Yuzuru Hanyu’s “wife” and Shoma Uno’s “big brother”
Yuzuru Hanyu’s “wife” and Shoma Uno’s “big brother”
Reporters and federation personnel comment on Keiji’s relationships with Shoma and Yuzuru in an article by women’s magazine “Prime”
03/06/2018
As Yuzuru Hanyu’s “wife” and Shoma Uno’s “big brother,” Keiji Tanaka has been supportive of both skaters
Yuzuru Hanyu achieved the first consecutive Olympic victory in 66 years. After an injury sustained in November of last year demanded a full-time recovery period, he had to pull off a winning performance at the last minute in Pyeongchang.
“His short program just blew off everyone’s concerns. Although he had flawed landings in the free skate, overall it was a performance where you couldn’t tell if he was injured. He got more cheers than anyone else, he was the center of the attention and his performance was the highlight. He showed he really is the ‘absolute king.’” ( – sports columnist)
As Nathan Chen, who had risen up as a worthy opponent, fell victim to the so-called “Olympic demon,” another Japanese ace, Shoma Uno was able to overcome his nerves.
“His short program was perfect. Then, up to the last moments of the free skate when he should have been feeling the most nervous, he landed all the combination jumps and captivated the audience.” ( – same sports columnist)
Third place in the SP Uno ended up beating second place Javier Fernandez in a sudden reversal. The world shook with excitement at the double-punch victory.
In the free skate, Keiji Tanaka recovered from his mistakes in the short program and was able to climb up the ranking.
“He hasn’t been able to land many quads in the big competitions, but he landed the opening quad salchow in the free skate, so that really showed his determination. His quads have been in good shape since he got here, so it’s too bad that he made mistakes when it came time to perform. But he got positive grades of execution on the other elements, so it was a beautiful performance.” ( – same sports columnist)
Compared to Uno and Hanyu, who are big stars, many may not think Tanaka has a strong presence, but he has actually been a big supporter of both skaters.
“They may be rivals in the competitions, but they are very good friends. They have a wonderful effect on each other. Off the ice, Tanaka is the one with the most common sense, so he takes on the role of supporting and taking care of the other two.” ( – skating federation staff member)
Tanaka’s now main practice rink is in the Hyogo prefecture nowadays, and he’s becoming a very good leader to the young skaters there.
Shoma sits on Keiji’s lap
“On days-off and such, he will take 2-3 younger skaters to a public bathhouse. He’s very good at taking care of them. At the end of last year, he went back to the rink in Kurashiki, his hometown, and that was around the same time that the Olympic representatives were announced. He was surrounded by little kids, so he seems to be very popular.” ( – same federation staff member)
Tanaka is not just popular with little kids, but he’s also like a big brother to Uno, who’s 3 years younger than him.
“When they were juniors, Uno-kun would stick to Tanaka-kun like glue, following him around everywhere. When they would share a room at away tournaments, Uno-kun was not used to those kinds of trips, so you’d even see Tanaka-kun teaching Uno-kun how to do laundry. Uno’s coach would be embarrassed, saying to him, “Sorry for hassling you all the time.” And Tanaka-kun would puff up his chest and say, “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” I think he was more like a reliable father than an older brother (laugh)” ( – sports writer)
At nights when they can’t go home after competing, they stay up playing Yu-gi-oh! card games. It seems the meeting place is almost always Tanaka Keiji’s hotel room.
“Tanaka likes to keep everything clean, and apparently he keeps his room very cozy and neat. (laugh). After the free skate at the 2016 Four Continents, Uno went over to Tanaka in the waiting room and just quietly sat on his lap. They showed that on TV. It really did look like a father and his son.” ( – previously mentioned sports columnist)
It appears that the main reason Tanaka feels compelled to take care of Uno is that he’s “an eccentric kid.”
“He likes skating too much – so much so that I don’t think he has any interest in anything else. He’s also rather child-like at times, like the fact that the only food he likes is meat and he only eats vegetable a few times a year.” ( – previously mentioned federation staff member)
Since Uno was called a prodigy from a very young age, it’s possible he has certain sensitivities ordinary people don’t have. Takahiro-san (?), an employee at the Nagoya sports center, remembers seeing Uno step onto the ice rink for the first time.
“It was when Shoma was 3 years old. At that age, usually they can only skate if they’re holding their parent’s hand. But he just immediately stepped onto the ice and started walking smoothly. I even went ‘Eh?!” in a loud voice. Because he wasn’t afraid of the ice at all.” ( – Takahiro-san)
The famous story is that Mao Asada also saw this and was enamored with Uno, saying, “You should start doing figure skating!”
“He was a child so he would cry when he made a mistake, but he would still keep doing his utmost. He was very competitive. When he finished kindergarten or elementary school, he would come over every day and skate until 6pm. After that, he started training with his own team. Even now when I see him practicing silently, it doesn’t look like he’s changed since then.” ( – Takahiro-san)
Being indifferent toward anything except his performance must be a consequence of the figure skating lifestyle. When he was asked about the Pyeonchang Olympics in the 2015 Four Continents, he said, “Is Pyeongchang in Korea?”
“It seems he really didn’t know. In the Grand Prix season, when he has a packed schedule filled with competitions one after the other, he’ll ask, ‘Where am I going next again?’” ( – previously mentioned skating federation staff member)
That is the kind of person whom an older brother figure like Tanaka can’t help looking after.
Playing the role of a wife
It’s not just the younger skater, Uno, who has come to rely on Tanaka, but also Hanyu, who is the same age. As three skaters of the same generation, Tanaka, Hanyu, and Hino Ryuju have been growing and developing alongside one another.
“When they were little, every competition was different and they kept swapping places at the podium. So they would all take turns being frustrated. The jumping practice was already a competition. I think it would be something like, ‘If that guy can do that jump, I have to do it, too!’ Even the jump that everyone struggles with – the triple axel – those three learned very quickly. I feel like when one spots the other at an event, they immediately go to each other. When they were high schoolers, they’d have an arm around each other’s shoulders. And with Tanaka-san being kind of tall, Hanyu-san would be tucked under his armpit.” ( – same skating federation staff member)
So, to an outsider, they’d look just like a couple. Hanyu has said about Tanaka, “To me, he is like a wife.” Apparently he meant that Tanaka is someone with whom he feels at ease.
When at Hanyu’s side…
“Just like his nickname ‘the absolute king’ would indicate, Hanyu-kun tends to be a hard person to approach. But he is a lot more talkative than you’d expect. Tanaka-kun is just the opposite – he’s the silent type. So, with Hanyu-kun usually doing the talking, Tanaka-kun is just going, “Yeah, yeah,” and “Really?” He mostly takes on the listener’s role. Hanyu-kun’s a very quick-thinking person, so the pace of the conversation tends to be quick as well. But since they’ve known each other so long, Tanaka-kun is not taken aback by how quickly he talks, and I think that must make Hanyu-kun feel at ease.” ( – sports writer)
Being different types actually seems to be the reason that they are comfortable around each other.
“Hanyu did not take part in the team competition, so he arrived at the arena after the others. At the official practice, where everyone from the press corps to the people from the rivals’ teams were all trying gauge what condition he was in after his injury, he was drawing a lot of attention. In that tense atmosphere, the one who was always at Hanyu’s side was Tanaka.” ( – previously mentioned sports columnist)
Maybe the fact that Hanyu did not bring his lucky item with him to Pyeongchang was part of his anxiety.
“The Pooh-san tissue box that he’s always holding was considered brand promotion, so it was not allowed. So he brought a ‘shortcake’ tissue box instead. Just seeing him with the Pooh-san box is a comfort. But I think that having a familiar face like Tanaka-san there by his side made him feel less helpless.” ( – previously mentioned skating federation staff member)
Having a helpful, reliable person like Tanaka watching out for them made it easier for Uno and Hanyu to display their maximum strength there.
“Of course, Hanyu and Uno are both skaters who each have plenty of their own strength. And it’s not like they have a combative relationship, but I think that for any competitor, there is a lot of tension in the atmosphere just before it’s time to perform. But because Tanaka was there, I think they were able to relax around each other.” ( – same skating federation staff member)
Of course, one assumes the presence of his two trusted friends also helped Tanaka to do his best at his current level. And there is no doubt that the great performances showed by them will serve to inspire the next generation of great male figure skaters.
“A long time ago, it was a rate of about 1 in 10 boys, now it’s about 1 in 5. Daisuke Takahashi and Takahiko Kozuka also made an impact a little while ago, and gradually this rate has been increasing, but I think Uno-kun is also having a great effect.” ( – Takahiro-san)
It’s possible the day will come when Uno will also show the same kind of affection to a junior he was showed by a senior like Tanaka. The “little brothers” who achieved great results must surely feel the effects.
http://www.jprime.jp/articles/-/11716
TN: The “sports writer,” “sports columnist” and “federation staff member” are all quoted anonymously.
