#japan earthquake sendai

[sharemarketinsider]

Powerful Earthquake Hits Japan on New Year’s Day, Tsunami Warning Issued (जापान में नए साल की सुबह शक्तिशाली भूकंप, सुनामी की चेतावनी जारी)

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.08.05] AERA x Yuzuru Hanyu: 24.8.12-19 No. 37

person in focus

"After all, it's frustrating when I can't perform well."

A session with photographer Mika Ninagawa for the first time in a year. In a long interview exclusive to this magazine, he talks about the ideals he pursues.

Writer: Takaomi Matsubara

Professional skater Yuzuru Hanyu

Born December 7, 1994 in Sendai. 2009 Won the Junior Grand Prix Final at age 14. 2010 Became the youngest Japanese male to win the World Junior Championships. 2011 While practicing at a rink in Sendai, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, and he had to live in an evacuation shelter. The rink where he was training was temporarily closed. 2012 First participated in the World Championships, coming in third. 2013 Graduated from Tohoku High School. Enrolled in a correspondence course at the Faculty of Human Sciences at Waseda University, studying human informatics and cognitive sciences. Won his first Grand Prix Final. Won four consecutive titles thereafter. 2014 First Asian gold medal in men's figure skating at the Sochi Olympics. First World Championship win. 2017 Second World Championship win. 2018 Second gold medal in men's figure skating at the Pyeongchang Olympics. 2020 Won his first Four Continents Championship, becoming the first man to win all major international junior and senior competitions. 2022 Participated in the Beijing Olympics. In July, announced his professional career. The ice show "Prologue" was held in Yokohama in November and in Hachinohe in December. 2023 In February, the ice show "GIFT" was held at Tokyo Dome. In March, the ice show "notte stellata" was held in Miyagi Prefecture. In March and April, he appeared in the ice show "Stars on Ice" (Osaka, Iwate, Yokohama). In May and June, he appeared in the ice show "Fantasy on Ice" (Makuhari, Miyagi, Niigata, Kobe). In November, the ice show "RE_PRAY" tour began at Saitama Super Arena. The following year, it was held at SAGA Arena in Saga in January, Pia Arena MM in Yokohama in February, and Sekisui Heim Super Arena in Miyagi in April. 2024 In March, the ice show "notte stellata" was held in Miyagi Prefecture. In May and June, he appeared in the ice show "Fantasy on Ice" (Makuhari, Aichi). On September 15th, he will be performing in the "Noto Peninsula Reconstruction Support Charity Performance Challenge" in Ishikawa Prefecture.

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It has been two years since he made a new start as a professional figure skater in the summer of 2022. In 2024, he led three successful ice shows: "RE_PRAY" (Saga, Yokohama, Miyagi performances), "notte stellata" and "Fantasy on Ice".

The shoot with Mika Ninagawa for the first time in a year began with a cheerful greeting from each other, "Thank you for your continued support this year," and "Thank you." When she said to him, "You're still as young as ever!", Hanyu replied with a smile, a little embarrassed, "I'm almost 30."

"Move freely."

With those words, he made expressions and gestures as he pleased.

Various scenes were set up in the vast studio. Hanyu, who changed costumes and was photographed in each scene, moved and made expressions freely, sometimes under instructions and sometimes as if he was imagining (creating) a story himself. The people watching repeatedly let out gasps of amazement as the images were displayed one after another on the computer monitor. It was nothing short of amazing how he instantly exuded various moods - from boyish with a hint of innocence to cool and seductive.

His creativity was not limited to the way he behaved as a subject. When the BGM was played during the shoot, his body naturally responded to the music, and he also requested songs himself when he saw the costumes. There was also a moment when he saw a prop that had been set up and asked, "Do you have one more of these?" This revealed his high level of creative awareness.

The shooting has completed.

"Thank you very much," he said, and there was something light-hearted and cheerful about it. After a year, what he showed in the studio was a more mature and expressive side to him.

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Exclusive interview with this magazine

[In pursuit of a distant ideal]

He is now in his third year as a professional figure skater. Reflecting on his days of taking on unprecedented challenges, he spoke about what he has gained from them and what the future holds.

Photo: Mika Ninagawa    Writer: Takaomi Matsubara

Yuzuru Hanyu, the journey continues

hair & make up: Noboru Tomizawa  styling: Masataka Hattori costume: NEEDLES    BED j.w. FORD    YUKI HASHIMOTO  prop styling: Ayumi Endo

Yuzuru Hanyu started out as a professional figure skater in 2022. In his first professional ice show, "Prologue," he performed the first solo ice show in history. He skated for nearly two hours, with a structure that richly conveyed his skating career. Following "Prologue," he then performed a solo show at the Tokyo Dome for the first time in history, "GIFT." The ice show filled the gigantic venue, which had never been seen before.  After "Prologue" and "GIFT," he held the performance "notte stellata" in March 2023, which was filled with thoughts and prayers for March 11. It has been a year since our interview last summer, following those three performances.

Changes in the "depth" of thinking

"When I was interviewed a year ago, it had just been a year since I turned professional. I had a desire to grow and learn more specialized things. In the year since then, I think that my technique, expression, and many other aspects have changed. Among them, I feel that I have had many more opportunities to think about expression. I have been thinking about expression even in my daily life. I think that the way I think about my show, the way I think about each program, the depth of those things has clearly changed." He talks about what triggered the change in the past year. "First of all, I had to spend more time thinking about writing a new ice story after GIFT and also about my own performance.” The new ice story was "RE_PRAY", under the title "ICE STORY 2nd".  It opened on November 4, 2023 at Saitama Super Arena. It was performed in Saitama for two days, on that day and the following day, and in the new year it was performed in Saga on January 12th and 14th, and in Yokohama on February 17th and 19th, for a total of six performances in three cities. After the premiere in Saitama on November 4th, Hanyu said the following. "First of all, I myself have learned from games, manga, novels, and various other sources, about what life is all about, how precious life is, and other similar things that everyone else roughly feels.

In games, the concept of life is really light in a sense, and you can repeat it, so you can use characters to do all sorts of things and push forward with curiosity. If you apply that to the real world, you might be a person who has the drive to grab hold of dreams, or conversely, from a different perspective, you might be a very terrifying person. But if you could do it all over again, I'm sure people would try it."

24 hours a day, always skating

In this story with a game motif, the question of "choice" is often depicted. We make choices in our lives, even if we are not aware of it. What if you choose a different option than the one you originally chose? Or would you choose the same option? This story asks the audience, which serves as an opportunity to reexamine their way of life. Of course, just like "Prologue" and "GIFT," the fact that this story was completed and received with overwhelming acclaim was due to the performance of Hanyu, who was the sole performer. And even after six performances, he did not try to stay in the same place. He continued to evolve. There were many evidences of this growth at the final performance of the Yokohama show, for example. The movements in the performance of "Chicken, Snake and Pig" where he moved forward as if resisting the shackles. The performance of "Megalovania", following a silent performance without music with only the sound of his edges resonating, was more integrated with the music than in previous performances. Not only in the production aspects, but also in the details of Hanyu's performance itself, there were traces of refinement here and there. After the Saga performance, Hanyu spent his days preparing more rigorously for the Yokohama performance.  "Of course, I trained and restricted my diet. Well, how should I say it, there are 24 hours in a day, but I spent the entire time on nothing else but skating. In other words, skating was always present, 24 hours a day.” "That's right. To put it simply, it felt like I was spending every day just working on 'RE_PRAY'." The reason he spent all his time facing skating was because he had regrets about the Saga performance. "After all, it's frustrating when I can't perform well." However, the standards of frustration have changed from when he was a competing athlete.

Still not enough

"Gradually, the focus is shifting from scores to an evaluation. If something technical that I had planned didn't go well, then my evaluation vector changes and my perspective shifts. I couldn't accomplish what I wanted to accomplish in Saga, so I was simply disappointed." After spending 24 hours focused on skating, the Yokohama performance came. After the final performance, he said, "I feel a sense of accomplishment like winning the Olympics." While he felt a sense of fulfillment, he wasn't completely satisfied. He also felt that his ability had not yet caught up with what he wanted to do. "So I feel like there are still things I need to study more. Of course, I think I'm evolving. I think I'm getting better. But I still feel like it's not enough. As I keep digging deeper and deeper, my ideals become higher, and the things I want to express are becoming more and more specific. The more my ideals become more concrete, the more I feel like I'm not catching up." He is aware that he still has areas where he needs to improve, especially in the finer details. This is something he realises now, which he didn't feel this way when he was competing in the sport. "It's impossible to realise this when you're a competitive athlete. After all, if you can jump, you win. To be honest, if you couldn’t jump, there was no point in talking about it, as the outcome of the competition was pretty much decided by how many types of quadruple jumps there are and where you put them in the program. For example, what memories do you have of this song, the background of this song, what is the story you want to express, how will the story and the song fit together, or what meaning is in the choreography, to be honest, there’s not much room to think about them. You have to complete all your technical elements in one go in the four minutes of a competition (free skate), so that's all you can focus on."

A world not in first place

Win the match. In a competition, that is set as a goal. "Since I had already achieved that, there was no way I could go any higher. If you think about it in the world of competition, I won first place, so even if I tried harder, I couldn't get any higher than first place. In other words, I just tried to see how long I could maintain that first place position.

But in the world I'm in right now, even if I think I'm in first place, it may not be. It’s a place where I can think, "I'm still at the bottom". When I look at the various works of art or technically excellent things from around the world, I feel that there are still many things I can't do, so I think that I still have a long way to go." When he moved from the world of competition, which was fixed in a sense, to a new world, it was no longer a confined space. However, whether one knows its vastness or not, whether one feels that there is an endlessly wide world out there, is up to the individual. So even though the world is infinite, some people only notice a limited space. Or, there are those who limit the space themselves.

Right now, Hanyu thinks, "I still have a long way to go." He feels like he's at the bottom. This is because he knows that the world is endlessly vast. The reason he feels this way is because he has the ambition to move forward without being content with the present. So instead of seeing the place he has arrived at as the end point, he knows that there is still space to go beyond that.

Ideals evolve

"I may have surpassed the ideal I had a year ago. But the sense of distance between me and my ideal is probably the same as it was a year ago. For example, if the distance between me and my ideal a year ago was 10 meters, it may be 10 meters, no, 11 meters now. That's how I feel. I'm living and experiencing life, I see information every day, and in the midst of that, my ideal evolves. My ideal gets further and further away. But at the same time, through what I have seen and experienced, I'm sure I’m also one step closer to my ideal." Then, after a short pause, he continued with a smile. "As long as I want to, I think I can continue for the rest of my life." The skater is still on his journey, striving towards the ideals he has built with his own will. 

Source: AERA issue 24.8.12-19 No.37, pg 9-15 Info: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0D89L6LS2

[riversidewings]

Some time ago, Date Masamune's equestrian statue was taken to Tokyo for repair. What is this statue's history? Why is it the second casting but one of many of roughly this description? Read on in my article for Unseen Japan.

There are other likenesses of the old dragon around Sendai, so a meme seemed obligatory:

(enjoy my work? Consider subscribing to support it at komaneko.gay)

[royumijapon]

“The Future I Saw” — Prophetic Manga by Ryo Tatsuki

Today we are going to talk about a very interesting topic that is about a prophetic mangaka, Ryo Tatsuki, who has predicted several events that have happened and others that are about to happen!

Ryo Tatsuki began her professional career in the 1970s and in the 1980s she shared with the world that she had a series of dreams that were very different from her normal dreams and that she felt were prophetic. She began to share a little with people close to her and made her notes and annotations, but obviously at that time she was simply considered as a slightly eccentric or crazy person, as someone who tries to attract attention to sell her manga.

However, it was not until 1999 that she published a book called " The Future I Saw " (私が見た未来) and in it she shared all these premonitions, some of which had already come true, such as the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991 or the death of Princess Diana 1997. He even predicted the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

Being already 1999, many people still did not believe it but it was not until 2011 in the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Sendai area in Japan that people began to believe and saw this manga as something more prescient since the mangaka had already written about the tsunami, giving details such as the area where it was going to happen, the month and the year, and even mentions in her book that in her "dream" she hurt her face (in fact she is the one who appears on the cover of this book covering his face) and this also happened. In addition, on the cover of the book she appears with a piece of paper in her hand where a date is written with the writing "great March disaster" and it is something that surprised many.

The fulfillment of this prediction triggered the popularity of the manga and the questions began about what would happen next and surprisingly in 2020 he was right again. She predicted that that year there would be a worldwide disease and chaos would begin in society and that this disease would disappear and return in 10 years and this has been interpreted with the COVID-19 pandemic. He even predicted in his book that this virus or this disease was going to have a culmination point in April 2020, which was more or less when the current pandemic had its strongest point of contagion.

The curious thing about these premonitions or prophecies is that she more or less calculates that they will happen every 15 years from the moment she has the “dream” and that if it did not happen in that year, it would be fulfilled in the following 15 years. The way she has these “dreams” or premonitions she explains very metaphysically, she can know exactly why but it’s her feeling not as it says error in the manga drawing is impressive

Continue Reading >>>

[hotarutranslations]

AraKashi, Ogatsu Inkstone!

Evening

Time has passed since this aired but... ⚠️

Sendai Broadcast's Ara Ara Kashiko "Ishida Ayumi Goes! ~Ogatsu Inkstone ver.~

It was the 10th, thank you very much for watching!

Ogatsu Inkstone 🖌️

Made in Ogatsu, I learned about inkstones

Ogatsu Inkstones is a traditional craft from Miyagi-- 🏅

Ogatsu Inkstone

Its the best inkstone in Japan!

The museum also has an exhibition where visitors can learn about the history of inkstones!

I couldn't take photos, Hana-san posted it on Instagram, so please let me quote her 😭🙏

Instagram

As shone in the fist photo, there are really individual inkstones on display, its an interesting space 🍀

Actually with these inkstones,

At the time of the Great East Japan Earthquake, they were swept away at once from the tsunami, it seems that these are the were returned

Even the traditional crafts ended up being swept away, the fact that there was damage from the tsunami is sad

Although, I feel empowered by the fact, that some, if not all, have been returned and preserved... ❤️‍🔥

Ogatsu Inkstones, are made by hand by the craftsmen, so they're also very valuable,

It seems like inkstones last a life time 🏅

When I learned about the inkstones, I thought like, a souvenir for Takeuchi-san!? but, surely she has her preferences, As expected I didn't buy one-- 😂 lol

Tomorrow,

its Takeuchi Akari-san's graduation performance, right

Eh, I rally can't believe it! lol she's graduating, huh......

Tomorrow, I hope it will be a super duper fun day!!!!!

The stone that is the basis of the inkstone! Some were even bigger!

The machine cuts the stone, and a craftsmen manually cuts it into the shape of the inkstone I also experienced cutting it but, its obvious but this work certainly requires nerves I really felt the value of the inkstone

I wonder if it will be rerun on Sunday AraKashi

Since I think so! Look forward to that as well!

Ogatsu Inkstone Kokeshi Dolls Tamamushi Lacquers Matsukawa Daruma Tsutsumi Dolls

I've learned about many of Miyagi's traditional crafts-- 😳❤️‍🔥

I'm hungry, I'm slept, I'm busy busy,

see you ayumin <3

https://ameblo.jp/morningmusume-10ki/entry-12808712411.html

[sound--life]

I saw Suzume today because I adore Shinkai Makoto’s movies, and it made me fucking weep in the theater.

I knew from the very first visuals we saw in the first few minutes that the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami had to be a plot point. The image of a boat on top of a building is so iconic, and it first tipped me off. Shinkai-san often uses natural disasters in his movies to help tell a story, so I was immediately on guard. Later in the film, Suzume says she’s raised by her aunt because her mom is gone. Her childhood chair ends is damaged and missing a leg, but she cannot remember why, despite it being a treasured item. Her aunt says Suzume was four when her mother died 12 years ago, which would have been 2011. And then toward the end, when Suzume digs up her diary and it shows the dates at the top. The diary pages are what made me lose it and begin to cry.

I studied abroad in Japan in the summer of 2010. It was one of the happiest times of my life. Spring semester 2011, I was taking Japanese classes at college, trying for an international minor in Japanese. My professor was white, but her parents had moved to Japan for work, so she grew up there. They lived in Sendai. When I woke up on March 11, 2011, I had several text messages from friends telling me about a tsunami in Japan. I saw the news on my computer and cried all morning. It felt like my heart was being ripped apart. I was one of the first to arrive to my Japanese class that day, before the professor. We were quiet. When she arrived, I asked through tears, “ マ—チ先生のご両親は大丈夫ですか？” She assured us they were fine, but they had seen bodies wash up near their home. We spent all class discussing the disaster.

When I was in Japan in 2010, I never went farther north than Tokyo, but that was due to logistics and time. I’d have loved to see more, but even spending most of my time in Hiroshima, I felt welcomed and respected by the Japanese friends I made there and society as a whole. I felt happy there, at home. So the tsunami left me wracked with grief that I’ve never truly been able to process because I haven’t had the opportunity. I was going to go back in 2020, but then COVID happened. None of my close friends seemed to be as affected by the 3/11 disaster as me, and how would I even bring it up? It’s a strange, abstract kind of grief, hard to process, and Suzume punched me in the face with it and left me sobbing on my car ride home.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.9 (before 1870)

118 – Hadrian, who became emperor a year previously on Trajan's death, makes his entry into Rome. 381 – The end of the First Council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. 491 – Odoacer makes a night assault with his Heruli guardsmen, engaging Theoderic the Great in Ad Pinetam. Both sides suffer heavy losses, but in the end Theodoric forces Odoacer back into Ravenna. 551 – A major earthquake strikes Beirut, triggering a devastating tsunami that affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing thousands of deaths. 660 – Korean forces under general Kim Yu-sin of Silla defeat the army of Baekje in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol. 869 – The 8.4–9.0 Mw Sanriku earthquake strikes the area around Sendai in northern Honshu, Japan. Inundation from the tsunami extended several kilometers inland. 969 – The Fatimid general Jawhar leads the Friday prayer in Fustat in the name of Caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah, thereby symbolically completing the Fatimid conquest of Egypt. 1357 – Emperor Charles IV assists in laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge in Prague. 1386 – The Old Swiss Confederacy makes great strides in establishing control over its territory by soundly defeating the Duchy of Austria in the Battle of Sempach. 1401 – Timur attacks the Jalairid Sultanate and destroys Baghdad. 1540 – King Henry VIII of England annuls his marriage to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. 1572 – Nineteen Catholics suffer martyrdom for their beliefs in the Dutch town of Gorkum. 1609 – Bohemia is granted freedom of religion through the Letter of Majesty by the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II. 1701 – A Bourbon force under Nicolas Catinat withdraws from a smaller Habsburg force under Prince Eugene of Savoy in the Battle of Carpi. 1745 – French victory in the Battle of Melle allows them to capture Ghent in the days after. 1755 – The Braddock Expedition is soundly defeated by a smaller French and Native American force in its attempt to capture Fort Duquesne in what is now downtown Pittsburgh. 1762 – Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III. 1763 – The Mozart family grand tour of Europe began, lifting the profile of son Wolfgang Amadeus. 1776 – George Washington orders the Declaration of Independence to be read out to members of the Continental Army in Manhattan, while thousands of British troops on Staten Island prepare for the Battle of Long Island. 1789 – In Versailles, the National Assembly reconstitutes itself as the National Constituent Assembly and begins preparations for a French constitution. 1790 – The Swedish Navy captures one third of the Russian Baltic fleet. 1793 – The Act Against Slavery in Upper Canada bans the importation of slaves and will free those who are born into slavery after the passage of the Act at 25 years of age. 1795 – Financier James Swan pays off the $2,024,899 US national debt that had been accrued during the American Revolution. 1807 – The second Treaty of Tilsit is signed between France and Prussia, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition. 1810 – Napoleon annexes the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire. 1811 – Explorer David Thompson posts a sign near what is now Sacajawea State Park in Washington state, claiming the Columbia District for the United Kingdom. 1815 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord becomes the first Prime Minister of France. 1816 – Argentina declares independence from Spain. 1850 – U.S. President Zachary Taylor dies after eating raw fruit and iced milk; he is succeeded in office by Vice President Millard Fillmore. 1850 – Persian prophet Báb is executed in Tabriz, Persia. 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Port Hudson ends in a Union victory and, along with the fall of Vicksburg five days earlier, gives the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.

[konradnews]

Blue Impulse will fly over Sendai City! From 11:00 on June 8, Tohoku Kizuna Festival 2024

The Tohoku Kizuna Matsuri Executive Committee (Sendai City, Sendai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Sendai Tourism International Association) will hold the Tohoku Kizuna Matsuri 2024 Sendai on June 8-9. Tomorrow, June 8, from 11:00 to 11:30, the Air Self-Defense Force’s “Blue Impulse,” which has been instrumental in recovery efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake, will fly a…

[yogapertutti]

2月のお休みとチャリティークラスのお知らせ

2月18日（日）の午後のクラスはすべてお休みさせていただきます。ご迷惑をおかけしますことをお詫び申し上げます。 当日は、仙台在住ヨガインストラクターさんたちが東日本大震災をきっかけに立ち上げた団体「ピースフルヨガ仙台」の、能登半島地震チャリティーイベントに応援のため参加します。 Yoga Per Tuttiでは、2月17日（土）の「リラックス&メディテーション」クラスを「チャリティークラス」とし、参加費のすべてを当チャリティーイベントに募金させていただきます。

All afternoon classes on Sunday, February 18 will be cancelled. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. On that day, I will be participating in the Noto Peninsula Earthquake Charity Event in support of Peaceful Yoga Sendai, an organization founded by Sendai-based yoga instructors in The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Yoga Per Tutti will be holding a "Relax & Meditation" class on Saturday, February 17 as a "Charity Class" and will donate all participation fees to this charity event.

[ricmlm]

The base of the volcano is about 78 miles (125 km) in circumference and has a diameter of some 25 to 30 miles (40 to 50 km). At the summit of Mount Fuji the crater spans about 1,600 feet (500 metres) in surface diameter and sinks to a depth of about 820 feet (250 metres). Around the jagged edges of the crater are eight peaks—Oshaidake, Izudake, Jojudake, Komagatake, Mushimatake, Kengamine, Hukusandake, and Kusushidake.

Mount Fuji is part of the Fuji Volcanic Zone, a volcanic chain that extends northward from the Mariana Islands and the Izu Islands through the Izu Peninsula to northern Honshu. Geologists note that the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Philippine Plate at the Nankai Trough, which extends along Japan’s southern coast, likely drives Mount Fuji’s volcanic activity. Large eruptions occur about every 500 years. Accounts of the most recent major eruption, in December 1707, note that ash darkened the midday sky as far as Edo (present-day Tokyo) and buried temples and dwellings near the mountain. Geologists report that the eruption was triggered by a magnitude-8.4 earthquake, which struck the region 49 days earlier. Mount Fuji’s volcanic activity since 1707 has been limited mostly to small earthquakes; however, a magnitude-6.4 aftershock struck the mountain’s southern flank in the days following the Great Sendai Earthquake of 2011.

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A post shared by Ricardo Miguel Lopes Moreira (@ricmlm)

[mary72284]

Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Incident

In the afternoon of March 11, Japan was struck by an enormous earthquake that destroyed and devastated many. People all over the coastal side of Japan felt the powerful earthquake. The earthquake destroyed homes, businesses and families.

Unforgettably, the earthquake was not the only thing that impacted japan. Just a few hours later a tsunami was spotted off the coast of Sendai. The tsunami grew larger as it closed on the other shore. The tsunami was 80 meters high by the time it hit the coast of Japan and devastation struck. The tsunami swept everything in its path and showed no mercy.

In Fukushima, a few miles away, the tsunami has two reactors of a nuclear power plant. Only the reactor was severely affected and it exploded. This happened only one day after the devastation of both the tsunami and the earthquake. Residents that lived near the power plant were told to evacuate. Many were still searching through the remains of the destruction, looking for pets, personal items and family. Many were heartbroken when they found out they had to stop searching.

[yuzurujenn]

[2024.09.25] Newsweek Japan Oct 2024 - Special Feature: Yuzuru Hanyu's Message to Noto

Lending a Helping Hand

Someday you'll be able to smile - What Yuzuru Hanyu wants to convey to the disaster-stricken area of ​​Noto

Nine months have passed since the Noto Peninsula earthquake that occurred on New Year's Day this year. In this special feature, we highlight the thoughts of figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in his hometown of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, and continues to support disaster relief efforts, as well as the voices of young people who have begun their journey towards recovery in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture. What can the lives of people living in the aftermath of the disaster teach Japan, a country prone to earthquakes?

Earthquake disasters take so much away from people. What they truly are can ultimately be understood only by those who have actually experienced them. At the same time, if there is something to be gained from a disaster, it can only be conveyed by those who have lived through it.

After achieving consecutive victories at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu announced his transition to professional status in July 2022. A native of Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, he experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake in his hometown on March 11, 2011, about three years before winning his first gold medal.

Hanyu spent several days after the disaster in an evacuation center with his family, and experienced a period when he was unable to practice properly because his home skating rink was closed. Over the past 13 years, he has supported disaster victims and engaged in relief activities for disaster-stricken areas throughout Japan.

On September 14, he participated in a skating class in Kanazawa City, inviting elementary school students from Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui Prefectures, who were affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The following day, on the 15th, he performed alongside Akiko Suzuki, Satoko Miyahara, and Takahito Mura in an ice show titled “Noto Peninsula Reconstruction Support Charity Performance.”

Although the performance was held without an audience, public viewings were conducted in the disaster-stricken cities of Suzu, Wajima, Nanao, and Shika, and a paid streaming service was also offered to the general public. Proceeds will be donated to Ishikawa Prefecture (streaming is available on Lemino until September 30).

During a press conference after the performance, Hanyu was asked why he chose to skate in Ishikawa despite the event being streamed. He said, “I wanted to skate close to those who have suffered, those who are currently suffering, and those who are troubled by various things.”

Why does Hanyu have such deep sympathy for the victims and continue to convey his

memories of the disaster? If there is one thing he would like to convey to the people of Noto, what is it?

This magazine conducted an exclusive interview with Hanyu in Kanazawa City on September 15th. An hour and a half after the performance ended, Hanyu appeared at the interview location wearing the charity T-shirt. The fabric, dyeing, and sewing of the T-shirt are all "Made in Hokuriku," and on the front of the T-shirt is the word "CHALLENGE," the theme of the performance.

When asked about his feelings for Noto, Hanyu spoke about his own journey of continuing to challenge himself alongside the memories of the earthquake.

(Interviewers: Satoko Kogure and Nozomi Ohashi from the editorial team)

-In June of this year, Hanyu visited Wajima City for an interview with Nippon Television's news program "news every." What were your thoughts while skating at this charity performance?

My strongest wish was to make people smile, even if only a little. When I visited Noto, I couldn't forget the smiles on people's faces when they told me things like “It used to be like this” and “We had so much fun back then”. I realised that the smiles became fewer when talking about the present or the future, so I skated with the hope that people would smile in this "moment", and spread feelings of kindness and warmth.

-I heard that the production costs for the performance were kept low by not focusing on elaborate lighting, allowing as much of the revenue as possible to go to charity. You yourself have donated more than 300 million yen to ice rinks and disaster-stricken areas.

When the rink that I used as my training base became unusable due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, Shizuka Arakawa (Olympic gold medalist in figure skating) helped advocate for the restoration of the rink in Miyagi Prefecture and Sendai City.

I always think that it was these various circles of support and the thoughts of many people that led to my Olympic gold medal. That’s why I want to give back (donate) to the rink that helped me so much and to support those in the disaster-stricken areas who have cheered me on.

-You were 16 years old when the disaster struck Sendai City. I imagine that this experience had a big impact on your subsequent skating career. Can you tell us about your memories of the time of the disaster?

Just before the earthquake, there were several tremors, including one that was a magnitude 5, but it didn’t damage the rink. So, when the earthquake on March 11 happened, I initially thought we would be okay, and since the general public was also present, I felt I needed to calm everyone down, saying, “It’s okay, everyone.”

But gradually the earthquake got longer and stronger, and eventually the electricity went out, there was a loud sound of glass doors clashing, and the building began to crack so hard it seemed as if it might collapse... I experienced the earthquake amidst that deafening noise.

It was very tough at the time, but I kept my skates with me at all times. There was no electricity in the evacuation center, so I remember looking up at the sky and thinking, "The stars are so beautiful," and warming myself by a kerosene heater. Lifelines were not easily restored, and I had no time to think about skating. But many people organised charity performances, and that was the trigger for me to think that I had to practice skating again.

There was a sense of wanting to support the disaster-stricken areas through various ice shows, and I was able to continue skating with support such as being allowed to go to the rink early (before the show) to practice.

-I think there are some things that only those who have actually experienced it can talk about. What does it feel like to have the town you've lived in taken away in an instant?

I didn't lose anything, so to be honest, I don't feel it as much. You know how sometimes a familiar store renovates or moves? It felt like that happening all at once across the whole town, and a world I had never seen before suddenly appeared. Even though I thought, "It’s all broken," I didn't have time to feel sad about it.

-Two weeks after the disaster, you left Sendai and resumed skating practice at a rink in Kanagawa Prefecture. Even now, there are people in Noto who have been forced to leave their hometowns due to the disaster. What were your thoughts when you left your hometown?

I had things I needed to do, so out of that sense of mission, I felt I had no choice but to leave my hometown. It meant leaving my family behind, and I struggled thinking whether it was right for me to go alone. I always had the feeling that I had fled the disaster area.

Now I might think that there is no need to have such a feeling, but back then, I went (to Kanagawa) with a sense of mission to do the best I could, even though I was tormented by guilt.

-In the disaster-stricken areas of Noto, many of those who wanted to move into temporary housing by this summer have finally begun to regain their living conditions. While it’s quite challenging to shift focus from recovery to reconstruction, how do you remember the path to recovery based on your own experiences?

I was 16 years old, so I couldn't take any active steps to support the recovery. I had no choice but to wait for the government and local people to take action.

In that situation, I felt that I was given a role that only I could play, which was to work hard at skating for the people affected by the disaster. It wasn't a proactive or voluntary feeling, but more of a passive one.

Wherever I went, no matter how I skated, I was labelled a "skater from the disaster area." It felt like society had created it for me before I could even think about the meaning of skating as a skater from a disaster area. I didn't rebel against it, but I felt like various burdens were placed on my shoulders before I knew it.

-So, you could say that being from a disaster-stricken area become part of your identity?

It took many twists and turns before I could accept it. I had just entered high school and was in my second season as a senior (2011-12), and thanks to all the hard work I had put in, I was able to achieve results and even became a member of the Japanese national team. But I was frustrated that I was no longer seen as anything other than someone from the disaster area who was trying his best, and it was a tough time for me.

But then I read letters and messages of support from all kinds of people, and I started to think, "There's probably no one else who can receive this much support," and gradually (being from the disaster-stricken area) became a part of my identity.

-I believe you have turned your experience of the disaster and being from a disaster area into your strength. How can one transform such experiences into something positive?

It's really difficult, isn't it? You can't force someone to look forward, and what has happened so far and what will happen in the future is different depending on each person's position. But surely, a time will come when something happens. In my case, it was the supportive messages from everyone, as well as my results and failures, that provided me with the opportunity to accept the reality of the earthquake.

For example, in Noto, it could be when the water supply is restored, or that people no longer have to go to school in Kanazawa (away from their hometown), or they can start a business in a different place. I think that there are many different opportunities waiting for you. I think that in the process, people will gradually come to see their own way of life and the value of their own lives.

I think that the disaster is something that "shouldn't have happened." Absolutely. However, as sad as it is, what has happened cannot be undone. What has been lost cannot be brought back. However, at some point, we must accept and acknowledge that reality.

It may take decades, but the time will come when you will be able to smile again. I believe that, and I think it's okay not to push yourself and just let things take their course.

I can’t say I want people to smile right away, and I myself have found it difficult to visit places like Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, which suffered from the tsunami. So much was lost there, and I hesitated, thinking if I had the right to go.

But I thought that by winning the gold medal, and achieving consecutive victories, by showing my gold medals and my performance, maybe I could provide a small trigger for others to feel, “I’ve worked hard too,” or “There is meaning to my life”, so I’ve finally been able to take action.

I'm sure that some sort of opportunity is waiting for everyone, so I want to say that it's going to be okay.

-If there is anything you’ve gained from the earthquake, what do you think it is?

I started to think a lot about life. I realised that the same time will never come again, and that this moment is truly a one-time experience.

I also think that I've come to live my life constantly thinking about my responsibilities.

-What do you mean by responsibility?

It's the responsibility to the people who gave me their time to watch my performance. I can't show them something half-hearted, I can't spend time without putting my life or heart into it. Also, as someone who survived the earthquake, I feel a sense of responsibility for how I live my life.

-You've seen a lot of things as a result of the earthquake, such as life and death, sadness and small joys. Do you feel that it has broadened the scope of your expression?

Yes, that’s how it turned out. It would be better if the disaster never happened. But since it happened, it has some kind of impact. The deeper the sadness, the happier you feel about the smallest things. After the earthquake, I was able to feel happiness in things like the sprouting of grass, something I wouldn't have been able to feel if I had always been happy.

And I also think that I feel a sense of happiness from having opportunities to talk with various people and share thoughts like this. I'm sure that each and every one of you has something that made you feel the way you do now.

-Is the happiness you felt when you were a competing athlete different from the happiness you feel now?

During my competitive days, the happiness I felt was more selfish, driven by the results I achieved.

Now that I'm a professional, I think what people who come to see my skating want is the kind of experience they can get through watching my performance, or the kind of expressions they can see, among other things.

When I think about it that way, I realised I'm doing it for the people around me... The time and energy I’ve dedicated for everyone connects directly to their smiles and emotions, and that truly makes me the happiest. Since becoming a professional, I’ve come to think more like this.

But I think that has always been a part of my personality. It’s a very trivial thing, but ever since I was a child, I have always felt happy when someone praised me. I would feel happy when someone looked at me and thought, 'That was good.' That’s probably the fundamental source of my happiness, and now it has just grown in scale.

-Today's solo performance was "Haru yo, koi". You performed this song in the ice show "Notte Stellata" (Italian for "A Starry Night") held in Miyagi Prefecture last March, with the aim of sending hope from the disaster area. Did you choose this song without hesitation this time as well?

Yes, I think this was the only choice. Most importantly, I hope for everyone to feel kindness. Of all the songs I’m currently skating to, "Haru yo, Koi" has the most heartwarming and familiar melody that resonates deeply.

This song was used in a morning drama in the year of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (the theme song for the NHK morning drama "Haru yo, Koi" from 1994-95). It was also sung by Yumi Matsutoya for a charity project to support the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, so I chose it because I felt a connection to it.

-The title of today's performance was "Challenge". What is your current challenge?

I think every day is a challenge. After all, when I think about wanting to deliver a good performance and for the audience to feel something from it, I realise that even if I perform the same performance, if there’s no improvement in it, it's unlikely that people will think it was “good”.

It's very difficult to continue evolving from a point that I consider to be complete, and that's the challenge for me. I think that the fact that I am alive now and going through each day is, in a sense, a continuous challenge, an ongoing challenge to protect my life. When I think about Noto or remember March 11, it feels like that’s what it is.

-Do you ever feel exhausted or lonely from continuously fighting and challenging yourself?

For example, in your daily life, when you come home from work and feel “I’m so tired”, I think that means you must have worked really hard (laughs).

Because what I do is showy, people pay attention to my every move and I get reported in the media for what I’ve done. But to me, this is just a part of my life.

Everyone has a lot of hardships in their daily lives, right? We rarely get praised for what we do. It's not so easy to hear things like, "Thank you for cooking dinner again today!" or "You worked hard today, that’s great!" I think that's just how life is.

Everyone is fighting hard every day. In my case, it’s just that my efforts are visible to everyone.

-Hanyu will turn 30 this December. What do you envision yourself doing at 40, 50, and 60 years old?

That’s just a future I can only imagine now, so I don’t really know how it will turn out, but I think I'll still be doing my best in the "now" at each moment.

As I said earlier, working hard or fighting is the same in any field, and even when there’s no work, or if I’m just playing games, I’m sure I’m still fighting in my own way.

There are days when I feel lonely despite being surrounded by people, and days when I can feel the warmth and kindness of those around me, and I think that this will never fundamentally change.

Since what I’m doing is on a large scale, I feel great happiness and also great sadness. But I think the range of those emotions is probably the same as everyone else’s.

I don't know if I'll still be skating when I'm 40. It might be impossible by 60, but I believe the range of emotions I have will remain constant throughout my life.

-How do you feel in your daily life now? Are you happy?

Yes, I’m happy. Because everyone is happy.

-So that’s what happiness means to you.

I mean, living day to day can be surprisingly tough, right? Sometimes I think, "It’s such a hassle to eat..." Ah, this might just be me though (laughs).

For example, even if I want to sleep all day or live carelessly, society doesn’t really allow for that. There are rules in the world, and we have to live according to them. I think everyone is doing their best within those rules.

In the realm of skating, I’m doing my best within the rules of skating. I have to face thousands of people with my one life, and I may think, "I don’t have the energy for tens of thousands of people!" But still, I try my best.

So, even if not everyone in the audience thinks it was great, if even one person feels happy because of it, that’s enough to make me feel rewarded and happy. So, I think right now is probably the happiest I've ever been.

-At the press conference in July 2022 when you turned professional, you said, "For me, the existence of Yuzuru Hanyu is heavy." Does that still hold true?

Honestly, I’ve never thought that it wasn’t heavy. But I think this weight makes me reflect deeply on the meaning of my life.

Of course, there were times when I felt like I was becoming disconnected from the so-called Yuzuru Hanyu that the general public sees, and there were times when I struggled with negative feelings because I couldn’t keep up with that image.

However, it’s precisely because I am Yuzuru Hanyu that I want to live my life to the fullest. As long as there is a place for me to perform and a society that has high expectations of me, I have to keep working hard. Perhaps "I have to work hard" has a similar meaning to "I have to live." That's what I think.

Source: Newsweek Japan Oct 2024 issue, pg 18-25 Online: https://www.newsweekjapan.jp/stories/culture/2024/10/517791.php Info: https://x.com/Newsweek_JAPAN/status/1837401474730520872

[fivefootbelowtheocean]

Sendai, the city of trees

On a recent three-city trip to Japan, I had the fortune to spend two and half days in Sendai, Miyagi. Due to its size and location, many visitors to Japan have used this city as a hub and departure point for further explorations into the northern region, yet I found myself wishing I had a week to spend in this city alone.

Fondly known as “Mori no Miyako”, or the city of trees, Sendai is a treat for nature enthusiasts. Here, nature truly feels alive. Not a merely polite decoration, nor simply part of an urban greening plan. It is a host and guardian that watches over the city and wraps its arms around newcomers with a gentle “welcome home”.

Sendai International Center

Nurtured like a child, you could find the city’s flowers and plants celebrated with loving care and imagination in and around the city, integrated into the daily lives of its residents. Yet the presence of nature in Sendai is also that of a dignified, wild entity. The rush of deep rivers my ears picked up from a distance. The majestic quietness of the forests. Trees coated in the colours of early summer, their gentle limbs and shimmering leaves waving a friendly hello.

Zuihoden, a temple-mausoleum ensconced deep within a forest, feels like something out of a storybook. An ancient kingdom of trees guarding a contemporary city. Housing the remains of Sendai’s historical icon Date Masamune, the temple emerged almost as a dramatic surprise. One second I alighted from Loople, a daily bus service for Sendai’s visitors, in a sleepy neighbourhood, yet a quick turn swept me right into cascading layers of green that stretched to the top.

The path to Zuihoden

Here’s what I remembered. Trees standing tall like a thousand swords raised to the heavens, dark browns and greens and warm reds, flanking a set of stone staircases that led to the main temple. A fine latticework of leaves, as delicate as ribbons, forming a canopy that filtered the sunlight as I worked my way to the top. It was an elegant resting place for a restless spirit that was part myth, part history.

I’m sure I wasn’t the only traveller to have visited this popular spot armed with only the smallest amount of knowledge about Date Masamune and his clan. While the famed daimyo had been the occasional subject of history dramas and remembered for colourful tales (when advised that his ailing eye would be a weak point in battle, legends said he had gone ahead to pluck it out himself), I had not done much reading about the man himself. A cursory research painted a profile of a brilliant tactician and fearsome warrior who established and ruled over Sendai as its first feudal lord. Later, a conversation with my friend Amy revealed a poignant connection between Masamune and the city’s moniker.

As select historical accounts suggested, it was Masamune who ordered his vassals to plant trees and flowers in their castle town to produce food “in case of famine”. The idea of turning to nature as an instrument of healing and restoration was firmly wedded into this city’s history over the decades and centuries that followed. The loss of trees planted during the Edo period after the war ultimately led to a reconstruction project that gave birth to Aoba-dori and Jozenji-dori, Sendai’s leafy boulevards. Enlivened by shops and restaurants, including a notable sake bar offering sixty plus varieties of the liquor, these green spaces have emerged as a favourite hangout spot among locals and a focal point of the city’s festivals.

In the aftermath of the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, Sendai’s resilience was tested. Once again, residents engaged in greening projects that took many years to bear fruition. It did not escape me that the city I witnessed in person, covered in rolling hills and trees and countless flowers, was the result of this ongoing process.

Nanakita Park

One of these efforts was in full swing when I arrived in Sendai. Train stations and public areas were covered in posters promoting Feel Green, this year’s iteration of Japan’s annual greenery fair. Held at downtown Sendai and its once hardest-hit coastal areas, the festival is a celebration of greenery that blooms in prefectures across Japan. I went to the one of the festival’s liveliest locations at Aobayama Park, situated just a breezy five-minute walk away from the International Center Station, where visitors could take a closer look at two plaques dedicated to the city’s hometown heroes, Olympic champion skaters Shizuka Arakawa and Yuzuru Hanyu.

A stroll from the station to Aobayama Park revealed a scenic route called the Path of Cherry Blossoms. Over the railing, a postcard-perfect scenery captured the essence of Sendai - a city blanketed in foliage, an exposed railway that stretched into the horizon, and the great Hirose river rushing right underneath, its steady hum mingling with the rustling leaves to form a gentle soundscape.

At the Ryokusaisan Visitor Centre, friendly staff members came out to greet me cheerfully. Noticing my language barrier, they quickly switched into English without hesitation — launching into a quick and effective introduction of the festival before inviting me inside. The building, clad in glass that reflected its scenic surroundings, featuring a largely open space with inviting details. Low benches gave visitors ample space to rest their feet. Exhibition infographics detailed Sendai’s year-round calendar of festivals, while hanging Tanabata decorations made of colourful, delicately cut paper paid tribute to the upcoming summer festival.

Aobayama Park

While the steady patter of rain made the prospect of staying inside tempting, exciting glimpses of the festival drew me out. Patches of flowers in many hues blanketed a vast expanse of green, while quirkily decorated stands highlighted the specialty of each prefecture. Kagoshima’s flower display proudly featured two endearing mascots, the green piggy Gurobu and a rotund, jolly-faced creature called Magnion. Over on Morioka’s creatively decorated camp, miniature replicas of train cars doubled as flowerpots. A three-dimensional model of Date Masamune as a Fortnite character drew smiles from onlookers. When I returned to the park two days later, the park had gotten even livelier. In contrast to my earlier visit, the sky was a perfect blue, and visitors came to the park in droves. A gaggle of students held lively conversations with volunteers, while families sat under the tents to enjoy quick bites purchased from food trucks nearby. Even the festival’s mascot, a spherical shrub fittingly called Foreppi, joined the fun briefly. The locals’ joy and sense of pride was palpable at every level — the composting tent was manned by staff members who patiently helped visitors like me figure out how to sort and deposit my post-lunch waste into the appropriate bins.

The mascot of Sendai’s Feel Green festival, Foreppi

Perhaps this sense of love and guardianship for the city’s natural surroundings is something cultivated from one generation to another, seeded with every school trip to the many parks that made the city feel like home. At Nanakita Park, a ten-minute walking distance from the Izumi-Chuo station, adorable children played with gusto, only jumping out of their swings and seesaws for the promise of onigiri lunches. A young dad encouraged his tiny daughter to interact with the grass-covered playground, crawling into the plastic tunnel with her. Just a few stops away, the Asahigaoka station offered a direct, picturesque entrance into Dainohara Forest Park, one of the city’s most transportive nature sanctuaries. Students in crisp uniforms raced out of the station in excitement. On my way to the park’s scenic pond, I spotted a group of students taking the steep set of staircases that connected the park to the city’s science museum.

Staircases to Sendai Science Museum within Dainohara Forest Park

Sendai was known its two signature contributions to Japan’s culinary offerings. For the sweet-toothed, zunda paste made from edamame beans, sugar, and salt that commonly appears in its desserts. Beef tongue, cooked over a charcoal grill, is another local pride. Yet, it was the bounty of seafood from Sendai ‘Asaichi’ morning market — uni in the shell, clams the size of a man’s fist, and the sweetest scallops, all for the price of one cheap lunch —- that lingered in my memory. Beyond the intensity of the flavours, I was struck, as I was throughout my short trip, by the easy hospitality and kindness shown by the sellers at the market as they helped me pick and purchase their products despite my lack of Japanese. This hospitality was, in fact, something I encountered in so many ways throughout my trip.

Before I hopped on the late afternoon Shinkansen back to Tokyo, I had a short window of time to buy a special zunda-flavoured bread a friend had been craving, and two friendly ladies who managed other stores on the same floor went out of their way to help me locate the bakery. On my first morning in Sendai, a captain who helped organise the queue for the Loople bus service warmly asked me about my country of origin and made sure I was well-prepared for the challenging terrains at Zuihoden. And at the foot of the steps to the mausoleum in Zuihoden, an old man watched me took each step down gingerly to avoid losing my balance (I’d stupidly brought my backpack), and smiled in relief once I successfully landed on flat ground again. Beyond the beauty of its natural sights and offerings, it was that sense of warmth and conviviality that I know I will miss keenly, and why this city of trees will always own a piece of my heart. 

With thanks to Travel to Sendai, Japan Facebook Page, for their insights on Date Masamune and the backstory behind “Mori no Miyako”

[hotarutranslations]

Hair Accessories At Adventure Land

Evening

This morning, there was an early earthquake warning alert, right

It was surprising, right

It was shaking for a long time but, is everyone alright?

For me every time there is an earth tremor, I sense it like, ah, an earthquake is coming--🫣

Therefore before the shaking, I could get prepared…

When I experienced the terrible aftershocks 13 years ago, I've gotten that feeling, that is, are there any of you like that too?

It was in the morning but,

Thank you for your hard work today everyone🌏🪽

Did you read, my Tokyo Sports Interview!

What did you think~

Its here✍🏻

🩵🎫e+ 🩵🎫TicketPia

Also the finale has been decided

May 27th (Mon) Nippon Budoukan .🌏👏🏻

The Ticket FC Advance Reception is undergoing! I'm looking forward to being able to meet!

📺Hello Pro Dance Gakuen Season 11

April 18th 11:30PM~ A Learning From TSUKUSHI-san Adventure🕺

In season 10 we challenged breakin', its reairing continuously! On the 15th, 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, #1~#6 all at once! Check out HP for info!

Sendai Broadcast "Ara Ara Kashiko" Every week (Sat) 10:25AM~ Ishida Ayumi Goes~!

I appear once a month as part of the AraKashi Family

The previous shows, and makings, are on OX VIDEO STORE!

Also on YouTube

Sendai Broadcast Ara Ara Kashiko

📺"HinaFest 2024" Before Special ~NamaTake Member Great Gathering 2 Hour SP~

CS TV Asa Channel March 24th (Sun) 12:00PM~

Thank you for following.. Instagram💙🩵

✍🏻Tokyo Sports note Series I'll tell you more about the 13 in Morning Musume '24

Announcement of Series Graduation in March

🪩Spring Tour Has Been Decided Morning Musume '24 Concert Tour Spring MOTTO MORNING MUSUME

We'll be going around the country from March 16th!

🪩HinaFest March 30th and 31st at Makuhari Messe

🪩JAPAN JAM Morning Musume '24 will be performing on May 3rd!

⚾️《LIVE DAYS！～Exciting Big Exhibition Match～》 June 2nd(Sun), after the Hokkaido Ham Fighters vs. Yokohama DeNa Baystars match, Morning Musume '24 will be having a special mini live!

.👗👠 Aoyama Clothing x Morning Musume '24

📻Morning Musume '24 Morning Jogakuin ~Houkago Meeting~

Airs Every Saturday, On Radio Nihon at 12:00AM~

Past Broadcast Episodes Are Available →Program Details

Yamazaki Mei's Panda-san Daisuki!! ~Expressing Love Towards My Favorite Panda-san♡ ver.~ in Adventure World

Yamazaki Mei's Panda-san Daisuki!! Mei-chan's Holiday. Adventure World with Oda-san and Ishida-san

My favorite photo that Mei took🐼🍓

see you ayumin <3

[tayterbean]

FEBRUWHUMP DAY TWO

miles edgeworth

natural disaster (alt.#9)

You hadn’t expected to go to Japan with Miles Edgeworth to study Japanese law for three months. In all honesty, it just sort of happened.

It had been two weeks before he was set to leave when he asked. You had been in his office, helping him set some affairs in order before he left the office for awhile. It had been silent for several minutes before he suddenly blurted, “Would you like to come with me to Japan?”

At first, you’d just looked at him in shock. “I-I know it’s last minute,” he’d stammered, “but I’ve been thinking about it for awhile. I understand if you can’t dedicate the time, but I’d really-”

“I’d love to.”

And so here you are, studying a Japanese law book in a gigantic library in Sendai.

The two of you have been in Japan for nearly a month now, watching courtroom proceedings and studying both the Japanese language and law traditions. You’d been in bigger cities most of the time, but Sendai was in the process of a huge court case, naturally luring the both of you there. It’s certainly been a busy time, but also an extremely fun one. The differences in law across countries has always interested you, so being able to study it from an emic perspective is a great experience for you, especially when you get to do it alongside one of your closest friends.

Currently, both you and Edgeworth have your noses buried in law books, Japanese translation dictionaries at each of your sides. As you look over to confirm the translation of a word, you take a sip from your water glass. You set it back down as you find the word and turn your attention back to the book.

Although, a second later, your gaze goes back to the water glass. More specifically, the way the water is trembling and sloshing against the sides of the glass.

You look across the table to the prosecutor, and he doesn’t seem to have noticed yet. His eyes are still locked on his book, although he doesn’t appear to be reading anything.

The shaking immediately intensifies into something frightening, the entire building beginning to tremble.

You look around in shock for a moment, the fear consuming you, before following the prosecutor’s league and taking cover under the table.

The risk of earthquakes is going to be higher in Japan - both Edgeworth and yourself know that - but it still doesn’t help how scary they are at first. They take your breath away and instantly fill you with fear, and if it does that to you, you can’t imagine how it makes Edgeworth feel.

You both take cover under the table, your knees to your chest and interlaced hands covering the top of your neck. Similarly, the prosecutor is curled in on himself, head buried into his knees. Even though the world around you is shaking, you can still see the trembling the man’s body is putting him through.

As the shaking continues, other people in the library beginning screaming in fright. Things start crashing to the ground, some thudding and others shattering. You screw your eyes shut, trying to focus on your breathing and keeping yourself calm.

You have no sense of time at the moment, as each second feels like a terrifying eternity, but even in spite of that you can realize how long this earthquake is lasting. It must be going on more than a minute now, possibly even more - certainly the longest one you’ve ever experienced. The crashing noises around you continue, each causing you to jump and your breathing to hitch.

After possibly the two-minute mark, you notice that Edgeworth is making noises. Quiet, panicked sounds that seem to be a mix between hyperventilation and hysteria. You unlatch your hands from your head and peek over at him. He’s holding his face in his hands, trembling nearly as much as the world around him.

Without a second thought, you sit up on your knees, taking your arms around his shoulders from the side. You pull him into you, protecting him and laying your head onto his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry,” you whisper, trying to keep the tears out of your voice. “I’m so, so sorry… It’ll be over soon, just breathe… just breathe.”

“Soon” didn’t come until four minutes later.

By then, the prosecutor had been sobbing into your collarbone for at least a full minute, completely unconsolable and latching onto you for dear life. All you could do was hold him and continue whispering to him, trying to ground him in any way you could. You’d never seen him this distraught, and never thought you would have to. You were surprised he hadn’t gone unconscious.

When the shaking finally subsides, you breathe one of the biggest breaths of your life. It carries so much weight and brings tears to your eyes, but you fight against them for Edgeworth’s sake. You lean down close to him, holding him tightly to you. “Okay, it’s over now… it’s okay now, it’s okay… it’s over.”

He sobs for a few seconds more before trying to collect himself, taking deep, shuddering breaths as he tries to calm down. You continue to hold him, rubbing his back as both a comforting gesture for him and a grounding mechanism for yourself.

The two of you stay like that for approximately thirty seconds before you hear the siren.

It comes from far away, slowly making its way into your ears and brain. The recognition hits immediately, though, and your heart sinks just as quickly.

“… Oh, shit,” you exhale, a tremble in your voice. You act on pure instinct as you tap the prosecutor furiously, beginning to maneuver out from underneath the table. “Edgeworth, we have to get out of here, now.”

He isn’t in a rational state of mind right now - you know that - but as urgent as the situation is, you can no longer take the time to be gentle. You tug at his arms with all your might, pulling him out from under the table. You’re prepared to do whatever you have to do to get him out of here, no matter how bad you’ll feel about the way you treated him later.

“Y-Y/N, I… I can’t, I-I can’t do, I don’t-“

“Edgeworth, we have to leave now,” you say, bending down to be on his eye level. “We have to get out of this building and get to high ground, otherwise we are going to die. That is not a possibility, it is a certainty. I need you to get up and get out of this building with me and I need you to do it now.”

Something in your tone must cut through his panic and reach his mind. He looks at you shamefully for a moment before forcing himself to stand, still trembling uncontrollably.

The two of you exit the library in a slow jog, bursting out the door to reveal a scene of pure pandemonium.

People are flooding the streets, running in search of higher ground. The street itself is littered with debris from the earthquake - the roads are cracked open, pieces of buildings lay in the street, and some have even crumpled entirely. Cars are trying to evacuate in the midst of it all, which, although it seems smart, is one of the worst things to do. The streets are too crowded to move anywhere, and besides, there won’t be enough time to get far enough.

You frantically look at the nearby buildings in search of the tallest one, trying to ignore the frantic cries of people around you.

“What about that one?” Edgeworth suggests, pointing to a building atop a nearby embankment. It’s certainly the tallest one around, but it isn’t as close as you would like.

You sigh. “We’ll have to run.”

Edgeworth sniffs and sheepishly wipes his eyes before nodding.

You two take off in a run for the building, having to weave through other people trying to do the same thing you two are. You try not to push anyone and feel awful when you slam into a fair few people, but you keep pushing forward.

By the time you reach the embankment, the waves have surpassed the sea walls. You can hear the water, rushing quickly into the streets and already causing cars and people to be swept away. As you and Edgeworth climb the embankment, you don’t dare look back, not even with the people screaming in terror behind you.

When the door to the building is locked, Edgeworth kicks it in with one swift motion. You don’t know what kind of building it is and you don’t care - all you care about is climbing the stairs and reaching the roof.

It isn’t a tall building, but it’ll have to do. The rooftop should be far enough above sea level to avoid the waves, but you have no idea whether the building’s foundation will hold if the water ascends the embankment.

Once the two of you reach the roof, you simply stand there in shock for a few moments, taking in the scene around you.

The black sea water consumes the streets, cars floating along like rubber ducks in a bath. As if they weighed nothing at all. People stand on the roofs of the cars, holding on for dear life and looking scared out of their minds. A few people are stuck in the current of the water, being dragged along like rag dolls, unable to get themselves out. Other people are on tops of small buildings that are being pulled along with the current. Some are in trees, attempting to climb power lines, doing anything to escape the tsunami.

Very few are successful.

You decide soon that you can’t bear to watch anymore of the chaos and tragedy unfold. You turn to the prosecutor and bury your face into his chest, arms wrapped securely around yourself.

“I’m so scared…” you whisper weakly as his hands wrap securely around your upper arms. His hands tremble as he has a tight grip on your arms, and you can hear the fear in each breath he takes. A part of you doubts his tears have stopped falling since the beginning of the earthquake.

You stay like that, buried in Edgeworth’s chest, trying to will yourself out of this situation, for a minute or so. Or, at least until you feel the building beneath you shift.

You yank out of his grip with a startled gasp, tearful eyes looking out at the scene once again. The water has risen drastically.

You take a few steps closer to the ledge of the building and are horrified to see that the foundation is crumpling, bits of it being swept away by the huge, swarming darkness of the waves. Standing beside you, Edgeworth’s expression is full of terrified dread.

And suddenly, before either of you can move back to the center of the roof, the back wall of the building crumples in half beneath you. There is no time to react, no time to save yourselves.

One moment you are standing on the rooftop, and the next you are plummeting into the waves below.

—————

You can feel people’s footsteps shaking the ground around you.

You can hear jumbled voices, yelling frantically in a foreign language.

You can see a dirty, white ceiling above you, mixing with the black spots that dance around your vision.

It takes several minutes for your thoughts to turn back on. You start to remember things in chunks, the memories slamming into you like epiphanies.

The library. The earthquake. The tsunami. The building.

… Edgeworth.

You gasp and your heart constricts. Edgeworth, he was with you when the building collapsed. And if you’re here, then that must mean he is, too. Right?

You wince as you look to your left and right. Laying on the floor next to you are other people, some still unconscious, some awake, some…. neither. None of the people are Edgeworth which, depending on how you look at it, can be either a good thing or a bad thing. For you right now, though, it’s an awful thing.

You push yourself onto your elbows, grimacing as you do so. Your body is sore and stiff, covered in visibly scrapes and bruises. You don’t think you have any injuries that are more serious than that, which seems pretty miraculous to you.

You manage to get to your feet, standing still and surveying the area for a few moments before starting to walk around. The building is certainly not a hospital, but it’s been turned into a temporary one to most likely aide with the onslaught of tsunami victims. People cover the floors, laying on blankets and receiving amateur medical treatment for injuries that would usually require surgery.

You walk through the bustling halls in a daze, maneuvering your way through and around medical personnel and frantic family members. You look for any sign of gray hair, a red suit - anything that even remotely resembles Edgeworth. Your heart sinks with each person you pass that isn’t him.

Eventually, you enter a room packed with recovering people and spot a glimpse of red in the corner. You step forward quickly, trying to get a better view, to confirm your suspicions.

When you see his full form, curled up in the corner with his head bent to his chest, relief instantly floods your entire body. It’s an indescribable emotion, one you have never felt until this moment - until you thought you’d lost him.

“Miles,” you breathe out, feeling as if you and he are the only two people in the room.

He looks up immediately, tear-stained face shocked.

For a long moment, you two simply stare at each other, absorbing the moment, both of you trying to decipher if this is actually real. Once that moment is over, he scrambles up and rushes to toy, and you meet him halfway.

The embrace isn’t as much of a hug as it is a hold. A reassurance that the both of you are actually here, alive, together. It’s a desperate thing, the two of you gripping onto each other’s clothing tightly, unwilling to let go until you’re certain the other won’t fade away with the release.

The prosecutor is nearly frantic with worry and disbelief at first, but after the reassurance hits him, he dissuades from frenzy and instead settles into soft cries. You hold him tighter, your own tears streaming down your face as you try not to collapse from exhaustion. and relief.

“I… I thought I lost you, too,” Edgeworth manages, his voice soft and broken in a way that you’ve never heard it before. The poor man… one natural disaster is enough to live through, not to mention losing a parent on top of it. You can’t imagine how terrified he felt, and still feels, especially when you two became separated.

“I know, I know… It’ll be okay now, though… I promise.”

Edgeworth takes a deep, collecting breath before leaning his cheek against the top of your head, holding you close against him.

You have no idea how you two had both managed to survive, but you cant find the energy to worry about it. Right now, you simply bask in the fact that you two are alive and together - a fate that hardly anyone else got to experience amidst the tragedy. If it hadn’t turned out this way, you really don’t know if Edgeworth would have been able to take it.

[chenqing9]

The beauty of this is killing me. Yuzuru Hanyu skating in his home prefecture in March-

“The Japanese star, who grew up in Sendai City and was displaced by the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster of 11 March 2011, is bringing his professional ice show "notte stellata" to his home prefecture to mark the catastrophe's 12th anniversary.

"Notte stellata", which is Italian for "starry night", is said to come from the starry night above Miyagi in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. 

Hanyu himself remembers in a video teaser for his show: "The stars were beautiful on the day of the earthquake. It was pitch black with a starry sky on 11 March. I could feel a light of hope."

article: https://olympics.com/en/news/hanyu-yuzuru-new-ice-show-notte-stellata-miyagi

Concept photos for "Notte Stellata" ice show 🦢