Fri, July 4 Prayers for Kumamoto and the TokaraIslands, Yappei x Yuzuru 1st post (Public) 2nd post (Members only )
Mon, July 7 (Members only) The First Skate post-show message Read translation
Sun,July 13 (Members only) Persona 3 19th anniversary, “Zenjinrui☺️”, TwitCasting account 1st post, 2nd post, 3rd post
Sat, July 19 (Members only) Celebrating 3 Years as a Pro, MassDes Premiere 1st post (Translation provided by Yuzuru) 2nd post , 3rd post
Sun, July 20 (Members only) MassDes Celebration Read translation
Fri, July 25 (Members only) A gentle reminder, Next Menship Radio? Read translation (First part translation was provided by Yuzuru in the pinned comment)
19th July marked the 3rd anniversary of figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu’s pro career. At the special interview commemorating this third anniversary, he hand-wrote his aspirations for his 4th year: the “continuation” of the “continuation”. He also showed his enthusiasm as the executive producer of ‘ICE STORY’ – from direction, to writing, to performance, and spoke about wanting to continue creating it. This performer continues to challenge himself in order to reach for new heights.
On his birthday last year, December 7, after his first ‘Echoes of Life’ performance, Hanyu-san’s aspirations for his thirties were filled with the spirit of an athlete. “I want to approach my practice, training and performance while being filled with hope for my future, and while always possessing the resolution to absolutely grab onto every chance.”
“How do I put it, it’s the hope you find in the everyday, maybe? In a previous interview, I spoke about how I thought a lot about ‘parallel worlds’. At the time, I was thinking ‘if I hadn’t chosen skating, this wouldn’t have turned out this way’. Because of the very fact I had chosen skating, I was able to continually grasp onto opportunities, and when they presented themselves, I took them without hesitation, which is why I have gotten to this point now. That’s probably how it’s been, ever since I chose skating and until now – I kept reaching, kept believing, ‘this is who I want to be’. And when the moment came where I could truly become that version of myself, I was prepared. I think that’s why I’ve been able to seize so many things along the way.”
Hanyu-san has said countless times until now that he “truly doesn’t know the future”. That’s precisely why he pours so much effort and all his energy into living in the present with great care.
“I may only be reaching for something in complete darkness. My vision of the ‘ideal’ is also changing every day. It’s not about whether I can achieve it or not, it’s because I’m at the point of questioning what I would like to create, that I think it’s not enough to simply reach indiscriminately for something. However, I want to be able to immediately and properly grasp onto anything that I encounter that aligns with my vision of the ideal, the moment it happens. It was because, as an athlete, I’ve always carried out this process of seeking that ‘something’ that I think this bundle of thoughts known as ‘Hanyu Yuzuru’ has come into being.
Like igniting a light, with empathy, the sight of him dancing with all his soul is ‘hope’ in itself. It seems that he is spending his days giving continuously to those around him, but the man himself thinks differently.
“Quite the contrary, there are more moments when I’m the one receiving’. Of course, it can be things like the voices of fans, the comments, and others’ reviews that I see in various sources. It makes me very happy, and I can feel a lot of energy from it, and I deeply feel that I’m able to do it because of those reasons. I also receive various kinds of energy from the artists I like, such as Mrs GREEN APPLE, Kenshi Yonezu, BUMP OF CHICKEN and such. The world is full of different kinds of music, arts and the feelings of various people. Because of that, I feel it’s more like I’m expressing drops from my soul, from the things I’m receiving from the world, even if only a little. Therefore, on the contrary, I think I spend more time ‘receiving’ from the world.”
I asked about moments that stirred his emotions in everyday life. The last time he shed tears was while watching the animation movie ‘Belle’, directed by Mamoru Hosoda.
“I really like Hosoda Mamoru-san’s movies, and yes, I’ve watched quite a few. I’m currently consulting movies as a source of inspiration so I’m watching various ones. I watched movies and I also watched Apothecary Diaries. I’m half smiles and half sadness while watching anime. In everyday life, I end up crying due to things like this pretty often.”
He seems to continue to live each day with a spark of creative drive. About ICE STORY, he remarked, “I would like to keep creating.” Toward the “continuation” of the “continuation”… he pursues Hanyu Yuzuru’s ideals, strives to reach out for them, and seizes them.
“I’ve finally come to understand just how much I didn’t know. And at last, ICE STORY is starting to take shape. Having done RE_PRAY and Echoes, I feel like we’ve grasped something – like, ‘Ah, so this is how we create ICE STORY. Maybe this kind of process is the best way to refine it.’ Everyone involved has started to feel that sense of conviction. So I think I’ve finally arrived at a place where the foundation has been laid. Now the question is how deeply I can internalize it – not just understanding it conceptually or intellectually, but truly channeling it into expression. I want to raise the precision so that it permeates my body, down to every single cell.”