It all started when Yuzuru Hanyu said he was a MOTHER 2 fan on a TV program. This brought about the kind of discussion you only dream about. Not in a cliche way, but really and truly an amazing thing. Last December, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shigesato Itoi met in a studio in Sendai and talked about all kinds of things for two hours. We’re pleased to be able to bring you that discussion.
Yuzuru Hanyu
Born in 1994 in Miyagi Prefecture. Began figure skating at 4 years old and became world junior champion at age 14. Later won four consecutive Grand Prix Finals and four consecutive Japan Figure Skating Championships. Also won two gold medals in a row at the Sochi and Pyeongchang Olympics. Became a professional figure skater in July 2022. Currently concentrating on producing and starring in an ice show.
Boyhood／Mirror Neuron／Heaven and Earth／Mr. Saturn／
Ballet／Timeline／Homesick／Universe／Johnny Weir／
Reset／Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami／Picasso／Sprain／
Parallel Universe／Heroic Sword and an Evil Sword／Produce／
Astro Boy／Music／Ness／Fifteen-year-old／
Romeo and Juliet／Goldfish／Nap／Athlete／Millennials／
Elder sister／A Beatles song, XXXterday／
Score／Vinyl／Death／Youngest child／
That／Hip hop／Mozart／Dilemma／Ice Show
- Itoi
- It’s not every day a figure skating fan asks for autographs from some of the top international athletes and then goes on to win two consecutive gold medals.
- Hanyu
- I suppose not.
- Itoi
- Do you remember at what point you began to realize things were changing and that you could possibly compete in the Olympics?
- Hanyu
- When I won the Japan Championship, I felt like I was seeing the results of all my hard work, and it gave me confidence. Then I worked even harder and won again, so that cycle was one of the things that made me feel like I could get there. But mostly, it just felt like I could do whatever I set out to do, without question.
- Itoi
- Wow, you’re like a manga character. (Laughs)
- Hanyu
- My ability to manifest something, or my attachment to it—whatever it is—seems twice as strong as other people. It’s like I have a superpower when I think about wanting to be like someone. Maybe I have powerful mirror neurons or something.
- Itoi
- Interesting!
- Hanyu
- And as I imitate them, I gradually master it as my own technique and become better at it. I think it’s just a perpetual spiral.
- Itoi
- So ever since you were little, when you wanted to do something, you were able to do it and get better at it.
- Hanyu
- Yeah. I was closer to my older sister than anyone, and when I wanted to learn how to pull off all the jumps that she knew how to do, suddenly I’d surpassed her skills. Then I wanted to be like the top athlete among the men’s singles competition, and was able to do the moves that they were able to. In fact, by 17 years old I was able to complete the same quadruple jumps as the generation I admired. After that, I wanted to get even better, and that prevailing thought had me aiming as high as the quadruple axel. (Laughs)
- Itoi
- Normally, you’d think a boy from Sendai would be light years away from top athletes from all over the world, but when you saw those athletes and wanted to be like them, that distance really closed in.
- Hanyu
- Or maybe I thought there was no one but me.
- Itoi
- Ah, yeah.
- Hanyu
- That makes me feel a lot like the main character Ness from your RPG game MOTHER 2. He’s just a normal boy, and he’s put into a scenario that has him progressing along a certain path. In a way, I’ve got my own route I’m going along, and I don’t question it.
- Itoi
- That’s true, you’ve got things you want to do, and things you need to overcome as you go through your story. Then you train to see if you can pull something off.
- Hanyu
- When I was young, it was like I didn’t know the concepts of losing, or being unable to do something.
- Itoi
- Isn’t that the case now? (Laughs)
- Hanyu
- Well, nowadays, I know enough about society and I have enough knowledge that I can’t quite go back to who I was as a child. It’s like having useless meaning attached to everything you say or do. For example, if we say “It’s raining,” the only actual meaning there is that there are raindrops falling from the sky, the humidity is high, and it’s a little darker outside. But adults assign more to it, like “It’s depressing” or “My body feels heavy,” or “I can’t land my jumps today.” You might call that intellect, but you don’t actually need any of that. It only gets in your way. So even if I’ve got a new goal I set, I stumble over things like the rain, my body feeling heavy, and being unable to land a jump. I’m aware of that going in, though, so unlike when I was a child, I’m always making sure to remove unnecessary meanings from things.
- Itoi
- So in other words, when you were a young boy, you didn’t have a choice on the matter and simply did all you could.
- Hanyu
- That’s right. I was solely focused on one thing with all my heart. But now that I’ve grown up and all this baggage follows me around, when I want to aim for something, I end up having all kinds of different reasons for doing so, and things get fuzzy. It’s like there are all these different lenses being placed between me and something in my vision, so it’s not in focus anymore.
- Itoi
- I get it.
- Hanyu
- So I do everything I can to remove those lenses and push my way straight through. I think I’ve been focused on doing that ever since I was young.
- Itoi
- That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today.
- Hanyu
- (Laughs)
- Itoi
- But that would mean that you’re thinking about a greater number of things at all times.
- Hanyu
- Yeah.
- Itoi
- And the more you have to think about, the more weight there is when you have to decide between them all. But when you’re in the middle of a jump, thoughts don’t matter.
- Hanyu
- That’s right.
- Itoi
- So I think it’s incredible that athletes, not just you, are constantly thinking about something, but then shake it all off in order to do something. And to do it so often during a competition.
- Hanyu
- It’s incredibly difficult. But on the other hand, there are many athletes out there who are still pure, with the same heart they had as a child, and have nothing else on their minds when they’re concentrating on what they’re doing.
- Itoi
- Oh, are there?
- Hanyu
- Yes. But for me, before I arrived somewhere, I’d think about it really hard. I always had a lot of thoughts I needed to line up in my brain before a competition.
- Itoi
- Things like worries and fears.
- Hanyu
- Yeah. Something that really stuck with me immensely was the March 11 disaster.
- Itoi
- Yeah.
Boyhood／Mirror Neuron／Heaven and Earth／Mr. Saturn／
Ballet／Timeline／Homesick／Universe／Johnny Weir／
Reset／Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami／Picasso／Sprain／
Parallel Universe／Heroic Sword and an Evil Sword／Produce／
Astro Boy／Music／Ness／Fifteen-year-old／
Romeo and Juliet／Goldfish／Nap／Athlete／Millennials／
Elder sister／A Beatles song, XXXterday／
Score／Vinyl／Death／Youngest child／
That／Hip hop／Mozart／Dilemma／Ice Show
（To be continued）
2024-03-02-SAT
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Photography: Toru Yaguchi
Clothing: tk.TAKEO KIKUCHI