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2024.03.11 Yuzuru Hanyu sends a message to victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Noto Peninsula Earthquake

(Before the interview, while arranging the camera and lighting, I asked Hanyu, "the three days ice shows just finished you look a little tired." Hanyu replied, "Although there is a reason for this, but as expected all sorts of thoughts come to my mind on this day.")

How do you feel about the day of 3.11?

It remains the same every year. I will feel pain and recall the experience of that day. Although many things have changed, there are still things that remain unchanged, and emotions that have not changed actually exist. How to say, every emotion is actually very complicated.

Do you still remember the situation at the time of the disaster?

Yes. I have never forgotten, nor have I ever thought about forgetting. No matter what I do, these memories come back over and over again. I think they will not fade away and will always exist in my mind.

Was it during practice when the earthquake occurred, right on the ice?

Yes, it was on the ice. There had been several earthquakes before that (*a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of Sanriku on March 9), so I thought that would be the end of it. At that time, it happened to be the holiday period after school exams, so I practiced during the normal business hours of the ice rink. When the initial shock started, I tried to reassure the guests on the ice that “it’s okay” and provide guidance. I have to say that I am actually somewhat used to earthquakes.

You went back to your home?

I walked back, but my home was not in a habitable condition at all (note: it was later judged to be in a completely destroyed state). Although I went to a shelter, it was closed and I couldn't stay overnight. So, I walked for about thirty to forty minutes to another shelter.

Have you ever felt the fear of having your daily life disrupted?

Rather than the fear of daily life being destroyed, it is better to say that there is no sense of reality at first, and that daily life is destroyed before I realize it. I spent four days in the elementary school gymnasium that was used as a refuge centre at the time. “Was this reality?” To be honest, I felt that I couldn't tell the difference at the time. In the blink of an eye, my life, surrounding environment, and the time I had experienced were all changed. So easily destroyed. So, in the short term, my feelings were closer to the feeling of "what happened" than to fear.

Do you remember when it started to feel real?

Everyone was thinking about the disaster-stricken areas, support was becoming closer and closer to people, and I was also allowed to perform at charity ice shows, so it gradually became more and more realistic. It's almost like a feeling that came to me. Whenever I saw videos on the news or photos in newspapers, no matter how I looked at them, they just looked like CG. I myself am not one of those people who actually lost someone close to me. The numbers were so big and so far removed from me that, to be honest, it didn't seem real to me.

You won a gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, and when you were told that you didn't smile at a press conference, you said, ``It's difficult to talk about the earthquake.'' Do you still remember what you felt at that time?

Honestly, if you ask me if things have changed since then, there are some things that haven't changed. Of course, I'll donate money, or if I feel like I can help even a little, I'll do my best to help. However, in reality, even if we provide support, nothing will directly change; for example, in the case of a major disaster like this, even if one person aspires to do something and does something, it will not really change anything. So, if you ask me if the hearts of all people in that area will improve after all, I know that it is honestly difficult to do that. In that sense, there are some things that have not changed since then. However, what has changed over time is that through the ice shows and actually visiting disaster-stricken areas and seeing the smiles on the faces of many people, I have come to realize that I have worked hard, and seen the results of my efforts, the feelings I want to convey, the way I skate, and so on, I was able to feel that there was meaning.

You were also called the star of the disaster area. For a teenager, though, it feels like a burden.

I would say it was a heavy burden. When I was 16 years old, I would say it was heavy. After all, at that time, I was constantly asked about the earthquake, and even if I had achieved results in a competition, for example, I would be asked, “Well, do you have any message for the people in the disaster area?” No matter what I did, I was always asked about the disaster, and at that time I felt the weight of it all. The earthquake happened at the age of 16, at a time when it was easy for me to feel many different things, and I was told many things by many people, and I personally felt that it was very difficult. It's not like I became famous because of that, but as I achieved the results, I was asked about the earthquake in various places, and I couldn't help but associate Yuzuru Hanyu with the earthquake. To be honest, there were times when I wondered why I had to say something like this. However, because of that, I started to connect my skating, and my life itself, with the disaster, and I have come to think that it is one of the missions of my skating.

There are also people who feel afraid and confused about speaking out about the earthquake disaster.

Yes. The same is true today. No matter how hard we try, it is difficult to make everyone empathize. As an individual from the disaster-stricken area, I can be considered one of the victims. However, I did not suffer damage from the tsunami, nor did I lose any relatives at the time. Under such circumstances, I cannot face those who directly suffered the death of relatives and friends, and were displaced. The same is true today. Even if I want to simply convey that reconstruction is progressing, in fact, there are still uninhabitable and abandoned areas around the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, so I cannot make a blanket statement. However, I feel that I have always chosen my words in the midst of this conflict and contradiction to convey what I want to say.

You still struggle with the choice of words. This has not changed.

Yes. Fundamentally speaking, it’s not like I can get close to everyone's heart. Although I don't want to give up...how should I put it? Really, no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I want to be there for you, in the end it is still just my own one-sided feelings, and I can feel that there is still something like a boundary. In that sense, rather than words, I think it’s better to focus on figure skating. Compared to language, physical expressions such as figure skating that are not bound by language can allow people to see different things based on their own values and allow people to think more.

Continuing from last year, the ice show "notte stellata" will be held in Miyagi Prefecture in March this year. You had a desire to do it around the time of March 11th.

This show itself was not planned by me, but I actually visited the disaster-stricken areas and told the people around me that even before I turned professional, I wanted to be able to support the disaster-stricken areas. However, there was someone who made it a reality, and in fact, it is still happening today. That’s why that person took into consideration what I had always thought and put it together to make this work. Thank you for making the show a reality. So, I'm skating with the mindset that I want to give my best performance here.

When you were a competitor, the World Championships were coming up, and you said that it was difficult to provide direct support. By becoming a professional, you can reach that goal.

To be honest, I don't think that my feelings for the disaster area or the time I spent thinking about that time has changed much. However, I think that my ability to actually take action has changed. I think I have changed in terms of being able to actually take action, rather than just thinking directly about the disaster and practice on my own without taking any action. However, year after year, I had painful feelings and various memories, but I never actually expressed them in front of people or delivered anything, so I think things have changed a lot since I became a professional.

A comment published on the 10th anniversary of the earthquake said, ``I think I am the person who has been supported the most by these words, so I am the person who knows the meaning and power of these words the best.'' So let me say this, “Please do your best.” What are the words that you want to convey now?

I want to continue to support them. It's no different from what I said at that time, but I myself received a lot of support, and in the course of various activities like this, I received support from many people, and there were people in the disaster-stricken areas who supported the activities themselves, so I really want to continue to support the people in the disaster-stricken areas for a long time. More than that, I would like to express my gratitude and support to the people who are supporting the disaster-stricken areas.

Do you feel that you are entrusting that feeling to the ice show you held until yesterday and the solo tour performances since last November?

With 'notte stellata', yes, basically. To be honest, I'm a little bit detached from solo performances, but no matter what I say, when I’m saying something or skating, I think that the earthquake disasters are something that inevitably comes with me, so I'm sure there are many words that come to mind in the story of ``RE_PRAY'' (a solo ice show performance). However, with regards to the earthquake disaster and 3.11, I am entrusting all my feelings to 'notte stellata', such as wanting to do something directly, supporting, and cheering people up.

You put your thoughts into the songs you skated this time: “Notte Stellata,” “Carmina Burana,” and “Danny Boy.”

In the first place, people's emotions are different depending on their values, and when it comes to the earthquake disaster, each person has a different sense of distance in how they deal with it. So, in my opinion, there is no general rule that says how I want people to think about the earthquake. So, to be honest, I don’t think I should tell you everything what I want you to think about Danny Boy, notte stellata and Carmina Burana. However, after seeing each of the performances, each with its own themes, after watching the performances in this time’s notte stellata, I want the audience to feel a sense of hope, and I would like to express my wish that, even if it's just for a moment, the people who were suffering in the disaster area, those who are currently suffering, and those who are actually suffering in Ishikawa right now, can have a moment of happiness. I've continued skating with the hope that those people will be able to forget reality and have some kind of happy moment, even just for a moment.

Having seen not only the Great East Japan Earthquake but also various disasters such as torrential rain disasters, what are your common thoughts?

Regardless of the severity or scope of the disaster, I think people’s grief is the same. During the Great East Japan Earthquake, we always unconsciously pay attention to some quantitative things, such as the number of casualties, areas and scope in need of rescue. We tend to think that we feel pain because it caused so much damage, because it was such a tragic disaster, but even a disaster like a landslide is very difficult for the victims. Therefore, behind the number, whether it is "1", "1000" or "10000", there is also pain and hardship behind it, which will not change depending on the size of the number. I wish I could convey that.

Yuzuru Hanyu and the earthquake disaster are inseparable. How do you want to face it?

Honestly, the way we deal with the earthquake, the way we interact with it, and the way we think about it changes every day depending on the situation at the time, and in fact, people who are thinking about various things after the Noto earthquake in 2024, including myself, may change their way of thinking when they think about 3.11 again. I think that the way in which those vivid memories are revived is different for each of us, so I can't generalize what it will be like five years from now, but as I go about my daily life and skate again, I realize that I must never waste that experience, and because I have felt that experience closely, I am sure that there are feelings and a mission that I can convey. I think that's why I want to be involved in the process, searching for ways that only I can provide support.

You have been fighting for more than one and half year since you changed to professional. How do you feel about your own evolution?

Especially when it comes to "RE_PRAY", what I want to express, what I want to show, including the world view I want to convey, I was not able do it alone. Everyone in the team is serious about showing these things. These real professionals have poured their souls into their creations. From this perspective, I feel that I am far behind. In short, this solo tour performances make me feel this way. After all, the concept itself is completely different from an ice show, the approach itself is completely different, and the way of creating it itself is completely different, so in that sense, I have to evolve myself. I must have the figure skating skills to match it, and I must have the depth of thought to match it. And more importantly, since I call myself a professional, I always think that I have to skate at the highest level in the world as a professional and a figure skating expert.

At the press conference in July 2022, you said that you didn't have any feelings of sadness about leaving the arena. Do you still feel the same way now?

To be honest, my true feeling is that there's not much point in returning to competition. What I have been doing now is something that is really unimaginable in competitive skating. I don't have any unfinished business in competitive skating, I've already won two Olympic titles, and in my opinion, I've already gone through all the stages and steps that I should have gone through. That's why I don’t see myself returning.

I would like to see Yuzuru Hanyu continue to reach new heights as a professional, and continue to master his expressive ability.

To be honest, professional figure skaters tend to pay a lot of attention to things like expression, but figure skating is a sport after all, so it is important to have a high level of difficulty, and to challenge the limit of one's physical strength, and sublimate the situation as an expression again. In order to present this, it is necessary to hone my skills and strengthen my physical ability even more. I think that this is a new genre of entertainment that we are creating. So, of course, I want people to pay attention to the expressive aspects, but in order to do that, I always ask myself how much strength and how much skill I have to put into it. Furthermore, while I certainly want to evolve in terms of expression, I want to evolve while always asking myself how much more skill and physical strength I need in order to evolve my expression.

(machine translation with some editing)

Source: https://twitter.com/kyodo_DeepEdge/status/1777560764976660827

#what an interesting interview #yuzuru hanyu #long post

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