[2026.02.03] "Hane" Photobook (Toru Yaguchi)

[Wintek]

『羽生結弦 写真集「羽」』("Yuzuru Hanyu Photobook 'Feather'")

Publication date: February 3rd, 2026

Photographer: Toru Yaguchi

Pages: 160

Publisher: Fusosha

Format: printed (regular and special editions with different covers) and digital (e-magazine with special cover).

Regular and Special Editions, they includes a QR code to watch a making of video, which is different for each edition. The digital edition's making of video is the same as the regular edition.

 

[Wintek]

By Toru Yaguchi

Machine translation, inaccuracies exist

Hanyu is moving forward
At a speed that is not easy to catch up with

In the white cyclorama studio in Sendai—so large that the heating could not fully reach every corner—the winter night air of the northern country still lingered. It was December 2023. I carried out a studio portrait shoot with Hanyu for the first time. I still remember that moment clearly. A black shirt, black pants, and bare feet. Standing in the position I indicated, Hanyu lightly stretched and repeatedly made springing, bouncing movements. His motions were soft and buoyant, as if he had wings, yet his downward gaze and expression were sharp. He reminded me of a small tiger. There was a tension there that was clearly different from any subject I had faced before.

Suddenly, Hanyu stopped moving, looked straight at me, and asked, “How do you want to shoot this?” I told him, “I want to photograph something that isn’t just the material itself.”[1] Hanyu showed a face as if thinking for just a moment, then quietly replied, “You mean, show my unguarded self?” Putting it into words felt somehow off. Keeping that sensation, I gave a vague reply, and we began the shoot.

The lighting was a single light: a 150-centimeter octabox placed at front-top. No matter which way Hanyu faced, no matter how largely he moved, it softly illuminated his entire body. I didn’t want to restrict his free expression any more than necessary. Following the structure I had planned in advance, I pressed the shutter in complete absorption. Movements from past programs I had seen, jumps, fleeting expressions in passing moments. When the roughly 20-minute shoot ended, Hanyu naturally extended his right hand toward me. At the moment we shook hands, I could see sweat beading on his forehead. “That was tiring,” he said, smiling. That was his answer to my request.

There are things that spill away the moment one tries to explain the heart. Language organizes things and gives them form, but the heart is far vaguer and softer, closer to being unfinished. Hanyu’s skating, and the words he chooses, are always like that. Because they are offered softly without defining their contours[2], his expressions sink deeply into the hearts of those who receive them. There was a time we talked about “Danny Boy,” which he performed in an ice show. When I told him, “I felt like I could watch it forever,” Hanyu paused slightly and replied only, “I think I’ve become able to stay close to people’s hearts.” No reasons, no background were explained. And yet, when I heard those words, it somehow made sense to me, why his expression had grown this deep. 

Through the connections of many people, over the past two years I was fortunate enough to have several opportunities to photograph Hanyu. What I felt during that time was that, little by little, he was trying to understand me.

“Which side is the main light?” “Lighting is amazing, isn’t it?” “When the outfit is black, how should the background be?”

During breaks in shooting, he began to naturally ask things like this. He wasn’t simply standing there as the one being photographed; I could feel that he was interested in what we were doing, and was trying to think together about how the work could become better. Behind that attitude, there was a quiet respect toward others who stand in different positions.

When you take photographs, many things are conveyed without words being exchanged: how the other person felt standing there, what kind of distance the two of you shared while facing each other. When you look back at the photos after the shoot, even the relationship at that moment, even the air flowing through that space, is clearly captured within them. Several years have passed since he turned professional. Each time we spent more time facing each other, one thing came through unmistakably: Hanyu was moving toward a place different from before. 

As I photographed him, there were moments when I was honest with myself. Was I unable to keep up with the speed at which he was moving? When you photograph someone, you come to vaguely understand them. But at the same time, the person being photographed can also see you very clearly. Your hesitation, the parts where you fall short, you can’t completely hide them. I think he could see that in me as well. Even so, he stood in the same place and thought things through together with me. That fact made me happy; and yet, it was frustrating. I had to try harder. Facing Hanyu was fun. And it was painful.

In April 2025, we photographed again in Sendai. The location was outdoors at that same white cyclorama studio. It was just before sunset, the “magic hour.” Photographing Hanyu wrapped in the soft natural light of an open outdoor space was something I had long wanted to do. For the shoot, I set up a simple story. “You fall asleep on the sofa, and when you wake up, the sky outside the window is so beautiful that you step outside without thinking.” Then, facing a straight road ahead, I told him, “Go forward here, and then turn back toward the camera.” As he began walking, I added, “Like you’re having fun—” and he started skipping. The speed was too fast to keep up with while looking through the viewfinder, and I couldn’t help calling out, “A bit fast—too fast.”He turned around and laughed. Hanyu is moving forward. Even now, his speed doesn’t seem easy to catch up with. And yet, he shows me smiles like that.

Every time I look at the photographs taken that day, I remember. The wind was strong, and it was chilly, cold for April. After the rain, a large rainbow appeared. The orange sunlight was soft. Cherry blossom petals, just beginning to fall, were dancing in the air. Worried, I asked, “Aren’t you cold?” As if circling around the sound of the wind, Hanyu replied only, “I’m fine.” You can’t let things end while they are still lacking[3]. Both the kindness and the severity that make you feel that way flow quietly through Hanyu’s expression.

 

 

NOTES

 

[1] 素材じゃない: where 素材（sozai） = material, raw material, ingredient; in photography / media: a subject as “usable content,” something processed later. “I want to capture something beyond him as a ‘resource.’

[2] 輪郭を決めない, where 輪郭（rinkaku）= outline, contour, defined shape; 決めない = not to decide, not to fix. Other options: “without fixing its shape”, “without locking down its meaning.”

[3] 足りないままで終われない: 足りない = not enough, insufficient; ままで = while remaining in that state; 終われない = cannot end / cannot finish.

[yuzurujenn]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

****This article is written in promotion of the photobook***

 

 2025.12.14

 

Source: https://popversemix.com/hanyu-yuzuru/

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20251215082341/https://popversemix.com/hanyu-yuzuru/

 

Where is Yuzuru Hanyu now? Why does he continue to fascinate people?

 

Why is the ice champion still spoken of in the “present tense”?

 

Spoiler

The name Yuzuru Hanyu is no longer defined solely by competition results or the number of medals he has won.

 

Even after retiring from competitive skating in 2022, his activities have continued without interruption, and each of them seems to update the perception of “the current Yuzuru Hanyu.”

 

Whether it’s ice shows, photography, or public appearances, the common thread across these different fields is his commitment to engaging carefully and sincerely with the art of expression itself.

 

The Direction of Expression Revealed After Turning Professional

 

After retiring from competition, Yuzuru Hanyu has presented various forms of expression, mainly through ice shows and performances.

 

Freed from competition-specific evaluation metrics such as jump difficulty or technical scores, elements like music, choreography, lighting, and the meaning behind each movement seem to take center stage.

 

In particular, performances aimed at supporting reconstruction efforts or ice shows in which he serves as director often include a structure that communicates not only the performance itself but also the background — the reason why this piece is being performed, and why at this particular venue.

 

This approach has been received by many spectators as an attempt to share not just the performance but also the context and narrative embedded within it.

 

The Present Captured Through the Quiet Medium of Photography

 

On February 3, 2026, Fusosha will release the photo book Yuzuru Hanyu Photo Collection ‘Hane’, a volume that captures the present-day Hanyu in photographic form.

The photography was handled by Toru Yaguchi, who has collaborated on Hanyu’s previous photo books. This is the fourth installment in the series.

 

Noble suits, casual wear, high-fashion outfits — With each page turn, a wide range of facets is documented: smiles, calm expressions, gentle moods, all in different attire. At 160 pages, the book offers a substantial and satisfying experience.

 

A composition that combines magazine photoshoots and ice show records

 

In addition to newly shot images for magazines such as ESSE and Figure Skating Life, the photo book includes pictures from the Noto Peninsula Reconstruction Support Charity Performance – Challenge, and Yuzuru Hanyu notte stellata 2025.

 

Quiet studio sessions and dynamic on-ice moments appear side by side. By presenting these different scenes in a single volume, the scope of Hanyu as an expressive artist is visually conveyed.

 

Regular Edition, Limited Edition, and a Panel Exhibition

 

Besides the regular edition, Amazon.co.jp and Rakuten Books will offer a limited edition.

 

The limited edition comes with A3 double-sided posters and a making-of video, and the content differs from the regular edition.

 

To commemorate the release, a panel exhibition will allow visitors to experience the photo book’s world:

Tokyo: Yurindo Atre Ebisu store (January 24th to February 28th, 2026)

Osaka: Kinokuniya Bookstore Umeda Main Branch (January 31st - February 9th, 2026)

Kyoto: Ogaki Bookstore AEON Mall KYOTO (January 31st to February 28th, 2026)

 

This initiative allows visitors not only to “read” the photos as a book, but also to experience them as a spatial and immersive environment — a defining feature of this project.

 

Expression on Ice Continues in 2026

 

Yuzuru Hanyu is scheduled to hold Towa Yakuhin presents Yuzuru Hanyu notte stellata 2026 at the Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Miyagi from March 7 to 9, 2026.

 

If the photo book Hane represents static expression, the ice show is dynamic expression through the body. Though the forms differ, both seem positioned as means to convey “the present-day Yuzuru Hanyu.”

 

Why Yuzuru Hanyu Continues to Be Spoken About

 

One of the reasons why Yuzuru Hanyu continues to attract so much attention today may be that he remains an "unprecedented figure."

 

Even after his competitive achievements have been fully recognized, he continues to explore new forms of expression in different arenas.

 

From interviews and public statements, one can observe his careful choice of words and his desire to explain his position and expression thoughtfully. This approach leaves room for the audience to reflect and seems to avoid imposing a fixed, one-dimensional image.

 

The range of expressions captured in the photo book Hane symbolizes this ongoing, “in-progress” aspect of him.

 

Rather than emphasizing past glories, it focuses on capturing the “now.” It is precisely this approach that may explain why Yuzuru Hanyu continues to draw widespread interest today.