Yuzuru Hanyu Quotes (1994-)

“It’s thanks to Javi, if I beat my pressure. When I feel nervous, he’s usually talking about something funny. So I think, I owe what I won to him.”

“I really love to skate, I really love to perform. I want to skate for my fans. I never feel like a champion. I'm always a challenger.”

“I bet my life to skate, everytime. I think, that's the mission of my life. That's why I was born here. [...] I was born for my skate.”

“プレッシャー大好き、崖っぷち大好き、ヤッホーイ。
• Translation: I love pressure. I love being on the edge of a cliff. Yahooi.”

“He's a lucky charm for me, but kinda like a coach, because he always watches my performance and he's always with me for every competition. I'm really glad to see his face.”

“I'd like to overcome more barriers. I'd like to be in the position where, no matter what happens - even if they skate their free skate clean - if I skate clean, I will win.”

“Honestly, sometimes I’m feeling like they treat me as a celebrity or an idol, but I’m not quite that. But I understand they’re all here to support me and I appreciate that passion.”

“I managed to win twice, but the Olympics are something special. The Olympic Games are what every athlete and figure skater wants to win. Winning them makes you a true champion.”

“努力はウソをつく。でも無駄にはならない。
• Translation: Efforts will lie, but they will not be in vain.
Common variation: Effort may lie, but will never be in vain.”

“Sometimes I can't explain or speak with words. It really feels a little frustrating. But in skating I can use all languages, for all the people. I can do a part of the performance for every country, every people.”

“自分がすべきことを集中してやっていけば、自ずと道は開かれてくると信じているので。
• Translation: I believe that if you focus on what you should do, the road ahead will open up naturally.”

“It's not only me, who is serving this sport. Figure skating is a sport. Yes, there are shows, but we're athletes and competitors. You can't compete with only one skater. There are so many amateur skaters, who gather to compete. This is how figure skating as a sport is made.”

“明日の自分が今の自分を見たら胸張っていられるように、そんな今を過ごし続けたいなという風に思ってます。
• Translation: I hope to keep on living the present in a way that I can always be proud of myself in front of tomorrow's me.”

“次のもう一個の課題を克服するチャンスが来たっていうのは、それはもうただただ、いつも思うように、こんな恵まれたことはないですよ。
• Translation: The chance to overcome another challenge is simply, as I always feel, a blessing.”

“僕は僕。羽生結弦以上でも、以下でもない。ありのままの自分が出来る事を、五輪でもしっかりやりたい。
• Translation: I am me. No more, no less than Yuzuru Hanyu. I want to be myself and do what I can do to the full at the Olympics as well.”

“Costumes are important tools for me to express the story in my program. I also think that costumes are one of the things that serve to highlight the uniqueness of Yuzuru Hanyu, the skater. [...] People who see it, will feel that it has to be Yuzuru, it has to be this program and costume.”

“それがあるから絶対幸せが来るんだっていうのをひたすら待ってました。「明けない夜はない」。
• Translation: Because there were such moments [of doubt], I earnestly thought that happiness has to come in the end and waited for it. 'There is no night that doesn't dawn'.”

“自分の中で特にこれになりたいというのはないけど、アニメとかは好きだし、なんかとにかく劇的に勝ちたいという気持ちはすごくあります。
• Translation: I don't have a hero in particular that I want to be, but I like watching anime, and I quite like to win in a dramatic way.”

“なんか限界だなって感じはないです。ただ、この限界だなって思うかもしれない時期をどうやって乗り越えていくか。
• Translation: I don’t feel like I’ve hit my limit yet. Rather, it’s a question of how I overcome moments in which I may feel like this is my limit.”

“目標を書くなら大きいほうがいい。具体的に書いたほうが達成しやすい。けっこう理数系です。
• Translation: If you’re going to set goals, it’s better for them to be big. If you write them down decisively, it’s easier to succeed. Indeed, my way of thinking is quite mathematical.”

“It would be terrible, if no one expected anything from me. [...] Of course, I can't always deliver one hundred percent, but what I always try to do is: respond to their expectation at one hundred twenty percent level. That's why – when I fail to do so – the disappointment is huge, and when I [succeed], it's an amazing sense of achievement that no words can describe.”

“いつも心を開いているんです。心を開いていなければ何も吸収できないし、おもしろくない。心を開くことが成長の原動力。
• Translation: I always open my heart. If you don’t open your heart, you cannot absorb anything and it’s not interesting. The driving force for growth is to have an open heart‬.”

“試合でうまくいかなくてもあまり落ち込まないのが僕の特徴です。逆に失敗した試合のあとは100%モチベーションが上がります。
• Translation: My strong point is that even if I don’t do well in a competition, I don’t really get depressed. On the contrary, my motivation goes up 100% after a competition where I’ve failed.”

“難易度と芸術 のバランスというのは本当はないんじゃないかな、芸術は絶対的な技術力に基づいたものである、と僕は思っています。
• Translation: That so-called balance between [technical] difficulty and artistry, to me that doesn't actually exist. Artistry is founded upon absolute technical prowess, that's what I think.”

“逆境は嫌いじゃないので。弱くなってる自分がすごく嫌なんです。それは本当に嫌いですけど、でも弱いというのは強くなれる可能性があると思ってるんで。
• Translation: I don't dislike adversities. What I dislike is myself being weak. I really hate it, but I think being weak means that you have the potential to become strong.”

“できなかったら、できるまでやる。できるようになったら、完璧にできるまでやる。完璧にできるようになったら、何度でも、完璧にできるまでやる。
• Translation: If I can't do it, I will work on it until I can. If I become able to do it, I will work on it until I can do it perfectly. If I become able to do it perfectly, I will work on it until I can do it perfectly any number of times.”

“確実にうまくなっているんで、羽生結弦。ふふ。普通にうまくなってるんで。[...] だから、あまりすごい限界だから辞める、みたいな感触はないですね。
• Translation: This Yuzuru Hanyu is, without a doubt, still improving. Hehe. Indeed getting better. [...] That’s why, for me, there’s not really the feeling that I should quit because I’ve reached my limits or anything.”

“特に自分からコメントを常に発信したいなとは思ってないし、何よりも、自分がたくさんの方々に愛してもらってるのはすごく分かってるので…うん…あのー、何だろう？ 特別自分から何かをしなくてもいいかなという風に思っています。
• Translation: I am not really into making a lot of comments for myself. More than anything, I am already feeling a lot of love from many supporters. So... in that sense, I don't think I need to do anything special.”

“今はとにかく、一日一日を大事にしたいと思う。何気ない日常の一日一日、アイスショーの日々、練習の日々、試合の日々をすべて大切にしたい。そんなことを、あの日を境により強く感じるようになりました。
• Translation: More than anything else, I want to make every day count now. I want to make every single normal day, every ice show, every practice and every competition count. That's what I have been thinking about the most since the day of the earthquake.”

“自分は被災者なのかスケーターなのか、ということにすごく迷っていた時期もあったんですけど、どっちでもないのかなという気がしました。明確な答えはまだ出てないですけど、スケーターとして本当にいろんな方に支えられてるなと感じています。
• Translation: There was a time when I was not sure, if I was a victim of the disaster or a skater, but I feel maybe I am neither of them. I haven't reached a definite answer, but as a skater, I feel so much support from so many people.”

“振り付け1つ1つに、今回はお客さんがいないのでなかなかコネクトすることは難しいですけれども、1つ1つにお客さんとつながるような振りが多くあるので、それもまたこのプログラムの魅力かなと思います。
• Translation: Looking back on each element, the absence of the audience this time meant that it was difficult to make that connection [with the crowd], but there are a lot of movements in the choreography that try to speak to the audience, so I think that’s also a key appeal for this program.”

“いろんな方々が僕の演技を見た時に勇気を感じたとか、何か幸せになったとか、そういったことを言ってくれて、それが自分にとってのスケートのモチベーションだと思ってますし、それが僕が今スケートを最後までやり通す意味になってるなって思います。
• Translation: A lot of people said to me that they were able to feel courage or happiness, for instance, when they see my performance. So, I believe that this is my motivation for skating, and that this gives me the reason to go on until the end.”

“そこに音楽があるから、フィギュアスケートっていう表現だったり、芸術だったり、技術っていうものがそこに生まれてくるのであって、音楽とフィギュアスケートっていうのがほぼイコールだと僕は思ってます。で、僕にとっては… なんて言うか、生きがいです。フィギュアスケートをやる理由です。
• Translation: Because it’s the music that engenders the expression, artistry, and technique that is figure skating, I think that music and figure skating are essentially one and the same. [...] It’s my raison d'être. It’s the reason I skate.”

“これから試合が始まったら、羽生は地震のせいで成績が落ちた、なんてことにはしたくない。もちろん自分が被災者の代表であることの誇りは絶対に失いはしないけれど、「地震のなかで頑張った」「地震のせいで頑張れなかった」ではなく、普通の選手として、何も関係なく戦えるだけの力をつけたいんです。
• Translation: I wouldn't like to hear people say 'Hanyu can't skate well due to the earthquake', when the next season starts... I will never lose my pride in representing the disaster areas, but I want to grow stronger and compete as an ordinary skater, regardless of my circumstances.”

“震災があってからちょっと変わったかなって思います。やっぱり自分は周囲を支えようとする立場だと思われるんですよ、メディア的な部分でも。自分の演技を通じて応援できれば、という感じに。でも逆に僕がすごく支えられていたなって感じたんです。
• Translation: I think I have changed a bit since the earthquake. After all, people think that I am in a position to support people around me. That is how the media portray me as well, like, I am hoping to cheer for others with my performance. However, on the contrary, I realized that I was the one who had been receiving so much support.”

“たとえばバレエとかミュージカルとかもそうですけれども、芸術というのは、明らかに正しい技術、徹底された基礎によって裏付けされた表現力、芸術であって、それが足りないと芸術にはならないと僕は思っています。
• Interpreter: I believe – and this is the case not only for figure skating but for other forms of art including ballet and musicals as well – that this artistry is very much based on having the correct technique and a strong foundation at the core of everything. It is upon these that the artistry is built, and without that strong foundation and that basis in technique, it is not possible to have that full artistry required as well.”

“僕が見せたいスケートとか、僕が表現したいものとか、そういうものってやっぱり身体がないと何もできないので、まずは身体を大切に、そしてまわりも人も大切に、大事なものを僕は、スケートという大事なものを守れるように、しっかり胸を張って行動できることをやっていきたいと思います。
• Translation: The kind of performance I want to show, and the things I want to express, ultimately, I cannot do any of that without being healthy. So firstly, I’d like to take good care of my body and also the people around me. I want to contribute what I can, as seriously as I can and with pride, in order to protect figure skating, which itself is something precious to me.”

“えっと、まあ、チャレンジャーっていうことを言われますけど、でもいつも他のスケーターの良いところを追いかけてるし、他のスケーターに対してチャレンジしたいなって思ってるし、だからいつも自分はチャレンジャーだと思っていて、だから今シーズンの世界選手権でも先シーズンの世界選手権でも何も変わらないかなって思います。
• Translation: Well, I’m being portrayed as the challenger, but I’m always chasing after other skaters’ strengths, and I’m always seeking to challenge other skaters. So, I always see myself as a challenger, and nothing really has changed between this season’s World Championships and last season’s.”

“なんかこのプログラムは自分のプログラムで、もうこれで滑るのは本当に数え切れないぐらい滑ることになっているけれど、自分ではワインとか、チーズみたいなもので、今までこんなフィギュアスケートの形ってなかったかもしれないけれど、滑れば滑るほど、時間をかければかけるほど熟成されて、いろんな深みが出るプログラム。
• Translation: This program is, after all, my program — a program I’ve skated countless times in competition. It can be compared to something like wine and cheese. You may not have seen this kind of figure skating until now, but the more I skate the program, the more time passes, the program also ages in a way that brings out its various depths.”

“女子と男子のスケートの違いについては、もちろん、その繊細さだったり、パワフルさだったり、いろんなものが違うとは思います。ただ、そのそれぞれのスケーターが素晴らしい個性を持っていて、その個性を出すことがフィギュアスケートのすごく魅力的なところだと思うので、全スケーターがみんな違うと僕は思っています。
• Interpreter: Now, the difference between gender: Of course I'm sure, there is many such as delicateness as well as powerfulness and all of that. But it’s not about gender. It's more about individuality and the character each skater has and that’s what makes figure skating so interesting and attractive. So I think, if all skaters can show their own uniqueness, that's what figure skating is all about.”

“フィギュアスケートは、1人で大きなリンクで滑ることが出来て、皆さんがそれを見てくださるので、それがすごく特別だなって思いますし、他の競技だったら1人だけを見てくれるということがあんまりないかなって思いますし、後は何か表現したいことを表現するっていうことが出来ないかなって思うんですよね。だからフィギュアスケートはすごく特別だなって思うし、フィギュアスケートがすごく好きだなって思います。
• Translation: In figure skating, we have the opportunity to skate alone in a large rink, where everyone's attention is focused on one performer. I think that this aspect makes figure skating very special. In other sports it isn’t common that all eyes are on one performer. Also, I don’t think it’s really possible to express what you want to express [in other sports].”

“実際こうやって金メダリストになりましたが、僕一人が頑張ったからといって復興に直接つながるわけではないので、すごい無力感というか、そういうのを感じますし、何もできていないんだなと思います。一生懸命やって五輪で金メダルを取れたのはありますけど、やはりここからまた五輪の金メダリストになれたからこそ、スタートなんじゃないかなと思います。ここから復興のためにできることがあるんじゃないかなと、今思っています。
• Translation: Yes, I am an Olympic gold medalist now, but this medal cannot help the recovery in that region. I feel like I am helpless here. I feel like I am not making any contribution. I worked very hard to get this gold medal. That might be wonderful for me. Because I am a gold medalist in the Olympics, I think this can be the starting point for me. Perhaps there is something I can do for the recovery.”

“毎回毎回、被災地とか、津波の被害があったところとか、通るたびにすごく思うんだけれども、僕の言葉なんかじゃ絶対表せないし…言ってみれば部外者だから、僕たちは。人の心に踏み込んじゃいけないところって絶対あるんで…。でもこういう風景を見てる時に思うのは、本当に何ができるかなってことはいつも思います。[...] 本当に僕たちは今生きている中で逆に何を残せるんだろうってすごく思うんですよね、本当にいろんなものがなくなってしまったからこそ。”
• Translation: Every time I pass by an affected area or a place hit by the tsunami, I think I have no words to describe it... because we are, as we say, outsiders. Everyone has a place in their heart where others should not tread on. However, when I see a landscape like this, I always ask myself what I can do. [...] I really wonder what we can leave [for the future] while being alive now, all the more because so many things were lost.”

“「あって当然のもの」なんてないんだな、ということを、よく考えます。今、自分がここにいること。自分の家が、まだ無事に建っていること。そばに家族がいてくれること。どれをとっても当たり前のことなんかじゃない。本当に偶然、幸運に恵まれて存在しているものだということ。一度はいろいろなものを失いかけたことで、改めてそう考えるようになりました。まだ17歳のちっぽけな僕ですが、価値観を大きく変えられてしまう……東日本大震災は、そんな出来事でした。
• Translation: I often feel that things you take for granted are not always guaranteed. You are here, you still have a home, and your family is there for you; you can't take them for granted. Everything exists just by luck. Because I almost lost a lot of things, I came to feel this way. I'm only 17 years old, but the disaster totally changed my values... The Great East Japan Earthquake was such a big event.”

“震災後初めて、津波の被害のあったところまで行き、石巻の中学校を訪問させていただきました。全校生徒の前でスケートの話をしたんですけれど、それより金メダルを持ってきているということにまず、中学生たちがすごく喜んでくれたんです。そして、僕に会っただけでもすごく笑顔になってくれました。生徒の皆さんの笑顔から、被災した方々、本当につらい経験をしてきた方が元気になってくれたということを、教えてもらったというか、肌で感じさせていただいたことが初めてだったので、すごく嬉しかったんです。僕自身が一番感動し、僕自身が元気になったなって思います。
• Translation: For the first time after the great earthquake, I went to the area affected by the tsunami and visited a junior high school in Ishinomaki. I talked about figure skating in front of the students, but they got so excited to know that I was bringing the gold medal in the first place, and they got big smiles on their faces when they saw me. That made me so happy, because their smile made me learn... or realize for the first time that I could cheer up someone who had been going through a tough time because of the disaster. I think I was the most touched and cheered up there.”