Japanese men and women singles | Golden Skate

Japanese men and women singles

skateluvr

skateluvr

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
I wondered with the deep field of Japanese skaters, from the past to present, who you think is the best/who you enjoy the most? The ladies are so deep, and the men too.

I choose 3 ladies that embody what I love about figure skating. Yuka Sato would be first, due to her total career, softness of style, technical perfection and learning pairs at a later age and excelling at it. Next is Shizuka, Arakawa who is everything one wants in a ladies champion. I wish she had packed her Oly skate with her full arsenal but she has every skill I admire plus a true Asian beauty. Third is Mao for a hundred reasons. There are so many greats from Japan.

What ladies will you treasure? And who is the greatest athlete/artist female japan has produced to date?

AS for inspiring men, it's easier. Daisuke is the best. No one is a distant second. I like Takeshi Honda, and of the present field, Taka melts my heart. I wish him well.

Who objectively was the best? I can't say...Midori better than Mao?

What do y'all think?
 
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O

Olympia

Joined
Aug 16, 2009
What a neat thread! To me right now, Japan is the singles skating country par excellence. There are other fine skaters from other countries, such as YuNa, Joannie, and Patrick of course. But Japan has so many of the finest skaters of today and the recent past that they deserve special mention.

I agree with your top three women, Yuka, Shizuka, and Mao. Midori belongs in there also, for many reasons beyond her jumps. As for what order I'd put them in, I have no idea. They're each so magnificent. Like you, I love the softness of Yuka's skating, as well as her posture and the sunny temperament she projects. Shizuka is both willowy and majestic, and while she didn't show everything off in her Olympic programs, she certainly used her arsenal of jumps through her long career, including well into her twenties. Mao is also beyond compare, with her mixture of strength and musicality. Happily, the Asian stereotypes of uniformity and suppressed emotions are completely disproved by this group of ladies. Each one is completely individual, and each projects a strong personal expressiveness and a connection with the audience.

The men? I'd echo you and put Takahashi above everyone else. He's a giant of international skating, not just of Japanese skating, and in my mind he will be remembered by history. Like you, I enjoyed Honda. I'd also put Oda and Hanyu in there, but Takahashi is the class of the field for me. I'm so glad he has Japan's first men's Olympic medal and its first men's world gold. I hope his legs hold out for Sochi!
 
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Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Shizuka is my favourite of the women. She was the complete package, she had both strong technical content and musicality. Plus I like rooting for the older ones, who haven't had as much success when they were younger and are persistent and stick with it. I'm hoping Akiko Suzuki does well for the same reason; and I find her quite enjoyable too.

Yuka's been hot & cold for me. I liked her a lot more as a pro skater...I thought she showed more personality. Mao has never grabbed me much for some reason. People describe being very moved by her skating, but I'm just not feeling it. *shrug*. Miki bores me.

As for the men, I really liked Takeshi Honda when he competed (just wished he could put it all together more often!) and now I feel similarly about Daisuke. I think he has great programs this year; I want to see him really hit them and win a big event. I was excited about Oda when I first watched him in the 2006 Olympics, but he never developed the way I'd hoped.

Some juniors I can really see myself liking down the road: Hanyu and Murakami
 
B

Becki

Medalist
Joined
Nov 28, 2011
Rachmaninoff said:
Shizuka is my favourite of the women. She was the complete package, she had both strong technical content and musicality. Plus I like rooting for the older ones, who haven't had as much success when they were younger and are persistent and stick with it. I'm hoping Akiko Suzuki does well for the same reason; and I find her quite enjoyable too.

Yuka's been hot & cold for me. I liked her a lot more as a pro skater...I thought she showed more personality. Mao has never grabbed me much for some reason. People describe being very moved by her skating, but I'm just not feeling it. *shrug*. Miki bores me.

As for the men, I really liked Takeshi Honda when he competed (just wished he could put it all together more often!) and now I feel similarly about Daisuke. I think he has great programs this year; I want to see him really hit them and win a big event. I was excited about Oda when I first watched him in the 2006 Olympics, but he never developed the way I'd hoped.

Some juniors I can really see myself liking down the road: Hanyu and Murakami
Click to expand...

LOL i am wondering if you're mixing up some Japanese skaters. Daisuke WON the World CHampionships in 2010, I think that's considered a "big event". And Daisuke went to the 2006 Olympics instead of Oda, so I think you might be referring to Daisuke in your comment.
 
Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Becki said:
LOL i am wondering if you're mixing up some Japanese skaters. Daisuke WON the World CHampionships in 2010, I think that's considered a "big event". And Daisuke went to the 2006 Olympics instead of Oda, so I think you might be referring to Daisuke in your comment.
Click to expand...

About Daisuke: I meant I'd like to see him win a major event this year, with his current programs.

I could have sworn Oda was at the '06 Olympics too...I guess I was thinking of another competition.
 
D

drivingmissdaisy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
I'd rank the ladies as such:
Ito - She was really so far ahead of her time and make the biggest impact to the sport. Before she won her first World title in 1989, a skater could win any title with just 2-3 different triples. Ito forced the ladies to take greater risks than they probably would have (Kristi's 3Z-3T and Harding doing her own 3A).
Arakawa - Achieved everything in the sport, although she needed errors from other top skaters to win her World and Olympic titles. I personally think she was undermarked for most of her career but I am happy she was able to win the big titles when she skated well.
Mao - Her titles and complete dominance of the field (for a short period) was unmatched by anyone except Ito. She really took several steps backwards under Tarasova - mainly artistically - with choreography that did not suit her at all. (I don't blame Tarasova much for the jump problems because Mao has a growth spurt and judges also starting coming down harder on UR, so she needed to address some technical problems).
Yuka - I found her bland before she became a professional. Boring costumes, boring choreography.
Miki - I personally like her a lot and root for her, although again her competitive programs bore me/
 
J

JDLutz

Rinkside
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Ladies:
1.Fumie Suguri:Despite how her career has turned out, she is probably my favorite Japanese skater ever, Yeah she was never the top skater out there, but something about her skating just captivated me :love:
2.Midori Ito:Nuff Said...
3.Akiko Suzuki/Mao Asada:Akiko is the only ladies skater left who puts emotion in every performance, her love of the sport is obvious to a blind person, and at age 26 she is coming into her prime, Bravo!. Mao is just fantastic, my favorite performance of hers is still 2010 worlds LP(yeah, I loved Bells :biggrin: ) She's just go graceful, but also a powerful skater.

Men:
1.Takeshi Honda: Loved everything about him, The Takeshi/Fumie Days were just fantastic for me! lol
2.Daisuke Takahashi: He continued what takeshi started for Japanese men, He IS Japanese men's skating, already a legend, and rightfully so :)
3.TBD:Maybe Hanyu?
 
I

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Midori Ito: The trail blazer. The standard to which all ladies jumpers are held to. For a massive, 7-triple LP in Calgary. For rediscovering her love of the sport later in life.

Mao Asada: For being the inspiration for future skaters. For gorgeous exhibitions. For pushing herself instead of coasting. For simply beautiful skating.

Shizuka Arakawa: For all the things she wasn't. She wasn't a wunderbaby. She wasn't the favourite of her federation. Despite the brevity of her peak, she was neither an overnight success or a one-hit-wonder. She was merely talented, driven and a very hard worker.
 
Vash01

Vash01

Medalist
Joined
Jul 31, 2003
I am shocked that many posters have not even mentioned Midori Ito. When I hear Japanese ladies, she is the first one that comes to my mind. She was one of the reasons I became fan of figure skating (G&G being another reason). I loved it that she dared to challenge herself technically when other ladies were just being pretty dolls doing easy jumps. Midori could have beaten most men of her era. Had she competed in the mens field, she could have medalled. Scott Hamilton said "It will be 50 years before we see anyone like Midori Ito again." Ito is definitely #1 in my book.

I love Mao Asada's skating, even with her flawed jumps because she is working on improving them. I love her ethereal style, her lines, posture, and most of all her spunk.

That is not to put down other Japanese ladies with great achievements. Shizuka turned out very good in the end, but she always had consistency problems. She would probably be my #3.

I was never a big Yuka Sato fan when she was an eligible skater. She was kind of boring until she turned pro and really blossomed into a versatile skater. She will probably be #4 for me.

Miki Ando has been a bit of a disappointment for me, inspite of her 2 world championships, but they are enough to put her at #5 on my list.

As much as I loved watching Yukina Ota, she never mastered the jumps and never even made the Japanese world team at the senior level.

Men:

It's easy. Daisuke Takahashi, and then every one else. My list begins and ends with Takahashi, as of today. May be Yuzuru Hanyu will some day reach the top. Right now Kozuka may be the more developed skater. I had high hopes of Takeshi Honda but his potential never materialzed. I never truly liked Oda.
 
Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff

Final Flight
Joined
Nov 10, 2011
Midori was before my time. *shrug* I started watching figure skating in '94, after her she'd turned pro. I saw her in pro competitions and watched her earlier competition programs later. I was impressed, but it isn't the same. It's not like watching those historic moments as they happened and seeing how far ahead of everyone else she is. So she didn't come to mind. Perhaps the same is true for others.
 
N

Nadine

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 3, 2003
None of the Japanese have impressed me over the years in figure skating, in any discipline, except their women figure skaters. Midori solely for her jumps, which I admirely greatly even with the flawed leg wrap technique. Then there were those two special ones that stole my heart ~ Yoshi & Yukari ~ Yoshi for her joy/smile/determination, and Yukari for her heartbreaking "Firebird". Special mention, Miki, whom I loved from the start but it waned a bit as the years went by. Because by then came the one I was looking for ~ Mao ~ she encompasses every generation of figure skating, the best of all my favorites. She's in a class all her own. Truly. :bow:

As for the men, there is only ONE ~ Daisuke Takahashi. His name I will remember, as well as his programs. His skating cannot be taught, nor emulated. He will live on inside my memory long after my body has turned to dust.
 
mskater93

mskater93

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 22, 2005
Nadine said:
None of the Japanese have impressed me over the years in figure skating, in any discipline, except their women figure skaters. Midori solely for her jumps, which I admirely greatly even with the flawed leg wrap technique.
Click to expand...

How many times do we have to discuss this on this forum for technical clarity? Midori did not have a wrap on her jumps, that would be Yukari Nakano that did. A wrap is technically knee to knee with the rest of the free leg hanging out beyond the knee in a "I have to pee" kind of position with the thighs pressed close together. Midori had her free ankle at her knee and was open in her hips because she never had to pull in to fully rotate those jumps. Midori's air position is actually the "upward" position of most skaters' jumps before they pull down tight ankle to ankle - the position that helps create the upward and rotational momentun. Please compare these two skaters in air position to learn the difference between what a wrap really is and Midori's open position. Also, typically skaters who wrap their jumps don't get full upward momentum and don't fully rotate.
 
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