Team Japan

[Rainbow]

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.

[Rainbow]

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).

[Rainbow]

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).

[Rainbow]

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.

[Rainbow]

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).

[Rainbow]

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.

[golden]

@Rainbow thank you so much!  

[ralucutzagy]

 

[LadySnowblood]

4 hours ago, Rainbow said:

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.

Many thanks, this has been a joy to read. Go Sota!!

[ralucutzagy]

[ralucutzagy]

 

[ralucutzagy]

 

[surimi]

8 hours ago, Rainbow said:

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 helped me go up the front entrance.  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.

 

Many thanks for your translations, Rainbow!  I'll repost them in Sota's fanfest again if it's OK with you. Poor boy, the ankle is apparently not 100% healthy yet since he only says it's not getting worse. I do hope he doesn't add quads yet, then. What a strange question of Kenji to ask if he remembers breaking his ankle, huh. Who wouldn't?

I cannot wait to see next week's episode about his new programs!

 

ETA: can you please also translate two bits from the beginning of the interview that didn't make it to the written transcript? The first one is Kenji asking Sota what his favorite sport is and Sota says skating and they elaborate a bit, and the other one is after Sota assures Kenji he's cool: it's a question about travelling in a time machine and Sota says he'd want to see dinosaurs because he liked them when he was little... at least I think so...? It's in the video which is on dailymotion, plus I found it mentioned in a fan blog.

[Rainbow]

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

[Rainbow]

15 hours ago, surimi said:

 

Many thanks for your translations, Rainbow!  I'll repost them in Sota's fanfest again if it's OK with you. Poor boy, the ankle is apparently not 100% healthy yet since he only says it's not getting worse. I do hope he doesn't add quads yet, then. What a strange question of Kenji to ask if he remembers breaking his ankle, huh. Who wouldn't?

I cannot wait to see next week's episode about his new programs!

 

ETA: can you please also translate two bits from the beginning of the interview that didn't make it to the written transcript? The first one is Kenji asking Sota what his favorite sport is and Sota says skating and they elaborate a bit, and the other one is after Sota assures Kenji he's cool: it's a question about travelling in a time machine and Sota says he'd want to see dinosaurs because he liked them when he was little... at least I think so...? It's in the video which is on dailymotion, plus I found it mentioned in a fan blog.

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.