people-from-japan

"Chess Life: Let’s begin by talking about your return to the Candidates tournament. What does it mean to you at this point in your career to be a Candidate once more? Hikaru Nakamura: First and foremost, it comes as a very pleasant surprise. It was not really an objective of mine when I chose to play in the (2022) FIDE Grand Prix. I was very fortunate to be granted a wild card by the FIDE president, Arkady Dvorkovich. I went into the event wanting to see if I could still cut it against the best players in the world. As most people know, I’ve been streaming a lot over the last couple of years. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I still feel I am quite competitive [with the top players]. I wanted to see how it would go, but there were really no illusions — or delusions, you could say — of qualifying for the Candidates for me.Even after the first event, which I did win, it [qualifying] was not anything that I was thinking about in a serious way. Then in the second event, probably one of the worst possible results [from my perspective] occurred with [GM] Richard Rapport winning, and [GM] Maxime [Vachier-Lagrave] and [GM] Anish [Giri] having fairly... decent results.Before the third event started, I knew the groups weren’t very favorable with [GM] Levon [Aronian] being in mine. I never really was thinking about [qualifying] until I won this game against Levon in the fourth round of the third FIDE Grand Prix. Prior to that, I knew there were chances. Everyone [was] talking about it when I’m streaming and so forth, but it really wasn’t something that I was thinking about."

"How courteous is the Japanese; He always says, “Excuse it, please.” He climbs into his neighbor’s garden, And smiles, and says, “I beg your pardon”; He bows and grins a friendly grin, And calls his hungry family in; He grins, and bows a friendly bow; “So sorry, this my garden now.”"

"The education of the whole Japanese people, beginning at home and continued at school, was based on a patriotic and warlike spirit. That education, combined with the rapidly acquired successes in culture and warfare, aroused in the Japanese a marvellous confidence in their own strength. They served with pride in the ranks of the army, and dreamed of heroic deeds. ... All the thoughts of the nation were turned towards the coming struggle, while in the course of several years they had spent their last farthing in the creation of a powerful army and a strong fleet. ... The day when the young Japanese enlisted was observed as a festival in his family."

"The Musmee has brown velvet eyes Curtain’d with satin, sleepily; You wonder if those lids would rise The newest, strangest sight to see; But when she chatters, laughs, or plays Kôto, biwa, or samisen, No jewel gleams with brighter rays Than flash from those dark lashes then.The Musmee has a small brown face, “Musk-melon seed” its perfect shape: Jetty arch’d eyebrows; nose to grace The rosy mouth beneath; a nape, And neck, and chin, and smooth, soft cheeks Carv’d out of sunburn’d ivory, With teeth, which, when she smiles or speaks, Pearl merchants might come leagues to see!The Musmee’s hair could teach the night How to grow dark, the raven’s wing How to seem ebon! Grand the sight When, in rich masses, towering, She builds each high black-marble coil, And binds the gold and scarlet in; And thrusts, triumphant, through the toil The Kanzâshi, her jewell’d pin.The Musmee has wee, faultless feet, With snow-white tabi trimly deck’d, Which patter down the city street In short steps, slow and circumspect; A velvet string between her toes Holds to its place th’ unwilling shoe: Pretty and pigeonlike she goes, And on her head a hood of blue.The Musmee wears a wondrous dress— Kimono, obi, imoji— A rosebush in Spring loveliness Is not more colour-glad to see! Her girdle holds her silver pipe, And heavy swing her long silk sleeves With cakes, love-letters, mikan ripe, Small change, musk-bag, and writing-leaves.The Musmee’s heart is slow to grief, And quick to pleasure, dance, and song; The Musmee’s pocket-handkerchief A square of paper! All day long Gentle, and sweet, and debonair Is, rich or poor, this Asian lass: Heaven have her in its tender care, O medetó gozarimas!"

"I think in Japan, people are more aware. I once was in Japan and eating alone. A Japanese couple came and wanted to practice their English. They asked me what I did. I said I was a mathematician but could not get the idea across until I said: “Like Hironaka”. Wow! It’s as though in America I’d said “Like ”, or , or . Perhaps Hironaka’s name is ... the only one known, but in America I don’t think any mathematician’s name would get any response."

"We Germans have a far greater and more urgent duty towards civilization to perform than the Great Asiatic Power. We, like the Japanese, can only fulfil it by the sword."

"Although the West, rather than Japan, eventually became the promised land of Reiki, there would be no Reiki at all without Usui and his teachings."

"Website: https://www.kvvak.nl/"

"Date: December 2010"

"Quote: "It’s easy to say, ‘Develop your individuality’, but it takes 20 to 30 years to achieve it"."

"Journal: VVAK: December 2010, Nr. 40, p.27"

"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."

"He's his own mystical creature, that's for sure. [...] He also has this unmatched confidence that I think is very rare but also very prevalent in all the greats in the sport. Like that he knows he's the best and he wants everyone to know he's the best and he lives up to it."

"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。"

"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。"

"There is no one like him. No one like Yuzuru Hanyu. [...] The rockstar does it again. And whatever it cost, the GOAT – the GOAT – delivers."

"This is not a world championship, this is not the Olympics, but I've never seen anything like this. [...] The maestro, the master, Yuzuru Hanyu, has won in Canada."

"With Yuzu, we are everything, we are friends, we are team mates, at some point we have to be rivals. It’s like having a wife, your wife is your friend, your wife is everything, but it depends on the time. When we are on the ice, we are competing against each other but when the competition is done, we are friends again and we work together again."

"Very probably the best figure skate. Ever."

"他让我想起一句话。命运对勇士低语: '你无法抵御风暴。' 勇士低声回应: '我就是风暴。'"

"Lane: It's like he's on a mission to be not just the best in the world but the best there has ever been. Browning: Too late, he already is."

"The mindset to overcome this injury, to deal with all of that pressure is what makes him a true champion."

"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."

"Watch how he plays with the music. He is a master."

"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。"

"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。"

"I want to be stronger. Maybe I need to become a Yuzuru Hanyu who is more Yuzuru Hanyu."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"A genius in action and it's very probable, he's going to break the world record he set two weeks ago."

"Yuzu skates in a place that most of us can only dream about."

"With one delayed single Axel, one triple Axel, Yuzuru Hanyu, double gold medalist, just gave a masterclass of what figure skating actually is."

"He went for the quads and he fell. He went for the triple Axel and he fell. Went for the Loop and the Lutz and he fell. [...] But still, the skating quality was there. What a character he is."

"Jumps like that, possibly, are dropped from heaven and he is just the right guy to catch them."

"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。"

"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。"

"He does have everything. He has exceptional skating skills, he interprets well, his spins are one of the best in the competition and when he's on, his jump quality is the best, too."

"It looked like water, suspended in soup."

"Benvenuti sul pianeta Hanyu. Abitanti uno, LUI!"

"Figure skating is not such a high profile sport, when you think of the greats of this year: Jordan Spieth, Floyd Mayweather, Messi, Ronaldo. This guy, in his sport, is as good as they are."

"And that's what makes a true champion: if you can land the jumps, when they are not quite right. That makes you extra special."

"I do like that he occasionally shows us that he's human. Just throws in the odd fall here and there, because we need to be reminded, occasionally, that he is a human being."

"Definitely agile like a freshly born kitten."

"Alors, nous sommes très fiers sur France Télévision cet après-midi de vous proposer ce chef d’œuvre absolu. Ce programme est à enregistrer dans toutes les écoles de patinage."

"That is everything you could ever want in a short program. The complete package. He balances the artistic score and the technical score like no one I have ever seen. The best ever. He has the jumps, he has those quads, he has the performance ability. It was perfection."

"実現するために苦労がたくさん必要だなって思えるようなものでした。"

"I will never forget your performance. Thank you for allowing me to come to Toronto. I’ll respect you forever. Ganbatte, Javi, vamos!"

"I've heard that his programmes this year are hommages or testaments to some of his favourite skaters. [...] And that's interesting, because that makes you believe that – perhaps – he's a little reserved in his own estimations of himself [...] Perhaps he's not quite aware that he's everybody else's inspiration, he's everybody else's motivation to improve."

"Watch this footwork into the triple Axel on one foot. He doesn't even put the other foot down and then choreography on the landing. I want to see people to do that on a single Axel, let alone a triple. That is an incredibly difficult entrance."