[2026.07.19] 4th Pro Anniversary

[Wintek]

July 19th is the 4th anniversary of Yuzuru's Pro conversion.

Sport Hochi is releasing a 3-part series with an interview with Yuzuru. The articles will be release on July 19, 21, and 22.

https://x.com/figure_hochi/status/2078208824305910206?s=20

Sponichi
Has also published articles, free and paid (through Sponichi Annex)

[Wintek]

 

[2026.07.19] 

 

***Machine translation, inaccuracies exist***

 

Source:

https://hochi.news/articles/20260718-OHT1T51401.html

 

Yuzuru Hanyu Has “There is nothing but potential for growth.”

Exclusive Interview Celebrating His 4th Anniversary as a Professional Skater — Part 1: “Changes in His Fourth Year”

 

Spoiler

Sports Hochi, July 19, 2026
Interview and composition: Megumi Takagi

Professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (31) reached the fourth anniversary of his transition to professional skating on July 19. To commemorate the fourth anniversary of Hanyu’s professional career, Sports Hochi will publish a special three-part interview series with him. The first installment focuses on “Changes in His Fourth Year.”

 

Hanyu has always moved forward at full speed.

Not only after turning professional, but also during his competitive years, he continued running without rest. From his senior debut in 2010, he spent 12 seasons constantly pushing forward.

In August of last year, during his fourth year as a professional skater, he made the decision to establish a maintenance period. Those months became a time in which he faced his own body, studied dance and biomechanics, and expanded his range of expression.

“For the first time, I had a maintenance period, and I feel like my body has become new in some ways. Whether it was during my competitive years, after the Olympics, or after turning professional, I had always just kept charging forward. Through undergoing various examinations and having people look at my body, it was also a year where I've really come to realize how much of a tightrope-walking state I've been in until now. The things that I had somehow managed to maintain, I feel like I’ve gradually been able to bring them back to a better condition now. In that sense, I think the biggest change during my fourth year was probably in terms of my body.”

During his April solo show “REALIVE,” for which he served as both performer and executive producer, he spoke about his current state, saying, “I’m at a time where I’m changing rapidly right now.”

“It may be in terms of both expression and skating. There was a period when I couldn’t do figure skating, and during that time, I worked extremely hard on dance training. And while I was studying dance seriously, of course I was also exposed to many different forms of expression.”

Changes also emerged in the way he creates his works.

“Until now, I had somewhat thought about dance programs like ‘Mass Destruction’ and figure skating programs as separate things. But rather than thinking, ‘This part has to be done this way,’ I’ve reached a point where I feel, ‘Everything comes together as one form of physical expression.’ I think that is one of the ways my expression has changed. Since I rebuilt everything again from the beginning after the maintenance period, even the inside of my body itself has changed, things like muscle strength and my sense of balance, along with various other aspects. I feel like I’m in the middle of a major transformation.”

The desire for improvement of the athlete who has won two Olympic gold medals has no end. After turning professional, he has continued taking on new challenges, such as dedicating time to learning various genres of dance. It is surprising that he says he often finds himself realizing, “I really can’t do this.”

“When I watch my own performances, I constantly think, ‘I’m terrible.’”

When asked, “Even now?” he answered immediately.

“Of course, of course. I think things like, ‘Wow, I’m bad at this part,’ or ‘I’m bad at that too.’ It’s nothing but room to grow.”

He is fiercely competitive. He is someone who can continue making limitless efforts in order to elevate his skating. That is precisely one of his strengths as an athlete, and also one of the reasons why Yuzuru Hanyu attracts people. Without becoming satisfied with his current state, he has believed in his own possibilities and continued opening new horizons.

“I am just living my life as I am, carrying various expectations, and wanting to respond to them. I simply spend every day thinking, ‘It would be harder if I couldn’t live up to those expectations.’ I feel like I have no choice but to become someone who cannot just talk about limits. If I decide, ‘I can’t go any further than this,’ I think that limit would probably appear immediately.”

Hanyu explained this while comparing his daily life with figure skating.

“For example, when you think, ‘Maybe I don’t have to work any more today,’ or ‘Maybe I don’t have to try any harder today,’ there are things that you can always stop doing if you decide to stop, right? Figure skating is the same. It’s not something that is essential for survival, and it’s not something I’m doing because someone else has set my schedule. It’s ultimately an extension of a hobby or lessons I chose to pursue. So if I want to decide where my limit is, I can decide it as many times as I want. But choosing not to decide that, and continuing while telling myself, ‘This isn’t my limit,’ is also one form of effort, I think. I want to be that kind of person. I want to be a skater who can make people feel that my value truly exists at any time.”

Surely, from now on as well, Yuzuru Hanyu will continue to be “Yuzuru Hanyu.”

“I think I’ve realized that this is simply the only way I can live. It’s not that I came to live this way because someone forced me to. It’s just that, because of my own personality, this is the only way I can live. I think I’m simply working hard because I don’t want to become someone who does things halfway.”

(Part 2 will be published on the 21st.)

 

[Wintek]

 

[2026.07.19] 

 

***Machine translation, inaccuracies exist***

 

Source:

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2026/07/19/annexz/20260719b00079000019000c.html

[Yuzuru Hanyu: 4th Anniversary as a Professional (1)] 

"So this is how it turned out": The view revealed by building up the present moment

July 19, 2026 00:00 (Paid/Premium Article)

 

On the 19th, Yuzuru Hanyu (31)—a two-time Olympic champion in men's figure skating—marked the fourth anniversary of his transition to the professional ranks. In an online interview with Sponichi, he looked back on these past four years and outlined his blueprint for the future. Over the last year, despite incorporating periods for physical maintenance, he successfully completed the disaster recovery-themed ice show "notte stellata" and "REALIVE," a production that encapsulated his career trajectory. With the production of ICE STORY 4th already announced, he has embarked on a fifth year of further artistic deepening.
 

Spoiler

This first installment covers his journey over the past four years. (Reporting and text by Hiroaki Yamato; photo selection by Yoshiki Komaito)

 

Japan's national figure skating icon has now spent exactly four years in the professional world. If measured by the Olympic competitive cycle, it marks the completion of one full cycle, a significant milestone. For Hanyu, who has steadily built himself up one step at a time, these four years have felt both long and short.

 

Yuzuru Hanyu: "I feel like I've simply done what I could do. To be honest, when I turned professional, I didn't really have a clear idea of how I wanted things to turn out. At that time, I genuinely felt like I was surrounded by darkness. I didn't know how I should move forward, and while feeling that way, I was trying to aim for something through my life as a professional and through my performances as a professional. But now, when it comes to what I want to express, many more things have emerged that I want to realize much more clearly and much more concretely. The body, the mental state, the skating technique necessary to make those things possible, they're still nowhere near catching up, so it's frustrating. But that's exactly why I'm at a point where I feel I have to continue evolving even further."

 

Four years ago, he stepped into the unknown 

 

Four years have passed since the press conference where he announced his decision to leave competition and commit himself to life as a professional skater. How had he imagined himself four years in the future back then? And now that he has actually walked that path, how does the person he has become compare with the one he imagined?

 

Hanyu: "Back then, I couldn't imagine at all what I'd be like four years later. I felt that I wouldn't know unless I actually tried it. So now it's more like, 'Ah... this is what it became.' I think it's been a good direction. When it comes to what I want to express, I'm firmly in control. At the same time, many professionals bring their own multifaceted perspectives to what I want to do, and they connect those forms of expression together.

 

In that sense, ever since I started my professional career, I've truly been blessed with the staff around me. Even during my competitive career, I always felt I was fortunate to have trainers, coaches, and so many different people supporting me. Becoming a professional hasn't changed that feeling. It has made me realize once again that even now, I'm able to skate because of the people around me."

 

Having completed three installments of his self-produced ICE STORY series, and with notte stellata, held each year in his hometown of Miyagi, continuing to bring about remarkable collaborations, Hanyu has continued running forward under the pressure of wanting to live up to people's expectations. Little by little, he has also accumulated successes as a professional.

 

Hanyu: "Quite simply, I want to gradually become capable of doing the things I couldn't do before. And then I hope I can properly bring those things out within each program. Up until now, there were also many things that I did rather instinctively, in my own way. So I've properly studied those things. I thought very deeply about questions like, 'What is figure skating?' and 'What kind of body does Yuzuru Hanyu have?' I feel that the form I'm in now is simply the result of thinking through those questions."

 

Being able to connect with fans in Japan and around the world

 

ICE STORY presents a wide variety of performances and productions centered on the fundamental theme of living. At the same time, there are stages with completely different purposes, such as notte stellata, dedicated to earthquake remembrance and recovery. His relationship with fans has also changed from his competitive days, through social media and YouTube. Being able to connect with fans in Japan and overseas, and share time together through his activities, is something that brings him joy.

 

Hanyu: "As things stand now, ICE STORY itself is something that takes place only in Japan. Just the fact that people travel all the way from overseas to Japan specifically to see this series already has tremendous meaning for me. Through programs like SEIMEI, Hope & Legacy, and Heaven and Earth, I've skated while deeply feeling the thoughts of various Japanese composers and Japanese culture. Of course, I think people can feel those things through the choreography and through the music itself. But I also think each of those programs becomes something different when they're experienced while breathing the atmosphere of Japan. And by coming to Japan, I hope people can also experience what makes Japan special. In that sense, I think perhaps I've been able to become a good opportunity for that."

 

Changes and evolution of his mind, technique, and body

 

Rather than pursuing the easily understood results of competition, athlete Yuzuru Hanyu continues refining himself in pursuit of his own ideal. After four years, he can clearly feel the changes and evolution in his mind, technique, and body.

 

Hanyu: "As for my ‘mind’, I've experienced many different things, and it's gained much greater depth. Before, I was completely immersed in the athlete's world. Honestly, there was a part of me that believed all I had to do was obtain results. In a sense, I really did have a results-above-all mentality. Then I stepped into a world overflowing with information, where I continually have to communicate my own thoughts and the value of my own life, and in doing so, there were times when I was overwhelmed by many different things. 

 

As for my ‘heart’, experiencing various things has added a new depth. During these four years, there have been many moments when I truly realized just how narrow the world I'd been living in before actually was.

 

As for ‘technique’, there are things I've become able to do, and naturally there are things I'm struggling with as well. Honestly, it's both. But unless what I've become able to do and what I'm struggling with right now actually merge together, I don't think I'll be able to stand before everyone, hold my head high, and truly say to myself, 'This is ICE STORY.' So every day I'm continuing to make that effort, and I'm still in the middle of wanting to evolve further."

 

As for my ‘body’, I actually feel it's become easier than when I was competing. After all, the parts I had repeatedly battered—the parts I kept pushing hard on for three years—were in pretty bad shape. Of course, I haven’t completely resolved all the issues, but I was able to address them before things reached a breaking point. In that sense, I think I have a certain feeling of reassurance now. It really feels like I've been given a new body."

 

[Wintek]

[2026.07.20] 

 

***Machine translation, inaccuracies exist***

 

Source:

https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2026/07/20/annexz/20260720b00079000008000c.html

 

Yuzuru Hanyu, 4 Years as a Professional (2)

"It's only natural that I'm better than an amateur." The athletic pride he continues to hold

(Published July 20, 2026)

Four years have passed since Yuzuru Hanyu (31), the two-time Olympic champion in men's figure skating, turned professional on July 19. In an online interview with Sponichi, he looked back on these past four years while outlining his vision for what comes next.

Even while taking a maintenance period over the past year, he successfully completed both the reconstruction charity ice show notte stellata and REALIVE, a performance that condensed the path he has traveled. He has already announced the production of the fourth ICE STORY and has begun his fifth year as a professional, continuing to deepen his work.

In this second installment, he speaks about his own philosophy of what it means to be a professional, and about his philosophy as a producer.

 

Spoiler

Exactly four years ago, at the press conference announcing his decision to turn professional, Hanyu said that using the word "retirement" would make it sound negative. Referring to baseball players who become professionals straight out of high school, he declared, "Rather, this is where the start is."

The man who continues to present a new path for figure skating possesses a firm conviction that allows him to continue being a professional.

Hanyu: "Even when I watch competitions, there are still aspects where I think, in this area, I'm the best. So, in that sense, I think that as long as I continue to hold on to that, I can call myself a professional. Conversely, when I watch the people competing now—the athletes—I don't think I can allow myself to end up in a situation where I feel there isn't a single thing I'm better at than they are. As a professional, I think it's only natural that I'm better than an amateur. Of course, simply in terms of age and years spent skating, those will continue to become overwhelmingly greater. So while valuing that accumulation, I think being a professional means remaining in a state where everything comes together: the things that can only be expressed by someone who has accumulated those years, together with physical strength, technical ability, explosiveness, all of those existing at once. That, after all, is what I think being a professional is. But if you ask whether, at the time of the press conference four years ago, I had been able to imagine that ideal this clearly and concretely... I think the answer is that I didn't really know yet."

 

What I'm doing hasn't changed

Having achieved the unprecedented feat of winning two consecutive Olympic titles and becoming the youngest individual recipient of Japan's People's Honor Award, Hanyu has left competition behind. Yet the essence of what drives him to pursue figure skating remains unchanged.

Because he already possessed the pride of a professional even during his competitive career, he stands where he is today.

Hanyu: "In the end, I think the only difference is whether results appear or not. Ultimately, what I'm doing—continuing to pursue figure skating more deeply, continuing to pursue even further what I want to express through figure skating—that process itself hasn't changed. The only difference is whether Olympic Games, World Championships, Japanese National Championships, and competitions like those attach results to that process, or they don't. So, not much has changed. Now I create works, I've taken on much more choreography, and if anything, the amount of work has increased. Back when I was competing, at most I'd skate three programs in a season. So in that sense, it's become much harder. But what I'm doing hasn't changed."

 

Even today, after years of living as a professional, there is still one person he immediately names as his ideal athlete: baseball legend Ichiro.

Hanyu: "My ideal is Ichiro-san. I've always wanted to be that kind of athlete. Of course, Ichiro-san has a sense of humor, but he's always incredibly disciplined toward himself, and he also has respect for his opponents. And that respect isn't the kind of modesty that's often associated with Japanese people. Rather, you can clearly see an attitude that says, 'It's natural that I'm good. I am good, but my opponent is my opponent, and within them too there exists a wonderful life and genuine ability.' Including that humanity of his, I respect him tremendously."

 

Addition isn't enough, it has to be multiplication

One of the new challenges of becoming a professional has been serving as the overall producer of ICE STORY.

When collaborating with professionals from many different fields, what has he kept in mind in order to truly fuse them with figure skating? There is a perspective he considers essential as a producer.

Hanyu: "I always think addition isn't enough. It has to be multiplication. When people think about collaboration, it's very easy to think, 'If this person's thing and this person's thing happen at the same time, that's good enough.' But if one plus one only equals two, then I don't think there's any point in doing it. Of course, each person's individuality may stand out. But then you'd simply think, 'Well, couldn't you just watch each of them separately?' To take it to an extreme, nowadays you can split a television screen into two. You could just put figure skating on one side and gymnastics on the other. That's what it would become. So instead, the first priority is always to identify what can only exist because we're doing it together, and what cannot emerge unless we're together. From there, we then decide whether those things are actually possible to realize. I think collaborations tend to become either individual plus individual, or merely something that's been fused together. While creating that fusion, it's also important to build moments where the strength of each individual can still truly be seen."

 

As he explains his philosophy, his words become increasingly passionate.

When asked what kinds of future collaborations might be interesting from the perspective of a producer, his answer revealed not certainty, but the very human struggle of trying to transform lofty ideals into reality.

Hanyu: "Honestly... I don't have ideas. So every single time we plan a collaboration for notte stellata, I keep thinking, 'What should we do?' I worry about it a great deal before deciding. That's because, especially with notte stellata, what people perceive as Yuzuru Hanyu's power is extremely large. So when I think about the balance of power within the ice show, I have to choose someone who won't be swallowed up by Yuzuru Hanyu's power. On top of that, it can't simply become one plus one. It has to become something that expands many times over because we're together. And at the same time—even though it's not exactly like two bands facing off—it has to be someone who can stand there going head-to-head, intensely, and still look wonderful. Those are the kinds of things I think about every time I decide on a collaboration." 

 

Every decision made at the starting point carries enormous responsibility. As executive producer, each judgment Hanyu makes comes with the same pressure and tension as his performances themselves.

Hanyu: "That's the starting point, so it's incredibly difficult. Because if you fail at the starting point, then no matter how good the performance is afterward, I think the whole thing ends up failing. Producing carries tremendous responsibility. And then, of course, I get nervous. Every time I create an ICE STORY, I genuinely wonder, 'Was all of this really okay?' In the end, until people actually see it, evaluate it, and I hear their voices, there are so many things I simply can't know. I think it's important to create many different versions of myself, to keep asking over and over, 'Was it really good? Was it not?' and to keep looking at it objectively."

 

Reporting & Text Hiroaki Yamato

Photography Tomomi Aizu

Photo Selection Yoshiki Kogaito

Page Design Sponichi on Ice

 

A three-part series. The third installment will be released on Tuesday, July 21, at 8:00 AM.

 

[yuzurujenn]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.07.20

 

Source: https://topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp/article/newscn/world/newscn-J000160_20260720_CBMFN0

https://jp.news.cn/20260720/0111f98e5afc426f9ef1335e920c77f2/c.html

Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20260720124546/https://topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp/article/newscn/world/newscn-J000160_20260720_CBMFN0?redirect=1

https://web.archive.org/web/20260721002505/https://jp.news.cn/20260720/0111f98e5afc426f9ef1335e920c77f2/c.html

 

 

XinHua News - Living the Present to the Fullest: Four Years Since Yuzuru Hanyu Turned Professional

 

[Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, July 20] Yuzuru Hanyu, who won two consecutive Olympic gold medals in men's singles figure skating, gave an online interview to Xinhua News Agency ahead of the fourth anniversary of turning professional. This was his first interview with Xinhua News Agency in a year and a half. Since announcing his retirement from competitive skating on July 19, 2022, he has continued to pursue his own form of expression and create new stories on the ice.

 

Spoiler

During his time as a competitive skater, he set concrete goals such as winning a gold medal at the Olympics and successfully landing a quadruple axel jump. However, he says that the increased freedom after turning professional has made it more difficult to set goals.

　

Hanyu reflected, "To be honest, I didn't have many goals when I first turned professional." He continued, "Because I didn't have any goals, I can't say that I achieved them. But I think I worked hard to be in the best possible condition at each stage, and looking back, I think I was able to deliver some really great works to the world."

　

Since turning professional, he has developed the "ICE STORY" series of ice shows, in which he both performs and serves as executive producer. "notte stellata," which has been held every March in Miyagi Prefecture since 2023, is also one of Hanyu's signature performances.

 

He says that what he focuses on when creating his pieces is not differentiating himself from other skaters. "I have a desire to express myself in a certain way, to feel this way about this song, and to skate to this music. I'm always thinking about how I can meet and even exceed the expectations of those who come to see me, but I don't really think about comparing myself to others," he said.

　

He acknowledges having many fans in China. Expressing his desire to create works that resonate with people of different languages and cultures, he said, "I believe that truly good things, truly beautiful things, and truly wonderful things can be appreciated across borders, languages, and cultures. I hope to create things like that."

 

Hanyu has performed many programs that incorporate traditional Japanese themes and music. He believes that the appeal of art can be conveyed regardless of cultural background. "The way things are seen, the rhythm of breathing and language may be completely different. Even so, you can still feel the wonder there. I think that's something that can only be achieved through art, which transcends words," he said.

　

Regarding his future, Hanyu said he hasn't thought specifically about his life plans after he stops skating. He acknowledged that his encounter with skating inevitably includes the eventual parting, and expressed his determination, saying, "When I feel like I can't do any more, I'm sure I'll quit completely. But until then, I want to maintain the ability to perform proudly in front of everyone and continue to evolve."

 

In 2011, when he was 16 years old, Hanyu experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in his hometown of Sendai. The stars twinkling in the night sky over the blackout city became a beacon of hope in the darkness. "Notte Stellata" means "starry sky" in Italian, and it embodies his memories of the earthquake and his thoughts for the people who continue to live on afterward.

 

Reflecting on the earthquake, Hanyu said, "It was because of that event that I learned many things, was hurt by many things, and worked hard to get back on my feet." He also mentioned that there are still people suffering all over the world, and said, "Even so, I am grateful that I can continue skating, and I hope to fulfill the meaning of my life now." 

 

[Wintek]

*machine translation, inaccuracies exist*

 

2026.07.20

Source: https://hochi.news/articles/20260720-OHT1T51452.html

 

Yuzuru Hanyu Treats Yuzuru Hanyu as a "Piece" [1]— Executive Producer and Skater

Pro 4th Anniversary Solo Interview, Part 2

Sports Hochi
July 21, 2026

Professional figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu (31) marked the fourth anniversary of turning professional on July 19.

Part 2 of this special anniversary interview focuses on "The fear he felt four years ago and the happiness he feels now," and "How the executive producer sees the skater Yuzuru Hanyu."

(Interview and composition: Megumi Takagi)

 

Spoiler

---

 

On July 19 four years ago, Hanyu held a press conference in Tokyo to announce his decision to turn professional.

Does the person he is today overlap with the image he had then, or is it different?

"I don't think I imagined it very much, or rather, I couldn't imagine it. At the press conference, I was constantly fighting with the fear of 'Will people really continue to watch me from now on?' To put it in the words I used back then, I had this fear that people would watch me because I was still an active competitor, but once I became a professional, they wouldn't watch me anymore. Because I was afraid, I had even less idea of what kind of person I should become, or what kind of skating I should do in order for people to continue having expectations of me and wanting to watch me. I remember feeling very afraid."

His challenge of creating solo ice shows changed the very concept of what it means to be a professional skater.

His self-produced ICE STORY productions—GIFT, RE_PRAY, and Echoes of Life, for which he serves as planner, scriptwriter, performer, and executive producer—have all been tremendous successes.

Tickets sell out every time, and venues continue to be filled to capacity.

"In that sense, I think who I am now is completely different from what I imagined, or rather, I'm someone I couldn't have imagined becoming. People have found value in the skating I do now, and they come because they want to see the skating I do now. Becoming that kind of skater, that's probably the best thing. I think that's what I wished for back then. I still can't be satisfied at all with my own ability, and if you ask whether there are still many things I haven't been able to embody the way I want to express them, then yes, there are. Even so, people want to see the Yuzuru Hanyu of today, and they look forward to new works. To still be a figure skater whom people feel that way about, even after becoming a professional, that's an honor, it's something that makes me very happy, and something that makes me feel fortunate."

Serving as executive producer for the ICE STORY series has also allowed him to see the skater Yuzuru Hanyu from many different angles.

What does he see?

"When I'm directing production, he's a piece."[1](laughs) "'This guy should be made to do something like this.' That's about how external my perspective feels. It's kind of the same when I'm creating choreography. Of course I pour in what I want to express, and when I hear a piece of music, I treasure those movements that suddenly pop into my mind. But it can't be choreography that's simply for my own satisfaction. I have to think about choreography that delivers something to someone. When I think that way, there's also a version of myself creating everything from a very distant viewpoint, thinking, 'This part of him is something that should really be shown.' Or, 'This is one of his strengths, so I should make him move like this.'"

Yuzuru Hanyu treating Yuzuru Hanyu as a "piece." It is an extraordinarily intriguing way of putting it.

"Because it's me, I can treat him roughly." (laughs) If I were creating choreography for someone else, or producing someone else's ice show, I don't think I could do this. Because it's me, I can keep making myself do unreasonable things. I'll try something and find that I absolutely can't do it, but then I can still tell myself, 'But this is what I want to show, so see it through.' I think that's also one source of the drive to improve, it helps push the limits of what I'm currently capable of. I believe people need constraints in order to grow, and I think this has become a good kind of constraint."

Hanyu had said, "It's choreography not for my own satisfaction, but to deliver something to someone."

Does he ever simply place movements born directly from emotion, exactly as they come, into a work?

Smiling, he quietly shook his head.

"Everything is carefully calculated. Whenever I create choreography myself, it always ends up going through about three stages. At first, I create movements so quickly that I can't even remember the choreography myself. I just keep making it. At that stage, I can't even skate the whole thing through. The density is so high that I can only skate it section by section. That's the choreography that hasn't yet been calculated—the movements that come out most directly, exactly as they are. Then I connect everything together, make a complete version, edit it on video, connect it all… And this is probably something all figure skaters do..." 

(to be continued in the final installment)

 

NOTE

[1] 「駒」is a game piece (shogi, chess, etc.), not necessarily a pawn as it can get automatically translated by Google. It means a piece that is moved strategically.

 

[Wintek]

[2026.07.21] 

 

***Machine translation, inaccuracies exist***

 

Source: https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2026/07/20/annexz/20260720b00079000008000c.html

Yuzuru Hanyu, 4th Anniversary as a Professional (3)

Heading into a Fifth Year of Deepening with Calm Composure: "The Flame at the Center, the Core, Will Never Change Throughout My Life"

July 21, 2026

Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu (31) marked the fourth anniversary of turning professional on the 19th.

In an online interview with Sponichi, he looked back on these four years while outlining his vision for what comes next. During the past year, despite taking a maintenance period, he completed both the disaster recovery ice show notte stellata and REALIVE, which condensed the trajectory of his career. The fourth installment of his ICE STORY series has already been announced, and he has begun walking into a fifth year of ever-deepening expression.

In this final installment, he speaks about the confidence he feels moving forward and the convictions that have never changed.

 

 

Spoiler

His mind, technique, and body have all been refined, and through many different experiences, both his physical expression and emotional expression have deepened.

While he continues to evolve, the artistry of his performances and the messages he wishes to convey have also undergone a process of deepening (shinka, 深化). How does he himself feel that his range of expression has expanded?

Hanyu: "I think my vocabulary has increased. For example, it's like having many things you want to say—having all these emotions—but not knowing the words you want to use. In the same way, I also have all kinds of images within figure skating and things I wanted to express, and I feel that I've gradually become able to express them through many different techniques. There were things where I kept thinking, 'I want to put this emotion into words, but this word isn't enough.' Then I learned different ways of expressing it, almost like learning new words. That's probably the closest comparison. For example, if there were a certain kind of suffering… instead of expressing that suffering only with choreography like holding my head, I can now weave a spin into it, let it flow from the spin into twizzles, then into a new step sequence… Things that before I could only choreograph with my hands, or where I thought, 'This is the spin section, so I can only do a spin here,' have gradually begun to melt together. I've really come to feel, 'I can do this now.' 'I can do that now, too.'"

"Inside, I really haven't changed."

At the press conference four years ago, Hanyu named his life's priorities as:

1. Making the effort necessary to succeed.

2. Wanting to be beautiful as a human being.

3. Never neglecting study—to keep learning constantly.

Has he continued to uphold those priorities? Have they changed?

Hanyu: "How does it look to you? I suppose I've continued to keep them. Inside, I really haven't changed. Of course, when I look back over my skating life… if you asked what I was like around the Sochi Olympics, I don't think I was thinking this deeply. Even my warm-up wasn't something I thought about theoretically the way I do now. It was much more based on feeling and physical strength. I think my way of thinking was much shallower as well. Even when I think about PyeongChang, I realize, 'I really was young.' I think my way of thinking was shallow then too. Of course, the pressure I carried was enormous, but it was different from the way I carry things now. I was carrying something different, and carrying it in a different way. Looking back, many things have changed. My mental state changes almost every day. My body changes. Every day feels like I'm being tossed around by those changes.  However, when I look back, I think that the root of it all—the part that says, 'If I'm going to show it to people, I want it to be good,' 'I don't want to give a performance I'm ashamed of,' 'Someone is giving me their strength, and someone is taking action for my sake. I absolutely don't want what they've done for me to go to waste'; that flame at the center, something like the core[1], probably won't change for my entire life. I think that's simply the way I'll end up being. It's like if Ichiro suddenly stopped training, wouldn't he no longer be Ichiro? Of course I can rest for the sake of my body, but in the end, I think this is simply the only way I know how to live."

 

"I'm convinced I can still become better."

The fourth ICE STORY has already been announced, and PREQUEL, the story leading into it, has already been performed. The coming year will surely be another one filled with new challenges. To go beyond what audiences imagine, he is already preparing with complete dedication.

Hanyu: "Just like I said in response to the first question… honestly, there are still many things where my body hasn't caught up to the image I have in my mind, and many things where my technique hasn't caught up either. Of course, heading toward ICE STORY 4th, I have to work much, much harder. There are still so many things I want to express that I still can't fully express. Right now I'm thinking, 'How much effort can I make?' No matter how much effort I put in, it's as though the goal keeps moving farther away. Or rather, it feels like my ideal keeps moving farther away. But whenever I think, 'I've gotten a little closer to my ideal,' almost every day it turns into, 'Actually... I can do even more.' That's repeated over and over. I spend my days not even knowing whether they're enjoyable or painful… but I'm convinced I can still become better. I want to keep becoming truly better. That's how I feel now, four years after turning professional."

—End—

NOTE:

[1]  “真ん中の炎、芯みたいなもの”-> 真ん中の炎 = "the flame in the middle," "the central flame."

芯 = literally a wick, or the core/pith of something. Just for interpretation, the structure could be very poetical: “the flame at the center... the wick that keeps it burning.”