He landed in Japan broke, speaking no Japanese, driven by nothing but a big dream of becoming a professional sumo wrestler. At 21, with the help of a Japanese coach who took him under his wing, Aonishiki Arata has reached the second-highest rank in the sport, and he has no plans to stop. “I’m not surprised I made it this far,” he said.
Aonishiki Arata won the Kyushu sumo tournament after a tie-breaking victory over grand champion Hoshoryu from Mongolia, one of only two wrestlers in Japan currently holding the sport’s top title. He said he was glad that he was able to compete to the best of his abilities.
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Aonishiki Arata
(Photo: Jiji Press/ AFP)
“I am happy that I am able to achieve a goal of mine”, he told fans at Fukuoka Kokusai Center and to viewers watching on television.
Following his victory, the Japan Sumo Association is expected to hold a special meeting to promote him to “ozeki”, the sport’s second-highest ranking under “yokozuna”, or grand champion.
Arata has climbed the sumo ranks at record speed, nearly unprecedented, but not unheard of in sumo. What makes Arata’s story stand out is that he was born 21 years ago in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, more than 5,000 miles from where he just celebrated his win. Arata is his ring name; he was born Danylo Yavhusishyn.
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Arata’s victory lap
(Photo: Jiji Press/ AFP)
At 5-foot-11 and 287 pounds, Yavhusishyn wasn’t meant to battle in muddy trenches against tough Russian soldiers but rather on clean mats against sumo wrestlers his own size. He and his family fled Ukraine after Russia’s brutal invasion in February 2022.
They first escaped to Germany, but after two months, he made his way to Japan to pursue his childhood dream. Yavhusishyn had taken up sumo at age 7. By 17, he was the Ukrainian national champion and had competed in the World Junior Sumo Championships. That was his calling, and he wouldn’t let Vladimir Putin take it from him.
Yavhusishyn arrived in Japan with only a suitcase and no knowledge of Japanese, a major disadvantage in a country wary of outsiders, especially in sumo, a deeply traditional national sport. Fortunately, he had met Japanese sumo wrestler-turned-coach Arata Yamanaka at the 2019 World Junior Sumo Championships and maintained contact with him via social media.
“I only met him once in person and he welcomed me, even though I couldn’t speak a word of Japanese,” Yavhusishyn said. “I was surprised when he said OK. If it were the other way around, I would have refused.”
“I wanted to support him as much as I could to achieve his dream of becoming a sumo wrestler,” said 25-year-old Yamanaka, who also trained him at his club in the city of Kobe.
When Yavhusishyn turned pro in 2023, he became the second Ukrainian to join the professional sumo circuit, after Serhii Sokolovskyi, who competed under the ring name Shishi. His tournament win marked the first time a Ukrainian had ever won a sumo tournament in Japan.
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Aonishiki Arata with his ‘new family’
(Photo: Jiji Press/ AFP)
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Yavhusishyn adopted the name Arata as a tribute to his host. By the time he clinched the tournament, he spoke fluent Japanese. He said the victory was just the beginning and dedicated it “to my big brother and my new family.”
At a press conference, he spoke of his longing for his homeland and childhood friends and said he hasn’t returned to Ukraine since fleeing. “I hope that people from Ukraine will be able to see my sumo, and have some kind of encouragement from that.”
Although most professional sumo wrestlers are Japanese and others come mainly from Asia, Ukraine has a long-standing sumo tradition, often integrated with the country’s strong wrestling and judo culture.
The Japanese public has embraced Yavhusishyn warmly. He learned the language, showed deep respect for Japanese culture, and proved his dedication to sumo through talent, discipline, and fierce competitiveness. He rose to the top division within a year, one of the fastest promotions in the sport’s history, and is now poised to become an ōzeki.
Another reason for his popularity in Japan is the creativity he brings to his bouts, using inventive tactics and strategies. He now begins his pursuit of becoming the first European in history to reach the rank of grand champion.
“I’ve always had the biggest dreams about how far I’d go in sumo,” Yavhusishyn said. “But I have to admit I’ve surprised myself, but I’ve never paid attention to how fast things are going,” he said.
“I don’t plan too far ahead. There’s still a long road, and there will be tough moments I’ll have to get through. That’s the goal. When you grow up in a place like Ukraine, you learn not to make long-term plans. Too many things are out of your control, and everything can change overnight.”
AloJapan.com