Japan Women's Open Friday: And Then There Were Two

The Japan Women's Open is the most prestigious tournament on the JLPGA for a reason:  it makes the U.S. Open in the pre-Mike Davis era look like a walk in the park!  This tournament values gaman--the ability to endure with patience and not give up--more than any other I know of.

Case in point:  Mika Miyazato and Shiho Oyama are the only golfers under par in the entire field, Mikan by shooting her 2nd-straight 3-birdie 70 to get to -4, and Oyama by throwing 6 birdies at the field to break 70 and move to -1.  Ji-Yai Shin put together a 5-birdie 69 of her own to move into at tie for 3rd at -1 with Yuri Fudoh, Sakura Yokomine, Soo-Yun Kang, Harukyo Nomura, Japan Women's Amateur runner-up Yumi Matsubara, and 1st-round co-leader Mihoko Iseri.  1 shot further off the pace are money-list leader Rikako Morita, 1st-round co-leader Miki Saiki, former money-list leader Sun-Ju Ahn, and last year's runner-up on the money list Bo-Mee Lee, among several Japanese young guns, while Ji-Hee Lee, 1st-round co-leader Teresa Lu, Mamiko Higa, and Japan Women's Amateur champion Haruka Morita are still in the top 20 at +3.

But when In-Kyung Kim is +5 (along with last year's money-list leader Mi-Jeong Jeon and last week's winner Na-Ri Lee), when Ai Miyazato is +6 (she started -1 and bogey-free in her 1st 7 holes, but eneded up with a 74), and fewer than 65 players are less than double digits over par, you know there's a whole lot of gaman going on this week in Japan!

Chie Arimura Misses the Cut on the JLPGA

What is it about playing on the LPGA that seemingly makes it so difficult for top Japanese female golfers to return to the JLPGA successfully?  Last week, LPGA rookie and JLPGA veteran Ayako Uehara came close to DFL in her return event to her original home tour.  This week, Chie Arimura just missed the cut by a mile at the Vantelin Ladies Open.  After a 79 today that featured 2 double bogeys, my pick for Rookie of the Year on the LPGA has reached a new low this year.  Let's hope she's not dealing with the kind of injuries that derailed ex-LPGAer Shiho Oyama's career and from which she's still trying to recover (she barely stayed on the right side of the cut line today).  Yes, Momoko Ueda has won the Mizuno as both a non-member and a member of the LPGA, Harukyo Nomura earned membership on the JLPGA with a win, and Mika Miyazato won a JLPGA major, but how long has it been since Ai Miyazato has won on home soil?  (Answer:  2009, and that lone win was her only one since winning twice on the JLPGA during her LPGA rookie season back in 2006.)

[Update (10:26 am):  To be fair to Arimura, lots of big-name players are struggling this week.  Mi-Jeong Jeon also missed the cut, while the likes of Yuri Fudoh, Sun-Ju Ahn, Ji-Hee Lee, and money-list leader barely made it.  The field is totally bunched, but Miki Saiki is on top with Sakura Yokomine and Yuki Ichinose right behind.  It's anyone's ball game tomorrow.  Just not Arimura's or Jeon's....]

Daisuke Takahashi, Mao Asada Win Japanese Nationals

His free skate certainly wasn't pretty, but Daisuke Takahashi retained just enough of his 10-point lead from the short program to hold onto the gold medal at Japanese nationals and hold off Takahiko Kozuka and Sendai native Yuzuru Hanyu.



Instead of making the post-ISU Grand Prix statement I was hoping for, Dai-chan brought his D-game and was lucky that neither Kozuka nor Hanyu could put together a perfect performance.  Both of his challengers had great programs going, but couldn't nail a late jump, the 17-year-old Hanyu clearly because of asthma-induced exhaustion at the end of his program:



Clearly the future of Japanese figure skating is in good hands, as another 17-year-old, Kanako Murakami, had a chance to take the gold after a fantastic short program gave her a tiny lead over Mao Asada:



But the bubbly teenager was off in the free skate, falling to 3rd after Akiko Suzuki thanks to a flat-out trip late in her program:



The contrast in moods between Murakami and gold-medal winner Mao Asada couldn't have been more pronounced. Asada, who pulled out of the ISU Grand Prix Finals in Quebec the moment she found out her mother was terminally ill but who couldn't get back to Japan in time to see her before she died, was somber in interviews even after skating her best short program of the year:



But Mao-chan kept her composure the entire competition and skated a great-under-the-circumstances long program:



The changing looks on her face during the awards ceremony say it all:



You can see in the reactions of the crowd and hear in the voices of the announcers how deeply moved everyone was who watched Asada perform in Osaka the last few days.  The Full Metal Archivist and I were holding back tears ourselves.  Gambatte, Mao-chan!

Daisuke Takahashi Breaks 95 in Short Program at Japanese Nationals

Unlike in golf, breaking 95 is a very rare achievement in figure skating when it comes to the score for your short program.  Well, that's what Daisuke Takahashi just did at the Japanese nationals:


He wasn't satisfied with his step sequence, he said in interviews afterward, but he nailed his quad (in a quad-triple combo!) and was awesome on his other jumps, as well.  Ended up earning himself a 96.05, over 10 points ahead of his nearest pursuer (Kozuka) and over 20 points ahead of his next-closest competitor (Hanyu)!

I'm hoping Takahashi skates great in his long program, because I'd love to see him eclipse the hyper-inflated score Patrick Chan beat him with at the ISU Grand Prix, where Chan actually extended his lead on Dai-chan despite bringing his C-game to the free skate.  Everyone watching thought that Dai-chan completed outskated Chan when the chips were down and that the only question was whether Chan's huge lead from the short program would hold up against Dai-chan's onslaught.  Instead....  Well, just watch.  I still can't write about it....

First, Dai-chan's challenge:


Then, Chan's response:


Dai-chan wuz robbed, I tellz yuh!

Now let's hear the commentary in English, first for Takahashi:


Then, for Chan:


What do you think?

Getting Psyched for Skate Canada

The Constructivist family's heading on a field trip to Ontario for Skate Canada in a couple of days. Of course the main attraction for us is Daisuke Takahashi, a true artist of the ice. Check out the various styles he's a master of (or in the process of mastering):



Love the Cowboy Bebop meets spaghetti western vibe of his free skate (even if it was a sloppy performance):




Of course Dai-chan's main competition is going to be Patrick Chan, but Kevin Van Der Perren came in 2nd behind Michael Brezina and ahead of Takahiko Kozuka at Skate America just last week, so with an up-and-comer like Adam Rippon also in the field and Denis Ten coming off a respectable performance at Skate America, as well, just about anything can happen.  Dai-chan had better bring along a real grizzled veteran's gunslinging attitude to Mississauga!

"uewo muite arukou" modern style

On Missing Japan

They do New Year's Eve right in Japan! NHK's "Kouhaku Utagassen" is not to be missed, particularly this year when Jero will be performing (along with dozens of others, including the little girl who sings the Ponyo theme song, and, of course, the Full Metal Archivist's faves, SMAP) in the traditional battle of the J-pop stars. That said, we're missing it for the 2nd year in a row. So sad! Hopefully we'll catch the highlights on youtube or veoh!

[Update 1 (6:10 am): Jero just won the Best New Artist award! Omedeto gozaimasu!]

[Update 2 (6:15 am): Turns out that one was his 2nd such award this year. Here's his 1st.]

[Update 3 (10:48 am): Of course, the nice thing about being here is that you get to catch snippets of the show on youtube and veoh before the evening. Here's Jero's performance...with his mom in the audience!


Watch JERO / Umiyuki (Kouhaku Utagassen) in Music Videos  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Wow!]

[Update 4 (4:28 pm): The Ponyo song was the climax of a tribute to the music of Miyazaki's films:



Wow!!]

JeroWatch Update

James at Japan Probe has got the background on Jero's new--and animated--music video for "Hare Butai," a tribute to his mother:



Go for the video. Stay for the interview!

Jero Watch: For the Full Metal Archivist

Here's a Jero duet for your travels in Kyoto with onechan's and imoto's baba. Enjoy!

With Itsuki Hiroshi:



For those who need the Jero primer, check this quickie out from Reuters:



And here's a longer one from NHK, this part focusing on his background:



It continues, now with the early stages in his enka career and his thoughts on enka, the blues, and Japanese culture:



He reveals a crush here:



Here's the conclusion, focusing on the two months he's been touring in Japan this year, arcing back to his origins, interluding with an English test, and concluding with a look ahead: