Yuzuru Hanyu: Notte Stellata

[TallyT]

The skaters rehearsing Notte Stellata stopping at 14.46 - the moment the earthquake in 2011 hit - to remember and respect.



Reading the 2011 archives, as I did a few years ago, was a graphic revelation of what all the Japanese skaters, as well as everyone in the affected area, went through.

 

[Magill]

12 years ago....



For those who do not know, just a reminder that during the time of the earthquake Yuzuru was training at his home rink in Sendai with others when the ice started to crumble and fall apart around them, with heavy ceiling lights falling down on the ice. Coaches led the group of young skaters crawling off the ice and outside, without even allowing them time to take their skates off. Both his training rink and his home were damaged and destroyed, and for three days he lived with his family in a local school's sports hall turned into an emergency shelter for displaced people from where they moved to temporary housing. He wanted to give up skating and join rescue brigades when he was found by Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese OGM, originally from Sendai, too, who persuaded him that with his talent he had better ways to help the victims by raising money for them which he has been doing ever since. During the next 6 months he performed in 60 ice shows all around Japan, collecting money and using the show facilities to practice for competitions as he had no other place to do that.

 

[TallyT]

I've just seen the video, the sirens - that would have sounded in the building at that very moment in 2011, while Yuzu was on the same rink - sounded as a backdrop to the skaters' silence. It was absolutely spinechilling.

 

[Magill]

I've just seen the video, the sirens - that would have sounded in the building at that very moment in 2011, while Yuzu was on the same rink - sounded as a backdrop to the skaters' silence. It was absolutely spinechilling.

At that moment yesterday the sirens could have been heard all over Japan, just like every year on that day, at this hour, to make the nation stop and remember. The sound was broadcasted at the rink from the radio.

 

[gsk8]

Yuzuru Hanyu: An ocean of Stars for Sendai

Yuzuru Hanyu’s “Notte Stellata” — An ocean of Stars for Sendai Miyagi Prefecture is one of the most beautiful destinations in Japan and enjoys great popularity, not least because of […]

www.goldenskate.com

On March 11 in 2011, the Great Tōhoku Earthquake and subsequent tsunami destroyed large parts of the northeast area of the country, claiming the lives of many victims. Even outside Japan, the images of destruction triggered shock, with the entire world seeming to come to a standstill for that day. For Yuzuru Hanyu, the figure skating legend from Sendai (in Miyagi), this tragedy was a cutting event.

"Since that March 11, every year when I skate, I incorporate my feelings, my prayers and my sadness," Hanyu explained. "It's the first time I've stepped in front of an audience on March 11 with such a heartfelt spirit and put on such a project. But I hope that through the show "Notte Stellata," I can convey all my feelings and that (the audience) will discover in the program new aspects, new emotions and new themes."

More

 

[Magill]

Some memories and thoughts, in his own words:

 

[withwings]

...so heart touching... thank you, Yuzuru

 

[TallyT]

I think people, some even in Japan maybe, forget how terrible young he was, we call the current crop of sixteen-year-olds children at a critical age, but this boy not only went through the heart of the disaster and survivors' guilt but then had to take on the expectations of his country and the grief and hopes of his city and precinct. It is no wonder that the marks left are still there 12 years later and he still does everything he can for them.

 

[surimi]

12 years ago....



For those who do not know, just a reminder that during the time of the earthquake Yuzuru was training at his home rink in Sendai with others when the ice started to crumble and fall apart around them, with heavy ceiling lights falling down on the ice. Coaches led the group of young skaters crawling off the ice and outside, without even allowing them time to take their skates off. Both his training rink and his home were damaged and destroyed, and for three days he lived with his family in a local school's sports hall turned into an emergency shelter for displaced people from where they moved to temporary housing. He wanted to give up skating and join rescue brigades when he was found by Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese OGM, originally from Sendai, too, who persuaded him that with his talent he had better ways to help the victims by raising money for them which he has been doing ever since. During the next 6 months he performed in 60 ice shows all around Japan, collecting money and using the show facilities to practice for competitions as he had no other place to do that.

Thanks for the supplementary information, I didn't know some of that. Re. the last sentence, I think I recall reading somewhere Yuzuru had to commute to another city, perhaps Yokohama, at times to practice. Do I remember that correctly?

 

[Magill]

Thanks for the supplementary information, I didn't know some of that. Re. the last sentence, I think I recall reading somewhere Yuzuru had to commute to another city, perhaps Yokohama, at times to practice. Do I remember that correctly?

Yes, he did commute to Yokohama (three hours) at some point but that was much earlier and it was caused by his home rink being closed for two years and his coach moving from Sendai to Yokohama. So Yuzu started to train with a new coach at another rink in Sendai but still visited his former coach in his new place on weekends.
BTW his home rink, the one where he first started to skate and was at during the earthquake, was the same rink where Shizuka Arakawa, the first Japanese female figure skating OGM, practised as a child. They even attended the same school. Huge coincidence as they are the only Japanese OGMs in FS...
Reopening of this rink was when Yuzu gave one of his first TV interviews (if you turn on the subtitles option, you get it in English)