot of credit as well. You always go above and beyond to make others around you happy, like earlier at the press conference, for example, when you made it so that everybody, even the cameras at the back, were able to take some good shots. And then there's the thing with the voice recorders.  It was as though you were chairing the whole thing! Can you really not help but notice all the details?

 

H:

In some ways. There wasn't a lot of time allotted and I wanted my words to reach as many people as possible so anything I can do to help to make it go smoother...I mean, I was there and that's another set of hands. Doesn't matter what the job is or who's doing it as long as it gets done, right?

 

F:

I find it absolutely amazing how you're able to take in so many things and process them within you to in the end produce such great results. People surely had high expectations of you but to exceed even those and set a new WR with jaw-dropping scores like those...well, on the flip side, there's the concern that's partly worry and partly skeptical and I've heard people asking, "Can that young man even last until the next Olympics?" This may come off as rude but people are now worried if you'd be able to hold out until PyeongChang, what with your motivation having reached the height it's at now. What's your take on this?

 

H:

As far as scores go--there are still two-ish seasons before PC--they tend to change each year. So rather than harp on my scores, with the amendments made each year, you can't quite compare the scores of one season to another. I may have been awarded these scores this time but more than that, is how I'm able to present my performance. I still don't feel as though I've reached the limits of what I'm able to offer so motivation-wise, I'm still pretty pumped up. I can do better than this. I can still give more than this. So it'd be great if I'm allowed to keep chasing my limits.

 

F:

I've had this thought at first that, with how far you've set yourself apart from others, you'll find yourself out of rivals to keep your competitive spirit alive, and that has to be the toughest thing...but thinking better on it, the more likely scenario would be you'd have more skaters coming out of the woodwork, including those from Korea, chasing you down to surpass you. Does that worry you at all?

 

H:

Well, there's already Javier Fernandez, whom I share a coach with, and then there's Shoma Uno who's already scored a bronze (in his first senior season). There are so many high caliber skaters on local soil alone, any one of them could surpass these scores if they put out clean performances. All these actually motivate me to work harder and to take a good, long look at myself in order to grow even stronger.

 

F:

Amazing. You leave no room for nitpicking, right from your thinking to your speech and conduct. (To the lady sitting next to him) He's always had a more friendly rapport with Shuzo Matsuoka since he knows him better and I'm someone he's a lot less familiar with so I expected to at least see some cracks but zilch. Zip. De nada. I was prepared to give him a hard time if I spotted any but he was absolutely pitch perfect and left me with zero opportunities, (back to YH) so hats off to you, young man. Here, please take this Pooh home with you. 

 

H:

Oh right, we share a birthday!

 

F:

That's right, mine falls on December 7th as well. 

 

H:

Yep! The same!

 

F:

But why do you even know that???

 

H:

Happy birthday! ^__^

 

F:

There's a 40-year gap between us but here you go. Happy belated birthday to you, as well! 

 

H:

Thank you so much!

 

F:

Please take this home with you. Thank you very much for today!

 

H:

Thank you! (x infinity)

 

F:

Whoa, would you look at all these faces? I think I'm seeing some I don't normally see here...

 

Someone:

Whoa...

 

Pooh:

Bye~nfu! ❤

 

-FIN-

[swanbeau]

Thank you so much for the translation! I love how yuzuru answer questions in interview like this.

[steemsprite]

Wow, we finally have a translation for the Pooh Forest Interview! Thank you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ for translating this for us, and so fast too.

F:

Amazing. You leave no room for nitpicking, right from your thinking to your speech and conduct. [...] I was prepared to give him a hard time if I spotted any but he was absolutely pitch perfect and left me with zero opportunities, so hats off to you, young man. Here, please take this Pooh home with you. 

I think the interviewer put it very well here, and it's nice to see this quality of Yuzuru being recognized so openly (right in front of him too, so we get to see his reaction).

 

And the humbleness of "Doesn't matter what the job is or who's doing it as long as it gets done, right?" is a throwback to so many times fixing the ice and tidying after press conferences and whatnot, but hearing it from his own mouth you can tell from the tone of his voice that he genuinely thinks that way and does all those things naturally. Indeed, :clap: for Habu-san!

[kiki]

Whelp, let it not be said that our man Hanyu with his wise words isn't a massive motivator. Thought this would take me ages but only ended up taking me a few hours over a couple of days. There are probably some minor inaccuracies here and there but for the most part, this should be pretty much par for the course.

 

Taken from this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCRCKCSIWEQ, translation requested by Killaa over at the Media Link Request thread. 

 

If anyone knows the exact date this was aired, please share. ^_^

Again, if you wish to share this elsewhere, it would be lovely if you could run it by me first. Thank you!

I would imagine that the day it aired is 20151215 = December 15th, 2015. :s_wink

 

:bow: Thank you! Your translations are amazing. Yuzuru is just so deep, smart & lovely! :love:

 

PS: It is not Hodokyo. It is Houdou Station. :s_smile

[marlet]

Thank you so much for the translations :love: as always amazed by his answers :pbow:

[Killaa]

Oh my, I'm so out of the loop I almost missed your translation! Thank you so much for this! Finally I can understand the mysterious pooh forest interview. I have no idea that the interview is this deep, but well it's always is with Yuzuru Hanyu 

Again thank you so much for translating this and your hardwork!

Here's some virtual flowers and pooh  for you... 

[Altie]

What a wonderful translation !

Thank you so much :)

[Murieleirum]

Thank you INFINITELY for this translation! Also, I have a question:

"I have absolutely none of the chill he has," <--- Could I quote you on that one line? It's hilarious 

[zunho01ukgel]

Thank you for this. 👏👏👏👏

[Saya]

Thank you so much! You're a hero

[¯\_(ツ)_/¯]

On 2017/5/18 at 午後5時7分, Murieleirum said:

Thank you INFINITELY for this translation! Also, I have a question:

"I have absolutely none of the chill he has," <--- Could I quote you on that one line? It's hilarious 

Sure. Just credit the quote directly to the speaker. No need to mention me at all, since I wasn't the one who said it, lol.

[Pammi]

Fantastic interview and translation thank you, the questions were intelligent and appropriately probing, and the answers by Yuzuru were so interesting, wise and mature for such a young man, very impressive and I really enjoyed reading it! 

[lazuliblade]

Putting this here since the original video is gone.

The Dailymotion version is linked in the video compilation thread, but for completeness' sake, I'll put the link here too: