Japanese figure skating 2022-23 season news & updates

[greenapple]

I thought Rika was supposed to be with Brian Orser this season, is it no longer the case? (Was it ever the case?)

ETA: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00054891.htm for some reason, this lists TCC coaches AND Mie Hamada.

Kihira went back to Japan to consult doctors about her injury and once it was healed would return to Orser. Maybe she changed her mind.

According to a friend who was recently in Japan, Kihira is definitely not training with Hamada.

 

[japanice]

Insight into the relationship between Yuma Kagiyama and his father …

[ICE TIME] Yuma Kagiyama: An Inside Look at the Making of a Champion | JAPAN Forward

Members of Kagiyama’s training team detail his maturation as a skater, his father’s influence and his drive for on-ice success.

japan-forward.com

 

[japanice]

Yuzu has started a YouTube Channel

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Sylvia]

Yuzu has started a YouTube Channel

Info also was posted in his Cheer thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/yuzuru-hanyu-cheer-thread.89440/page-62#post-6282241

Kinoshita Academy Cup SP results: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1556077478795702272

ETA that I've also updated Hanyu's thread in GSD with new information on Monday (direct link to post #153):

Yuzuru Hanyu announces his retirement from competition (updated after his press conference)

Gotta say that I won't miss him. I never got him. I suspect I expected to much from him, given the hype surrounding him.

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[skatfan]

Yuzu has started a YouTube Channel

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

Thanks for posting here - a lot of folks may have it otherwise.

 

[japanice]

[ICE TIME] Illustrator Mika Matsuda Brings Personalities of Skaters to Life with Her Work

“Yuzuru Hanyu is my favorite skater. He was a big training point for me, because his face can be the most difficult to draw,” the artist told Ice Time.

japan-forward.com

 

[Sylvia]

I'll create a separate thread in GSD for the 2022 Japan Open/Carnival on Ice when the skaters outside Japan are announced.

Link:

2022 Japan Open, October 8 + Carnival on Ice gala

Website: https://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/japanopen2022/ Venue: Saitama Super Arena "1st to 3rd place will be determined in a team competition where the total score of the singles (free skate performance) is used as the total score of the team." Skaters...

www.fsuniverse.net

Gensan Summer Cup is the biggest(?) local competition in Japan and the dates this year are August 11-14. Some of the notable Senior & Junior entries were tweeted back on July 3 in this thread: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1543526566344667136

Gensan Summer Cup Senior Men final top 3 (includes FS protocol screenshots): https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1558420096867274752
Sota Yamamoto 263.84 (95.15 in SP with 4T-3T, 4S & 3A; 168.69 in FS, landing 4S, 4T+2T, 4T to open) - his 1 GP is France
Kazuki Tomono 218.48 (82.43 SP, 136.05 FS)
Kao Miura 203.88 (80.11 SP, 123.77 FS)
ETA a fun podium pic of Sota & Kazuki: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChMw2PiJmzf/

Top 6 in the Senior Women's SP, plus screenshots of top 4 protocols: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1558436274713014273
Mai Mihara 69.16 - 2A, 3F!q, 3Lz+3T
Mana Kawabe 66.58 - 2A, 3Lz!+3T, 3F
Rinka Watanabe 60.14 - 3A<< fall, 3Lz+3T, 3Lo
Article on Mihara after SP (Kaori Sakamoto WD "due to lack of coordination [practice?] due to participation in school events"):

【フィギュア】今季初戦で首位発進の三原舞依、単身カナダへ向かい指導受け心身ともにたくましさ - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

4大陸女王の三原舞依（22＝シスメックス）が首位発進した。3回転フリップに乱れがあったが、残りのジャンプをまとめ、3つのスピンとステップは最高のレベル4で69… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

At last week's Kinoshita Academy Cup, Mao Shimada won the Junior Women's event with a total of 196.50, 134.40 in FS (clean 3A, 4Tq fall & 7 more triples incl. 3Lz+3T & 3S+3T+2T) - final top 6 plus top 4 FS protocols: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1556226924950990848
Shimada's highly anticipated JGP debut will be #2 in Ostrava while 2nd place finisher Ayumi Shibuyama (cleanly landed 6 of 7 triples for 2nd place with 181.67) will make her JGP debut in Courchevel.

The top 2 Senior women were Hana Yoshida 194.44 (opened FS with a +3A) & Rion Sumiyoshi 188.30 (opened FS with a 4Tq fall) - top 6 & top 4 FS protocols: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1557310364202971136
Yoshida is assigned to JGP #1 in Courchevel while Sumiyoshi will make her Grand Prix debut in France.

Senior Men’s medalists and their FS protocols: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1557311116946345984
Sumitada Moriguchi 216.01 - he will make his JGP debut in pairs with Haruna Murakami in Ostrava: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00113817.htm
Takumi Sugiyama 195.15
Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda 191.64

Shunsuke Nakamura won the Junior Men's event with 188.83: https://twitter.com/figureskatingm1/status/1557310364202971136
Nakamura and Ryoga Morimoto (3rd here) are assigned to JGP #1 in Courchevel.

 

[japanice]

[ICE TIME] Sota Yamamoto Scores Decisive Win at Gensan Summer Cup

The 22-year-old Yamamoto landed three clean quadruple jumps and five triples en route to victory in Japan’s biggest summer competition.

japan-forward.com

 

[japanice]

[ICE TIME] Japan Dominates Season-Opening Junior Grand Prix with Four-medal haul | SportsLook

The achievements by the Japanese skaters, all of whom are coached by Mie Hamada, were especially noteworthy, as all four medalists made their JGP debuts.

featured.japan-forward.com

 

[Hedwig]

Will there be international assignments for Rinka Watanabe? I was so impressed with her last season.

 

[Sylvia]

Will there be international assignments for Rinka Watanabe? I was so impressed with her last season.

I sure hope so! Rinka has aged out of ISU Junior: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00054893.htm

From the previous thread (June 6, 2022):

Rinka Watanabe (6th in Senior at Nationals; 10th at Junior Worlds) tweeted a clip of her new FS with a cleanly landed 3A+3T in a local competition (Kanto Student Volunteer Tournament): https://twitter.com/RinkaW_0719/status/1533670491042369536
Sports Hosei Shimbun tweeted the full FS in 2 parts: https://twitter.com/spoho11/status/1533659791607771136
Her music includes the main theme from the soundtrack of Jin (JIN-仁-), a Japanese television drama series, first broadcast on TBS in 2009.

ETA: Forgot that Rinka Watanabe's senior international debut is scheduled to be at CS Lombardia Trophy!

 

[Sylvia]

Listing Team Japan's ISU Challenger Series assignments to date:

U.S. Figure Skating Classic:
Mana Kawabe
Misato Komatsubara/Tim Koleto

Lombardia Trophy:
Koshiro Shimada
Wakaba Higuchi
Kaori Sakamoto
Rinka Watanabe

Nebelhorn Trophy:
Kazuki Tomono
Miyu Yunoki/ Shoya Ichihashi (their international debut)

Japan's JGP assignments as posted in this thread on July 20:

JGP Courchevel: Shunsuke Nakamura (J6), Ryoga Morimoto (J7); Hana Yoshida (J4), Ayumi Shibayama (J6)

JGP Ostrava: Nozomu Yoshioka (J3), Haru Kakiuchi (J14); Mao Shimada (J1, N1), Ikura Kushida (J8); Nao Kida / Masaya Morita (J1); Haruka Murakami / Sumitada Moriguchi (new pairs team)

JGP Riga: Tudoi Suto (J16), Rio Nakata (J17, N1); Ami Nakai (J7)

JGP Yerevan: Takeru Amine Kataise (J4), Shunsuke Nakamura (J6); Hana Yoshida (J4), Mone Chiba (J3)

JGP Grenoble now Gdansk: Nozomu Yoshioka (J3); Mao Shimada (J1, N1); Nao Kida / Masaya Morita (J1)

JGP Gdansk: Tudoi Suto (J16)

JGP Egna: Takeru Amine Kataise (J4), Rio Nakata (J17, N1)

One Junior Men entry for JGP Grenoble [now Solidarity Cup in Gdansk], one Junior Men entry & one Junior Women entry for JGP Gdansk [#6] and two Junior Women entries for JGP Egna have yet to be decided.

Based on the WJC results last season Japan only had 1 entry in 7 events for Junior Women originally, now there're 11 entries in total. I assume it's Switzerland that gave up some spots.

JGP Courchevel men's bronze medalist Ryoga Morimoto is listed for JGP #5 (now known as the Solidarity Cup in Gdansk) as the second erntry as of today.

It's almost time for Mao Shimada's long-awaited JGP debut in Ostrava this week!
In fact, the entire Japanese team in Ostrava are all JGP "rookies" - Shimada and Ikura Kushida (women); Nozumu Yoshioka and Haru Kakiuchi (men); Haruka Murakami/Sumitada Moriguchi (pair team); and Nao Kida/Masaya Morita (who debuted internationally earlier this year and got the ice dance minimum scores to compete at 2022 Junior Worlds).

 

[Sylvia]

WELCOME, Mao Shimada! - her wonderful SP today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gRvBHjb2OU

 

[skatfan]

WELCOME, Mao Shimada! - her wonderful SP today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gRvBHjb2OU

Wow - she is pretty amazing! Looking forward to seeing more of her.

 

[japanice]

[ICE TIME] A Hanyu Fan in Indiana Believes the Legend Has Far More to Share | SportsLook

Cooped up at home during the pandemic, Carla Grissom became enamored with Hanyu’s skating style and personality while watching videos online.

featured.japan-forward.com

 

[gotoschool]

Was going to make a separate thread for this but decided to leave it here.
Congratulations to Mao Shimada on her resounding victory in her first Junior Grand Prix event.
I was amazed by her performance in the SP and even more in the LP. Mao Shimada's freeskate to me was stunning in its beauty, elegance and power. Despite the fall on her quad toe, she still landed a tremendous triple axel, but there were so many other fine features that impressed me even more. First of all, she conveyed a true sense of emotional resonance to the audience and engaged them in her performance by skating so close to the boards demonstrating great skating skills and rink coverage. She also had erect posture, balletic grace and extension and held a picturesque and flexible arabesque spiral for such a long time while carving a complete 360 on the ice. Furthermore, she had a really quick transition between her deep-seated sit spin and a one-handed camel position as well as doing great transitions: like the back spiral transitioning into her tano triple lutz with such model posture, lovely extension of her arms and marvelous, crisp edges with fast flow through her whole program including her jumps which had very good height and rotation. Furthermore, she has the remarkable ability of accelerating her speed while holding flexible positions in spins, particularly on the Biellmann and I spin.

Mao SHIMADA (JPN) | Women Free Skating | Ostrava 2022 | #JGPFigure

Visit https://isu.org/JuniorGrandPrix for more information on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating.Courchevel, France - August 24 to 27Ostrava, Czech ...

www.youtube.com

 

[Spun Silver]

WELCOME, Mao Shimada! - her wonderful SP today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gRvBHjb2OU

Wow! She makes Sasha's iconic I spin look slow.

 

[Sylvia]

Wakaba Higuchi update (Sept. 5):

【フィギュア】樋口新葉「一番は全日本選手権の優勝」ロンバルディア杯が今季初戦の見通し - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

22年度「上月スポーツ選手支援事業」認定式と21、22年度の「上月スポーツ賞」表彰式が5日、都内ホテルで行われ、フィギュアスケートからは女子の樋口新葉（21＝… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

Machine translated excerpt:

After last season, she had a stress fracture in her right shin. She is now recovering and says she can do triple jumps without the axel. “For 3-3 (two consecutive triples) and triple axels (three and a half rotations), I think I need a little more time. I'm still scared. While taking care," she explained the current situation. [...]
The Lombardia Trophy (Italy), which starts on the 16th of this month, is expected to be the first match of the season. “Rather than jumping, I am improving my overall skills through programs such as spins and steps (there were changes in the rules),” she said. In December, I want to practice so that I can have confidence," she said.

Kaori Sakamoto attended the same event as Wakaba:

【フィギュア】坂本花織「世界選手権が日本で開催…ぜひ出たい」今季初戦は当日棄権も復調 - フィギュア : 日刊スポーツ

22年度「上月スポーツ選手支援事業」認定式と21、22年度の「上月スポーツ賞」表彰式が5日、都内ホテルで行われ、フィギュアスケートからは女子の坂本花織（22＝… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）

www.nikkansports.com

The Lombardia Trophy Cup (Italy), which starts next week on the 16th, will be the first match of the season. Currently, she repeats the short program (SP) and the practice of singing songs in the free program. Every year I try to find a place where I can breathe inside through the program, but I haven't quite grasped it yet," she also introduced the current situation.
On the one hand, my spirits have risen. “I started about a month late, but my first match is coming up. My goal for this season is, "It's the first step towards the Olympics in four years. I hope I can fight for myself in the next four years. After that, the world championships will be held in Japan, so I definitely want to participate. I wish I could do my own acting,” she said in a cheerful tone.

 

[japanice]

[ICE TIME] Japan Continues Junior Grand Prix Success with Four More Medals in Czech Republic | SportsLook

Mao Shimada and Nozomu Yoshioka won the women’s and men’s titles, respectively, to headline Japan’s stellar showing in Ostrava.

featured.japan-forward.com

 

[Wyliefan]

Brian Orser gave an update on Rika's condition. Sounds like she's still struggling with injury.

https://twitter.com/stormskates/status/1568593981784850433?t=3gmypWAeS4i-qm9aEjy-2w&s=19

 

[Hedwig]

I am beginning to lose hope that we will ever see her again :sad:

 

[Karen-W]

Suddenly I'm a lot more concerned about Rika's GP appearances than I am about Bradie's. Such a shame if she isn't able to compete.

 

[skatfan]

Brian Orser gave an update on Rika's condition. Sounds like she's still struggling with injury.

https://twitter.com/stormskates/status/1568593981784850433?t=3gmypWAeS4i-qm9aEjy-2w&s=19

So sad that she can’t/won’t take the proper time to heal the fracture. Hard to see how this ends well

 

[Holy Headband]

Mie Hamada, I’ll see you in Hell!

 

[japanice]

[ICE TIME] Japan Continues Medal Run with Two More at Junior Grand Prix in Latvia | SportsLook

Men’s runner-up Rio Nakata and women’s bronze medalist Ami Nakai were emotional when their free skate scores were shown during their JGP debuts.

featured.japan-forward.com

 

[On My Own]

Did Kaori not yet decide on her costume? I feel like I saw a different one a while ago, when she was doing ice shows. The current one just looks... like her matrix one to me.

Good performance though.

 

[On My Own]

Here's a tweet thread that provides a translation for this news link about Mana Kawabe.

It must have been mentioned upthread that she's with Mihoko Higuchi now.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1571864266461925378

 

[gotoschool]

The news about Rika is heartbreaking for me especially since she is one of my favorite skaters and has given some of my favorite performances filled with fine artistry, technical daring, beautiful expression and genuine excitement. I hope that Rika receives some wise and insistent advice to relieve the stress on her injury and lets it heal properly by staying off of it completely or undergoing surgery if needed, instead of trying to compete injured with merely doubles which could create an added element of psychological stress, not to mention the pressure of having to make up a massive technical deficit in scoring that may further hamper recovery. It seems she is in the same situation in terms of recovery as she was last year at the same time with a similar plan and I can't help but think that she must have not given, or more likely, that she wasn't permitted to give her injury enough time to heal. Maybe pressure is being applied for her to remain on the roster of skating competitions in order to receive invitations to skate in exhibitions or she is being pressured to come back this season. Apparently, her injury is really serious and she must have forced herself to skate way longer than she should have which further aggravated it. I truly hope and pray she will be able to make a great comeback and will always treasure her magnificent performances.

 

[gotoschool]

I really enjoyed Rinka Wantanabe's freeskate performance with what has to be one of the most beautifully fluid and lofty triple axels I have seen and such a picturesque landing position. Her sophisticated expression and smooth and flowing speed with great rink coverage makes her performance truly engaging. And her spontaneous excitement at seeing her victorious score against such stiff competition was endearing. Her costume is also really stylish. I just wish the video quality of the performance was better.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Tak]

Since I was not able to find Japanese Domestic Competitions thread for this season, I am posting on this thread.
The Chubu Regionals (including Nagoya area) will be skated 23-25 September. JSF strongly requested all funded skaters compete at Regionals, this season. JSF made competing here, a pre-condition to funding a skater returning from injury, Rika Kihira.
The planned elements for SP was announced today. Of 20 competitors, 75% submitted their elements for SP. This caused shock and dismay to Rika fans. Her submitted elements were 2A, 3S+2T, 2Lo. The last element is widely considered to be a mistype since solitary double jump is not allowed in Senior Women SP.
Other notable competitors submitted;
Kinayu Yokoi 3Lz, 2A, 3T+3T
Rino Matsuike 2A, 3F, 3Lz+3T
Yuhana Yokoi 3S+3T, 2A, 3F
Mana Kawabe 3A, 3Lz+3T, 3F
Mako Yamashita 3Lo, 2A, 3Lz+3T
I wish all the best to all the competitors at Chubu Regionals, perhaps most of all to Rika.