[2025.07.30] Sendai Boradcasting Article Series on Figure Skating in Sendai & Yuzuru's contribution

[Wintek]

***Machine Transllation, inaccuracies exist***

 

2025.07.30

 

Source: https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/909191 

Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20250730005108/https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/909191 

 

Young Yuzuru Hanyu: “What’s going to happen to my skating now?”

The Crisis and Revival of the ‘Figure Skating Kingdom’ – The Story of Ice in Sendai

 

Sendai Broadcasting
Wednesday, July 30, 2025 – 7:00 AM

 

The untold struggles and bonds at Yuzuru Hanyu’s “starting point”

 

When you hear “figure skating,” many people immediately think of Yuzuru Hanyu. But in Hanyu’s hometown of Sendai, Miyagi, there is a far longer story of skating.

 

Sendai, often called the birthplace of figure skating in Japan, once flourished so much it was even dubbed a “kingdom.” Then it faced a crisis. And even now, its future rests on the memory and passion of those determined to keep its legacy alive.

 

Spoiler

The birthplace of figure skating – Memories etched in Sendai

 

Kawauchi, Aoba Ward, Sendai City.
There lies “Goshikinuma,” a quiet pond that was once the northern moat of Sendai Castle’s third bailey, and it is considered the very starting point of figure skating in Japan.

 

In the Meiji era, around 1890, foreign residents in Sendai began skating on the ice there. By 1909, students of the former Second High School (now Tohoku University) learned the basics of figure skating from a German teacher. From there, skating culture spread across the country.

 

From Miyagi to the world – A dream realized at the Nagano Olympics

About 90 years later, in 1998, a long-held dream for Miyagi became reality.

 

At the Nagano Winter Olympics, four skaters from Tohoku High School—including Shizuka Arakawa—were selected to represent Japan.

 

Local youths, raised in their hometown, stepping onto the world stage. It was the first time the dream of “from Miyagi to the world” truly took shape.

 

At that time, Miyagi had several skating rinks, and training conditions were relatively good. Children could skate locally and dream of soaring from their hometown to the global stage.

 

A wave of rink closures – The fall of the “Figure Skating Kingdom”

 

But then, the skating world in Miyagi was struck by harsh reality.

 

One by one, rinks closed down. In 2004, the “Konami Sports Club Izumi Skating Rink” in Sendai’s Izumi Ward—where both Shizuka Arakawa and Yuzuru Hanyu had trained—was shut down. (It would later reopen as “Ice Rink Sendai.”) In 2009, the “Katsuyama Skating Rink” in Aoba Ward also closed its doors.

 

In just a few years, the multiple rinks once found across Miyagi rapidly dwindled. Along with them, the number of competitive skaters in the prefecture was cut in half within six years from 2003.

 

Some athletes even left Miyagi to find training environments elsewhere. The very foundation of “Figure Skating Kingdom Miyagi” was crumbling.

Amid this crisis, there was one boy who continued to skate. That boy would one day thrill the entire world, Yuzuru Hanyu.

 

The despair and the light of hope seen by young Yuzuru Hanyu

 

Yuzuru started skating at the age of four. But just as he began competing seriously and qualifying for national competitions, the rink where he had been training suddenly closed down.

 

“I remember thinking, ‘What’s going to happen to my skating from now on…?’”

 

Eleven-year-old Yuzuru said this in an interview with Sendai Broadcasting. He was a young boy on the verge of losing his path, until the passion of the adults working to reopen the rink gave him hope.

 

The “unconventional civil servant” and the private sector that brought the rink back

 

Behind the reopening of the rink stood one man: a Miyagi prefectural government employee named Shuichi Shishido.

 

Shishido had originally worked in departments unrelated to sports, such as civil engineering. But a year after the rink closure, he was transferred to the Sports Promotion Division.

 

He later recalled that then-Governor Murai encouraged him with the words:

 

“Give it everything you’ve got, even if it’s your last job.”

 

At first, Shishido knew almost nothing about skating—not even the difference between a short program and a free skate. But moved by the petition drive started by children desperate to bring the rink back, he decided to act.

 

He sought collaboration with the private sector and directly approached “Kato Shokai,” a Tokyo-based company with experience in running rinks. At first, then–Executive Director Matsuhiko Kato had planned to turn him down, believing:

 

“There’s no way this could be financially sustainable.”

 

But Kato recalled later:

 

“And yet, the way he spoke about the rink—with such passion—really struck me.”

 

Reopening the rink required ¥150 million in initial costs and ¥70 million annually for operations. But the passion of “creating the next Shizuka Arakawa” and “giving the children hope” ultimately convinced the company.

 

In 2007, two years after its closure, Ice Rink Sendai reopened. The boards around the rink were lined with advertisements from local businesses, a symbol of the community’s shared dream.

 

Gratitude carried by a medal – Yuzuru keeps the flame alive

 

Among those who returned to skate on the reopened rink was a sixth-grader named Yuzuru Hanyu.

 

Eight years later, he would go on to win Japan’s first-ever Olympic gold medal in men’s figure skating at the Sochi Olympics. When he returned home in triumph, he placed his gold medal around the neck of one man, Shuichi Shishido.

 

“Thank you very much,” Yuzuru said.

 

Shishido was speechless. The rink that once seemed impossible to revive had given birth to a champion, and that same boy now stood before him, fulfilling a dream they had once fought for together.

 

Shishido later reflected:

 

“To open a path, you have to start walking first. This rink exists because everyone came together.” Those words said it all.

The Ina Bauer – A gesture of gratitude from Yuzuru

 

Since then, Yuzuru has always included an “Ina Bauer” in his programs. It’s not a move that directly earns points. But he has said that for him, it’s a message of gratitude—to the rink and to the people who supported it.

 

Born in Sendai, raised on its ice, and nurtured by its history. The story of figure skating in Sendai is the story of countless people who fought to protect the rink, and of skaters who carried their dreams forward.

 

And even now, the flame they lit continues to shine quietly, but unmistakably, on the “ice where it all began.”

 

[Wintek]

***Machine Translation, inaccuracies exist***

[2025.07.31]

Source: https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/909952?display=full

Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20250731000213/https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/909952?display=full

“The Day Prayers Turned to Ice” – How Yuzuru Hanyu’s Wish Led to the Birth of a New Skating Rink in Sendai
Sendai Broadcasting
Thursday, July 31, 2025 – 7:00 AM

 

A Quiet Warning Echoing Through the “Sacred Ground”

 

Yuzuru Hanyu. Shizuka Arakawa. The two skaters who reached the top of the world were both raised in Miyagi, long called the “sacred ground of figure skating.” But in recent years, even this “sacred ground” faced a crisis of decline in competitive strength.

 

The root cause lay in the overwhelming burden placed on just one rink. “Ice Rink Sendai,” a privately operated facility in Sendai’s Izumi Ward, had been the only year-round skating rink in Miyagi. After its predecessor was forced to close due to financial problems, the rink was revived through a public–private partnership and for many years served everyone from young beginners to top skaters.

Spoiler

However, in the summer of 2023, an abnormal situation struck: the rink was forced to suspend public operations for three months due to a double blow of an aging refrigeration system and skyrocketing utility costs. For private rental sessions that continued, practice had to be done early in the morning; the ice was then covered with sheets during the day to prevent melting, and at night it was frozen again. It was skating on a knife’s edge.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu Supporting His “Origin”

 

In July of that year, Yuzuru Hanyu announced a donation of 55.88 million yen to the rink’s operating company. Together with his previous donations, the total reached 87.33 million yen.

 

This rink was Hanyu’s “origin,” the place where he first started skating, where he chased after Arakawa’s back, and where he continued to train even after the Great East Japan Earthquake. That’s why Hanyu, with few words but clear action, sought to protect its existence.

 

Yet, the crisis revealed structural problems: Miyagi had only this one year-round rink. With all competitive groups concentrated there, training hours became limited to early mornings or late nights, and rental fees were high. Compared to other prefectures, this disparity made it difficult to nurture talent.

 

In fact, Chiba Mone, who won bronze at the 2023 Four Continents Championships, relocated from Miyagi to Kyoto in search of a larger training rink.
Sendai—the birthplace of Japanese figure skating—was starting to become merely a “passing point” for talent.

 

Years of Stagnation Behind Administrative Walls

 

For years, the Miyagi Skating Federation had requested that the prefecture and Sendai City build a publicly operated rink. But the response from local government remained cautious.

 

When Ice Rink Sendai was reopened in 2007, both the prefecture and city contributed 50 million yen each. Since then, the stance of the authorities had been: “Whether citizens will accept investing another large sum of public money is unclear.”

 

Still, voices of urgency persisted: “If things stay like this, no one will grow.” In a region where 17,000 signatures had once been gathered to revive the rink, there remained a deep memory of “not giving up.”

 

A New Light – Public-Private Collaboration as the Breakthrough

 

The deadlock was broken in November 2023 with a major announcement: Sendai City and Xebio Holdings would collaborate to renovate Xebio Arena Sendai (in Taihaku Ward) into a year-round skating rink.

 

The rink would meet international standards (30m x 60m), enabling international competitions and ice shows. Its adjustable insulated floor would also allow the facility to host basketball games and concerts, creating a truly multi-purpose arena.

 

The project adopted a “donation with conditions” model: Xebio HD would fund the renovation, then donate the completed facility to the city while retaining operational rights for a fixed period. In exchange, the city would pay up to 350 million yen annually as a management fee. Over 20 years, this would total roughly 7 billion yen, significantly cheaper than building a new public facility from scratch.

 

Hanyu’s Prayer Entrusted to the “Next Generation”

 

On the day of the announcement, Yuzuru Hanyu shared a video message for the signing ceremony, speaking quietly:

 

“I am truly happy, as one skater 「一人のスケーターとして」, to see such a big step forward taken toward the realization of a new skating rink.”

 

“Sendai is known as the birthplace of figure skating in Japan, and many skaters have been raised here. But the training environment remains extremely harsh.”

 

“I hope that this initiative will help even one more (person) in this city dream of becoming a figure skater, just as I once did.”

 

“I hope that many new talents will gather in this city, grow here, and spread the appeal of figure skating with the world. That is my wish.”

 

“I would like to express my gratitude to Xebio HD and Sendai City for creating this new opportunity, and I would like to ask for the understanding and cooperation of many citizens so that this can be realized as soon as possible.”

 

Hanyu knows better than anyone how difficult it is to “dream in this city.” That is precisely why he is determined to create a “spark” to overcome those difficulties with his own hands.

 

Reviving a “Place Where Dreams Come True”

 

When Hanyu was a child, the back he chased was Shizuka Arakawa’s. And now, children who admire Hanyu’s skating will be the ones to knock on the next door.

 

When Hanyu was an elementary school student, he once said in a TV interview:

 

“Olympics. Win.”

 

Those words became reality. And now, they have become someone else’s dream.

 

Now, another stage for dreams is about to be born in “sacred ground” Sendai. And on that new ice, someone else will surely speak their dream aloud.