17/03/2024, 18:06 Part 11 Normal is admirable | No matter when the world might end – Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun

hinbun | Yuzuru Hanyu | ほぼ日刊イ…

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’s Profile

This article is available in Japanese, English and Chinese.

＞ Japanese（日本語）

＞ Chinese（中文版） weibo／REDBOOK

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17/03/2024, 18:06 Part 11 Normal is admirable | No matter when the world might end – Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun | Yuzuru Hanyu | ほぼ日刊イ…

Prev Index Next

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

H a n yu Apparently I didn’t speak much for the first two years of my life,

and only showed any feeling toward what I was interested in.

Itoi That’s interesting.

H a n yu I guess I didn’t feel the need to talk. But here I am talking so

much right now. (Laughs)

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17/03/2024, 18:06 Part 11 Normal is admirable | No matter when the world might end – Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun | Yuzuru Hanyu | ほぼ日刊イ…

Itoi (Laughs) What kind of child were you? Did you play the same

way as the kids around you?

H a n yu No, I think I was quite different.

Itoi I’ve never heard about this before.

H a n yu With figure skating, you need to practice really early in the

morning and late at night because you can’t train properly when

the ice rink is open to the public. So we reserve the ice rink in
the morning, then it’s open to the public, and then when their

business hours end we can reserve it again and practice at night.

During my first years of elementary school, I wanted to play with

my friends, but I couldn’t train for figure skating seriously

without getting some sleep before going back to practice. So

basically, I’d practice in the morning from around 6 AM until 10

AM, go back home, eat, and take a nap. Then I’d wake up and
prepare for skating practice again. That was how I spent every

weekend.

Itoi That’s definitely different from other children.

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H a n yu Even on school days, the ice rink was nearby, so I’d head straight

there after school to practice. I wasn’t always on ice, but practice

was from 3 PM to 8 PM, so I didn’t have much time to play with

my friends.

Itoi So it was already like that when you were a young kid in early

elementary school.

H a n yu Also, the figure skating scene back then was mainly composed of
female athletes. Nowadays there are more male athletes, but

figure skating used to be seen as a sport for girls.

Itoi The ratio must have been somewhat similar to ballet or

something, then.

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H a n yu Exactly. I was surrounded by girls, and I felt no discomfort with

that situation. So I didn’t have a boyhood where I played games

or sports with my friends.

Itoi You seem to have had a really good understanding of what a

normal childhood looked like, even though yours was so unique.

H a n yu I wanted to be normal.

Itoi Ah, so you’d learned about normality.

H a n yu Yeah. When I was little, I really wanted to be normal. I liked

baseball, so I wanted to go to the park with my friends after

school and play baseball and video games and stuff. It was

around the time when new portable game devices like the Game

Boy and Game Boy Advance were getting more advanced, and I
wanted to battle my friends on them. But my practice hours

always conflicted with the hours my friends were available to

play. I knew that I needed to train seriously to be able to win a

gold medal at the Olympics, so there was part of me that gave up

being normal.

Itoi So, you admired being normal.

H a n yu Yes. I admire being normal.

Itoi Normal is admirable.

H a n yu I still do think that to this day, to be honest. I wish I could be

normal, but a part of me knows that I’d be bored if I was normal.

There are things that I thought were normal but grew to realize

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they were anything but, so I’ve come to understand how weird I

am.

Itoi Not that that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

H a n yu Right. If I were normal, then I wouldn’t be me.

Itoi Yeah. So your hobby is to be normal, then.

H a n yu I admire being normal.

Itoi But now that you’ve stepped away from competitive skating,
have the things you’re able to do expanded?

H a n yu Yes, so, I guess I’m currently going from “normal” to “weird.”

With competitive figure skating, there are rules of things you

should or shouldn’t do, so it’s a world where “normal” is very

easy to define.

Itoi I see.

H a n yu But I’m currently at a place where there aren’t any rules. Rather,
it’s about expression, which doesn’t even necessarily ask for
normal. At the same time, many people coming to my shows

want to see normal. If I show them too much weird stuff it’ll go
over their heads, so I always think about how to balance things
out. Of course, there are people who are looking to see

something out of the ordinary, and I do my ice shows because I

want to, but at the same time, I still want to convey a message.

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Itoi So those restrictions from the competitions have been lifted, and
now you’re a mix of normal and weird.

H a n yu Right. It’s easy for someone looking in from the outside to say
how I should do it. Sure, I get it, they’re right, but that’s not how

I want to do it. I face too many of these kinds of dilemmas, so

it’s all messed up inside my head. But I think that that messiness

makes expression special.

Itoi I’m sure. The greater the complication, the more power will

emerge once you break through and make a single choice. I guess
that’s when people are moved by sports or art.

H a n yu Yes. What’s really interesting is how moving sports can be, even
though unlike art, it’s not about expressing emotion.

Itoi Yeah.

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H a n yu For example, I’d watch a marathon or an ekiden race, and even

though I’m not particularly rooting for an athlete, I think of how

hard they’re doing, and I tear up. Whether that be baseball or
soccer, sports have the power to do that.

Itoi Definitely.

H a n yu But I don’t think it’s the expression that does it. I think it’s a
matter of the results. Results are what make sports so moving.

Itoi Ahh.

H a n yu On the other hand, now I’m in a place where there are no results
to be moved by, and all I really have to compete with is my own

expression.

Itoi I see, I see.

H a n yu I want to create something that moves others, but I can’t lean on

any aspect that results would have provided. So in that sense,

“normal” is being moved by results.

Itoi So you’re back to admiring normalcy without being able to

achieve it.

H a n yu Seems like it. (Laughs)

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／

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17/03/2024, 18:06 Part 11 Normal is admirable | No matter when the world might end – Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun | Yuzuru Hanyu | ほぼ日刊イ…

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）

2024-03-11-MON

次へ

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Photography: Toru Yaguchi

Clothing: tk.TAKEO KIKUCHI

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