[2026] Notte Stellata 2026 + 15th Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake

[yuzurujenn]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.03.08

Source: https://mainichi.jp/articles/20260308/k00/00m/050/060000c

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20260308033340/https://mainichi.jp/articles/20260308/k00/00m/050/060000c

 

<Explained in 1 minute> Yuzuru Hanyu performs a dance of "hope" in disaster-stricken Miyagi Prefecture

 

　Yuzuru Hanyu (31), a professional figure skater who won two consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's figure skating, is the director of "Yuzuru Hanyu notte stellata 2026," an ice show broadcasting from the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, which is being held in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture. This time, we will explain "notte stellata 2026" so that you can read it in one minute.

 

Spoiler

Q: What is the meaning behind the show's name?

The name of the show is Italian and means "starry sky" or "starry night."

 

Q: Why was this name chosen?

A: Hanyu, who is from Sendai City, was given this name because he felt hope when he saw the starry sky at an evacuation center on the night of March 11, 2011, when the earthquake struck.

Q: What are the distinguishing features of this year's show?

A This year marks 15 years since the earthquake. A new program created in collaboration with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra by Hanyu was also unveiled.

 

Q: How long will the show run?

The show will be held for three days until the 9th at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture.

 

Q: What did Hanyu say?

A. Hanyu said, "Now that 15 years have passed, I want to create a performance where everyone can feel a sense of 'connection' and 'bond'."

 

 

 

Source: https://www.daily.co.jp/en/general/2026/03/08/0020099598.shtml

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20260319081003/https://www.daily.co.jp/en/general/2026/03/08/0020099598.shtml

 

Yuzuru Hanyu performs a dance of hope in the 15th year of reconstruction, performing with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra "with all his heart and skill"

 

The ice show "Hanyu Yuzuru Notte Stellata," hosted by Yuzuru Hanyu (31), a professional skater from Sendai City who won two consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's figure skating, opened on the 7th at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture. 

 

Spoiler

With 11 days marking the 15th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which he himself was affected by, he performed with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, a mixed orchestra made up of members ranging from elementary school students to university students from Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima, in front of an audience of approximately 6,500 people, expressing his hopes for recovery. This is the fourth consecutive year that the ice show has been held. Performances will continue until the 9th.

Towards recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. He danced smoothly, blending with the music played by the orchestra. "I was so nervous I was shaking, but I was able to put my heart and skill into my skating," he said. Hanyu's performance has once again given people hope this year.

 

The performance was a collaboration with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, which was formed in response to a call from the late musician Ryuichi Sakamoto immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011. Sakamoto composed "Happy End," which he choreographed himself. He said that the performance expressed the pain he felt from the damage caused by the disaster, but added, "Ultimately, I created a program that would make people think there's always a next time."

 

In "Yae no Sakura," he used his entire body to represent the powerfully blooming cherry blossoms. "I created this with the image of placing memories one by one, as if I had left something behind in the tracks of everyone's lives." Fans were captivated by Hanyu's characteristically graceful skating, which was imbued with a prayer for the souls of the dead.

 

It will soon be 15 years since then. "I was 16 years old at the time. I felt that I had to do my best to convey this message. Even though I was young, I felt like I had a mission." This year too, he placed his wishes under the starry sky.

 

◆ Programs that Hanyu skated to

1. Notte Stellata

2. Happy End

(Yuzuru Hanyu x Tohoku Youth Orchestra)

3. Yae no Sakura

(Yuzuru Hanyu x Tohoku Youth Orchestra)

 

 

 

Source: https://the-ans.jp/news/650804/

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20260319081134/https://the-ans.jp/news/650804/

 

“A glimpse in the background… a newly released latest shot of Yuzuru Hanyu — "Amazing!" Reactions pour in to the renowned choreographer.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu, who achieved consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's figure skating at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Games, kicked off his ice show "notte stellata" on the 7th at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture. His renowned choreographer updated his Instagram on the 8th, sharing the latest photos of Hanyu.

 

Spoiler

David Wilson updated his Instagram

　Yuzuru Hanyu, who achieved consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's figure skating at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 Pyeongchang Games, kicked off his ice show "notte stellata" on the 7th at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Rifu Town, Miyagi Prefecture. His renowned choreographer updated his Instagram on the 8th, sharing the latest photos of Hanyu.

 

　He smiled behind me.

 

　"Notte Stellata," which is being held for the fourth consecutive year, will feature performances until the 9th, with a star-studded lineup including Yuzuru Hanyu, Javier Fernandez, Jason Brown, and Satoko Miyahara.

 

　Choreographer David Wilson, known for his successful collaboration with Hanyu, also visited Japan and updated his Instagram on the 8th. He wrote, "The last practice with the unbelievably wonderful Tohoku Youth Orchestra!! It was great collaborating with them," and posted a selfie of the group photo taken after the practice. Hanyu is also smiling behind Wilson. Comments included "Thanks for sharing, David," and "The event symbolizes the tradition of the Olympic flame. It's amazing."

 

　Furthermore, the show featured the Tohoku Youth Orchestra as a special guest, and members of the orchestra were also pictured.

 

[yuzurujenn]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.03.08

Source: https://www.ninomiyasports.com/archives/136654

Archived: 

 

"There's more after the performance ends" - Yuzuru Hanyu entrusts a Happy End to the audience ~notte stellata 2026~

 

The opening-day performance (audience: 6,500) of the ice show “Towa Pharmaceutical presents Yuzuru Hanyu notte stellata 2026” was held on the 7th at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena (Grandi 21) in Miyagi Prefecture. This ice show is structured in two parts, the first half and the second half, with an intermission in between. Professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who serves as the lead performer, collaborated twice with the special guest, the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, once at the end of the first half and again toward the end of the second half. He delivered a grand performance combining skating and orchestra to the audience, as well as to viewers watching via live viewing and streaming. “notte stellata 2026” will also be held at the same arena on the 8th and 9th.

 

Spoiler

“notte stellata,” which began in 2023 and is now in its fourth edition, has as its concept the idea of sending out hope from Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, one of the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred on March 11, 2011. Every year, this ice show features collaborations between special guests and skaters.

 

This year’s special guest is the Tohoku Youth Orchestra. This orchestra was founded in 2014, stemming from the "Children's Music Revival Fund" project, initiated by world-renowned musician Ryuichi Sakamoto to inspect and repair musical instruments in schools damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake. Now in its 11th year, it is a mixed orchestra of about 90 members ranging from elementary school students to university students. Their mission statements include ideas such as “Music can draw out the will to live” and “From being supported to supporting others.” Fifty members are participating in this ice show.

 

Hanyu spent time improving his performance during what he called a "maintenance period" starting in August 2025. This marked his return to the ice in public after about six months.

 

At the end of the first half, the first collaboration between Hanyu and the Tohoku Youth Orchestra was presented. The piece was “Happy End,” composed by Sakamoto. This piece is characterized by the main melody being passed from woodwind instruments to string instruments, piano, and brass instruments.

 

“Happy End” was choreographed by Hanyu himself. The performance began with him lying on his back in a spread-eagle position at the center of the rink. As the orchestra began to play, Hanyu expressed an inability to get up despite trying, appearing as if in pain. During the piece, he raised his hands into the air as if wanting to emerge from a dark hole to the surface.

 

Accompanied by the Tohoku Youth Orchestra's poignant and even frantic melodies, Hanyu writhed on the ice, continuously expressing his suffering. When the music abruptly ended, Hanyu, still struggling, collapsed onto the ice, concluding his performance, as if leaving room for the audience's imagination.

 

The audience was overwhelmed by the live performance and Hanyu’s skating, which was close to contemporary dance. Normally, everyone would give a standing ovation, but such was the impact of the performance that some audience members even forgot to stand.

 

After the opening-day performance ended, Yuzuru Hanyu said that in the program “Happy End,” he wanted to express “a really painful feeling,” and continued:

 

“This time, it’s like my own body is being eaten away, and of course, since it’s a piece by Ryuichi Sakamoto, I’ve heard that when he first wrote this piece, he himself had long been suffering from illness. In the disaster-affected areas of Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City as well, recovery is certainly progressing little by little, but scars remain. When I myself skate at Ice Rink Sendai, I feel things like the scars left on the walls, or damage that has been repaired but is still visible, little by little. While being worn down by those things, I am suffering, but in the end, I accept that all those scars are also part of myself. I tried to make it a program where, after the performance ends, you can feel that there is something next.”

 

Rather than showing a happy ending, Hanyu and the Tohoku Youth Orchestra presented the raw process of reaching a “happy end.” A “happy end” may be something desired by those who are currently suffering. Rather than something brought by others, it may be something one grasps with one’s own hands, or creates, while gritting one’s teeth and accepting the pain.

 

“After the performance ends, there is something next”—Hanyu and the Tohoku Youth Orchestra entrusted the conclusion of the story to the audience.

[Wintek]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.03.19

 

Source: https://deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp/feature/hanyu-3-11-interview/

Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20260319053025/https://deepedgeplus.kyodonews.jp/feature/hanyu-3-11-interview/ 

 

DeepEdge Plus

Yuzuru Hanyu’s thoughts on the 15th year since the Great East Japan Earthquake:
“I will continue to convey it 5 years, 10 years into the future.”

Fifteen years have passed since the occurrence of the Great East Japan Earthquake. On March 10, Yuzuru Hanyu (31), a two-time consecutive Winter Olympic champion in men’s figure skating, responded to a Kyodo News interview in his hometown of Sendai and spoke of his resolve:
“It is necessary to keep preparing for disasters that may happen again at any time. As someone who experienced ‘3.11,’ I want to continue sending out messages 5 years from now and 10 years from now so that it can be connected to disaster-damage reduction.”

Spoiler

The full interview is as follows.

“The time when I only felt sadness has become less.”

— Fifteen years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake.

“I really feel that all sorts of things have happened. For me, these 15 years included three Olympics, and within those three Olympics there were each four-year periods, and within those four years there are, after all, truly all kinds of memories day by day. Of course, when I think about reconstruction and about how to stay close to pain, I do think that every single day of these 15 years has been something precious, but when I feel it anew, there is also the feeling that 15 years have already passed, and really, it’s many different feelings.”

— You have continued to face the disaster for half of your life. Have your feelings changed?

“I feel that the time that was just about being sad has become less. Of course there are still times when I think, it’s sad, and when I face it I remember various things, but there’s no mistake that we are moving forward, and time moves forward equally for everyone, so while entrusting myself to that flow of time, I also want to properly turn my eyes toward the town that is moving forward step by step, and toward our hearts as well, and live on.”

“Even if I cannot be close to everyone.”

— Looking back again, what is the Great East Japan Earthquake to you?

“I think it would have been better if it hadn’t happened. It doesn’t go beyond that. Of course, because that happened, it’s true that I learned many things and lived while feeling many things because of it, but for me those are after-the-fact meanings. I still continue to think that it would have been better if it hadn’t happened.”

— Through words and performance, you have continued your activities as a storyteller.

“I am a figure skater. I think physical expression crosses borders, and precisely because it is not expression through words, some kind of emotion is conveyed, and because it becomes completely different depending on each culture and on each recipient, I feel it is rewarding, and I do think I am glad to be involved in figure skating.”

“However, whether it is words or skating as physical expression, just as these 15 years and the days that each person has lived are different, everyone’s feelings toward the disaster are also completely different, so while realizing that I cannot be close to everything, I always want to be gentle and kind toward each person’s feelings.”

— You have struggled with the difficulty of being close to everyone.

“There is no answer to this. I think I will change again as time goes on and as I have various experiences in the future, but as I am now, I feel that at last I have become able not to leave myself behind. Certainly, the pain of the tsunami, the pain of losing something, the pain of having the foundation of daily life or work destroyed, honestly, I myself did not experience those things, so I cannot say I completely understand. Precisely because I don’t understand, there were times when I felt I couldn’t truly be close to others. But until now I was in a phase of saying, I’m sorry, I don’t understand, but I am trying to be close. From there, little by little, I’ve begun to feel that it was okay for me to feel pain too, and to acknowledge that as someone who also experienced the disaster, I had this kind of pain as well, and while valuing the desire to be close to others, to value both sides, that’s something I feel I’ve gradually become able to do, just a little.”

“I began to re-examine emotions I didn’t want to see in myself.”

— You have spoken about living while carrying emotional wounds and trauma. When do those memories resurface?

“It’s really in sudden moments. Also, earthquakes are very frequent in Tohoku, so even if it’s a small shaking, like intensity 1 or 2, there’s the fear that it might grow bigger from here, and if the initial shaking is vertical, I feel fear. There are times when my body moves reflexively or freezes.”

— At the ice show “notte stellata” held in early March, you performed the new program “Happy End,” depicting moving forward while carrying wounds. Was there difficulty or burden in creating a program while confronting those memories?

“I’ve always expressed things that are outside of my feelings, but I hadn’t really done the kind of work of focusing on my inner side and directly connecting that to expression when I choreograph myself. Not only the disaster, but also the ways in which I myself have been hurt, well, I don’t live only through the disaster. I have my own life, and within that life there are various pains and wounds. Digging into those areas is painful, but in a sense it’s like a drastic treatment, or perhaps a form of counseling. It became an opportunity to re-examine a kind of story deep in my heart, feelings I had, feelings I had tried not to look at, and how those feelings changed from there.”

“Because it is expression without words, there are things it can do.”

— You have visited many disaster-affected areas. Did you feel that people continuing to convey their experiences contributed to disaster mitigation?

“Really, in every region. After 3.11, every region was completely different. I was born in December 1994, so regarding January 17, 1995, the Great Hanshin Earthquake, I was in Tohoku and didn’t experience that shaking, and even if it was on TV, I didn’t really understand the news and don’t remember it. But buildings built after that and changes in building standards and seismic standards have shaped the towns we live in now. In that sense, we ourselves are receiving those benefits, and what was learned from 1.17 has continued to protect our lives. I realized that again as I visited areas that experienced disasters after 3.11.”

“That’s why, as someone who experienced 3.11, I want to keep conveying it continuously, and when I think that because there was a disaster like 1.17, which should never happen again, we may be alive today, I feel gratitude to those who conveyed their experiences. And because of that, I must convey it as well. I feel that a cycle like that has formed.”

— While carrying the fear that the disaster might fade from memory.

“Rather than the fear of it fading, I honestly think there are children who don’t need to know the details of the disaster. They don’t need to experience that pain. But I want them to know that we faced problems like the nuclear accident and the tsunami, thought about many things, and reached various conclusions. While continuing to convey that, we must also keep preparing for disasters that may occur again and continue conveying things so that lives and towns that should be protected are truly protected.”

— What do you see as your role in the next 5 or 10 years?

“Recently I’ve been thinking that we must not become textbooks[1]. Textbooks aren’t something people read voluntarily. You only look at them when a teacher tells you which page to read. So we must not become just textbooks or history. We must continue to be a trigger for learning. People don’t really remember things that are just given to them. What is most important, I think, is that events and emotions become a trigger for people to feel interest, to think, and to realize that what was important to others might also be important to themselves. In that sense, physical expression, because it is expression without words, is something that can do that, and I think it may be a kind of mission.”

“I don’t want to use the word ‘milestone,’ but…”

— You took a recharge period last year and returned at “notte stellata.” What were your thoughts?

“I had the feeling that I wanted to somehow make it in time for this. I honestly don’t like to use the word milestone, but generally people feel something special about multiples of five. Because it was the 15th year, I thought it was a place where I could convey an even stronger message, so I wanted to return in time for this.”

— You often emphasize words like “hope” and “bonds.”

“My foundation hasn’t changed. Right after the disaster, I received courage and hope from many sports. I often felt like, I saw something good, I’ll do my best. The efforts of Vegalta Sendai and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles were a great source of strength for me. But I don’t think I should be in a position of giving courage. It’s not that I give something; people simply feel something. Because they have interest and concern, they are able to feel it. So while sincerely facing those who show interest, I want to keep putting out things that can become strength for those who wish to receive it, and even if it is 5 or 10 years from now, even if the form changes, if possible I want to continue for as long as I can.”

* * * *

At the end of the interview, he handed over a calligraphy board on which he wrote:

「変わらない想いと共に、前へ」
“With unchanging feelings, we move forward.”

* * * *

— Why did you choose those words?

“While valuing the fact that even after 15 years some things haven’t changed, ‘together, forward’ has been a slogan for a long time, so I want to keep continuing that without change as well.”

NOTE:

[1] 「教科書になってはいけない」, where 教科書 (kyōkasho) implies a type of book that’s official, fixed, distant from daily life.

 

[Wintek]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.03.11 

 

Source: https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/articles/-/380507

Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20260314061931/https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/articles/-/380507 

 

Tokyo Sport

Yuzuru Hanyu – The mission of connecting lives on 3.11
People like us are said to be “non-essential and non-urgent,” but…  [Exclusive Interview – First Part]

By Sota Nakanishi

More than 16,000 lives were lost, and about 2,500 people are still missing. Professional skater Yuzuru Hanyu (31), who achieved two consecutive Olympic victories in men’s figure skating, was affected by the disaster while at Tohoku High School as a first-year student, at Ice Rink Sendai, and he also experienced living in evacuation shelters. The skater who continued running as a symbol of reconstruction, what does he think now, 15 years later? In the first part of this newspaper’s two-part exclusive interview, we approach his vow as a “messenger.”

 

Spoiler

Hanyu: I have the feeling that as much as 15 years have passed, and when I think back on it, there were many dense days, and there were also many days that flowed by, so I also have the sense that 15 years really have passed.

 

— You have had more opportunities to think about the earthquake

Hanyu: Until now, if anything, I often had work where people asked, “What do you think about the ice show?” or where I conveyed the feelings and the thoughts of people at the places I visited, so I didn’t focus on my own disaster experience. But with the arrival of the milestone of 15 years, it became an opportunity to look back, and little by little I felt again that there is my own pain, the past, the days that moved forward from there, and also parts that have continued forward but haven’t changed, and that there are scars too.

— In the recent “Yuzuru Hanyu notte stellata,” your way of sending out messages about “life” and “living” was impressive

Hanyu: When I remember what happened at 3.11, and also looking at how unstable the current world situation is—during the COVID period as well—but if you put it bluntly, people like us are something that could be called non-essential and non-urgent, aren’t we? During the COVID period there were situations where the rink couldn’t be used, so it didn’t seem impossible that a future could come where skating could no longer be done. That’s exactly why I think we have to live while valuing the life we have now, the feeling of skating, and the feeling that people are able to watch skating.

— Why do you continue to be active outside the rink as well, such as serving as tourism ambassador for your hometown Sendai?

Hanyu: Because I think it’s something I can do precisely because I’m someone who has won Olympic gold medals. While visiting my alma mater or disaster-affected areas with the gold medal, I felt that just the experience of seeing the gold medal or touching it could become an opportunity for people to feel encouraged, even if only for that moment. That’s something special, and of course the messages that continue to be delivered through skating are important, but I think activities outside skating might also be an important mission.

— How do you think the Great East Japan Earthquake should be conveyed from now on?

Hanyu: Through the elementary- and junior-high-school students of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra who performed together in “notte stellata,” I felt that there are increasing numbers of children who have no memory of 3.11. It’s not about sharing painful memories with those children, but rather I hope we can continue to exist as a trigger for them to learn about and know various things related to disaster prevention and disaster-damage reduction. I think that from 3.11 we were able to learn an awareness of protecting the things that are important, and that we must learn it, so I want to connect it carefully going forward.

 

[yuzurujenn]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.03.09

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20260308-OHT1T51457.html?page=1

Archived: 

 

“Yuzuru Hanyu’s ‘straightforward words’ A soulful collaborative performance woven together.”

 

The second day of performances for the ice show “Yuzuru Hanyu notte stellata 2026,” led by professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (31), was held on the 8th at Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Miyagi. March 11 marks 15 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake.

 

 

Spoiler

In his opening remarks, Hanyu said, "Transcending language, borders, districts, and regions, even without speaking or holding hands, just as everyone has worked hard to rebuild, and continues to work hard now, we hope we each become a star and a source of hope for you, delivering our performances so that you can feel the connection and bond."

 

After the show, Hanyu called out to the audience: “How was the live performance by the Tohoku Youth Orchestra?”

A wave of applause filled the venue, and smiles bloomed across the stage. This year’s special guest was the Tohoku Youth Orchestra. Hanyu had received recorded music in advance, choreographed it himself, and practiced extensively. The first time they performed together live was the day before opening.

 

He continued passionately:
“Truly, far beyond what I had imagined, I could really feel, once we came onto this rink, how much they must have practiced since then. Performing in this cold rink, with fingers going numb and under such intense pressure, and yet delivering such a wonderful performance, I think they’ve worked incredibly, incredibly hard. It’s no small feat. They poured their souls into creating this for this stage.”

Speaking on behalf of all the skaters, he expressed his gratitude.

 

One of the new collaborative pieces with the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, founded by Ryuichi Sakamoto together with young people from areas affected by the earthquake, is “Happy End.” From rehearsals at the venue, they deepened their shared understanding of the piece.  Longing for the world, jealousy, envy, and beautiful melodies. Living while carrying wounds and pain. Accepting that as part of oneself and moving forward.  Comparing sounds and musical parts to a heartbeat, pulse, and breath, Hanyu conveyed his own interpretation in carefully chosen words, layering it with thoughts of Sakamoto.

 

Aiko Chiba (22), a second-generation member, said:
“With straightforward words, he told us things like, ‘I think this piece carries these feelings,’ and ‘this part played by this instrument feels like this kind of emotion.’”

 

Minami Suzuki (21), a first-generation member, reflected:
“Until I heard Hanyu’s interpretation, I only vaguely felt it was a piece overflowing with emotion. He spoke so much about how it’s filled with jealousy and deep, earnest feelings.”

 

 

A performance and skating that seemed to resonate with emotion. The significance of passing it on to the younger generation. This new collaboration played out a prayer in Tohoku.