Growing Concerns and Speculation

The war has caused countless casualties, destruction, and suffering. Russian aggression has also struck a heavy blow to Ukrainian sports — and this time, we are not talking about professional athletes, but about children.

Because of the war, many children and teenagers were forced to leave the country. And in their new homes abroad, they did not abandon their training — on the contrary, they continued to grow and develop as athletes.

It seems that the time has come for a sport that has never been particularly popular in Ukraine — sumo. On a social network that has recently, to be honest, been distorted by one infamous billionaire, I remembered a joke from over a year ago:

“In 10 years, Ukraine will be proud of its world and Olympic champions competing for Germany, England, and Norway.”

A joke… but as we know, there is a grain of truth in every joke.

Aonishiki Arata — A Rising Superstar

Danylo Yavhusyshyn left Vinnytsia for Germany at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Later, after turning 18, he moved to Japan at the invitation of a Japanese friend whom he had met back in 2019 at a sumo tournament in Osaka.

That same friend took him in, providing shelter in his family home in Kobe in the spring of 2022.

As a child, Danylo practiced judo, then switched more seriously to Greco-Roman wrestling, where he had solid success. But he would still occasionally attend sumo classes. Once in Japan, he fully committed himself to this traditional martial art — and his progress came quickly.

Before long, Yavhusyshyn broke into the makuuchi, the top division of sumo. In a country where sumo borders on religion, nobody initially expected much from the young rikishi (wrestler).

But he shocked everyone:
11–4 (wins–losses) in his first top-division tournament.
11–4 in the second.
11–4 in the third.

At the July tournament in Nagoya, on the final day, he faced Kotoshoho, who had a 12–2 record. Had Danylo won, there would have been a playoff for the championship — but luck was not on his side.

Still, 33 wins across three elite tournaments is an astonishing result. In that same Nagoya tournament, Danylo even defeated the reigning Yokozuna, Hoshoryu — an achievement of enormous significance in the world of Japanese sumo.

And all of this — in just 12 tournaments (including his time in the lower divisions). His performance earned him the rank of komusubi, which he received in the September banzuke (ranking list released by the Japan Sumo Association, JSA).

Danylo even surpassed the achievement of Mongolian legend Asashoryu Akinori, who reached the same rank in 14 tournaments. Asashoryu later became the 68th Yokozuna in history. As of 2025, only 75 wrestlers have ever earned that title.

Naturally, his results brought him praise from respected masters and veterans of the sport. At the September Aki Basho in Tokyo, Yavhusyshyn once again was among the tournament leaders — 11 wins and 4 losses. He defeated Hoshoryu for the second time but lost to Yokozuna Onosato, as well as Wakatakakage, Shodai, and Oho.

For these performances, he was awarded the prestigious Gino-sho — the prize for the most technical style of wrestling.

Growing Concerns and Speculation

Ukrainian media picked up a story: that Danylo Yavhusyshyn, who had skyrocketed in the world of sumo under the ring name Aonishiki Arata, was allegedly preparing to obtain Japanese citizenship and was avoiding the topic of the war in Ukraine.

There is reason to believe that such caution may be the result of internal policies of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) or his heya (training stable), Ajigawa-beya. Japan is a colorful, surprising, and undeniably fascinating country. But sumo is a different Japan — deeply conservative, almost ritualistic. Everything is governed by tradition. Wrestlers are closely controlled, especially young foreigners — to ensure they focus on training rather than giving interviews or speaking on sensitive topics.

After Aonishiki’s phenomenal July performance in Nagoya, the Ukrainian outlet “Champion” attempted to contact him for an interview. But, as became clear, this was nearly impossible. The likely reason was strict oversight from his stablemasters and the JSA.

This idea was echoed earlier by Yulia Ufo, author of the YouTube channel “Japanese Borscht,” who interviewed Danylo twice but repeatedly emphasized how incredibly difficult it was to arrange each conversation.

AP NEWS quoted him as saying:

“My country is in a very difficult situation, but I am a sumo wrestler, so I would like to talk about sumo.”

At first glance, it sounds like a neutral answer from an athlete reluctant to speak about the war. But we must pay attention to the context:

AP NEWS wrote:

“Aonishiki, who is now part of the highly regimented world of sumo, talked mostly about his eating and training habits.”

That phrase — “highly regimented world of sumo” — explains a lot. It reinforces the assumption that avoiding political topics or discussions about the war may not be his personal choice but rather a requirement or request from the JSA or Ajigawa-beya.

Still, journalists persisted — and Danylo eventually opened up. Even within the limits of what he was allowed to say, reporters managed to get him to speak about his family, homeland, and childhood in Vinnytsia.

He said:

“My family is in Germany now, and they are doing well. I have never returned to Ukraine since arriving in Japan. But of course, a part of me wants to go back. It’s the place where I was born and grew up.
I want to see my friends, visit the places I used to go when I was little, and just walk around my city.”

He was then asked about citizenship. Specifically, whether he would want to remain in the Japan Sumo Association as an oyakata (coach) after retirement, which would require Japanese citizenship.

He replied:

“I love sumo, so if I have the opportunity, I would like to coach. This is something for the future, but if I can become an oyakata, I would like to become one.”

There is no direct quote in Japanese sources confirming that he intends to change citizenship. Only cautious, future-oriented statements — no definitive declarations, no “I’m switching.”
In other words, nothing has been decided yet.

For Now — We Can Breathe Easier

Ukraine has not yet lost a potential global superstar.
Danylo Yavhusyshyn is still Ukrainian. And although circumstances force him to remain silent or speak within strict boundaries, this is not a reason to rush to disappointment or condemnation.

But how quickly we Ukrainians tend to become disillusioned, right?
If not angry — then at least resigned with a sigh: “Well, here we go, another betrayal.”

Unfortunately, the bitterly sarcastic joke from the beginning of this article keeps coming back:

“In 10 years, we’ll be proud of Ukrainian world and Olympic champions competing under the flags of other countries.”

And that is probably exactly how it will be —
we will be proud, and deeply saddened, at the same time.