Good morning.

A 24-year-old employee at a security company. Her name is Hisano Airi.

Aside from her day job, she's also considered Japan's top athlete in a certain sport.

Women's sumo.

It's said that there are roughly 600 amateur female sumo wrestlers like Hisano in Japan.

This musician and university student is one of them.

My style is very aggressive.

I'm all about speed and power.

I want to show just how powerful
women's sumo can be.

In October 2023, these women competed at the Sumo World Championships in Tokyo,

which were held for the first time in four years due to the pandemic.

We chronicled their journey in the two months leading up to the tournament.

300 kilometers northwest of Tokyo.

Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Tying the mawashi belt.

Hisano works at a local security firm while also continuing her sumo training.

When she arrives at the dojo, the first thing she does is put on her mawashi.

The process is exactly the same as it is for male wrestlers.

She has three-hour training sessions four times a week.

On this day she's working on her suriashi,

which involves sliding forward while staying low to the ground.

This helps build lower body strength.

In sumo it's considered one of the most important basic training exercises.

Hisano has a reputation as the strongest female sumo wrestler in Japan.

At the All-Japan Championships held in October, she won the openweight class for the fifth straight time.

I enjoy the thrill of bouts
that are over in an instant.

It's a clear-cut contest.

If I'm enjoying the process,

then my training goes smoothly,
and my matches go well.

For me, the most important thing
is to enjoy my matches.

Hisano first became involved in sumo when she was a senior in high school.

She was a member of the judo club, and the school's principal suggested that she take part in a national sumo tournament.

The experience won her over.

Later, she enrolled in Nihon University, which is known for its strong sumo club.

She joined up and devoted herself to training.

She ended up winning the Asian Women's Sumo Championships.

At the Sumo World Championships, she finished third in her weight class.

Now, after university, she's training hard to become world champion.

They say I'm without rival in Japan.
Winning is how I prove it.

I picture myself winning and imagine
how happy I'll feel.

Then I try to perform exactly
as I envisioned.

That's the best-case scenario.

Meanwhile, at the sumo club at the prestigious Keio University.

There's a student athlete who also aspires to become the best female sumo wrestler in the world.

Second-year student Hasegawa Rio.

She's the first female member in the club's entire 104-year-history.

Four times a week she trains together with the male members.

I really don't like losing.

So I'm utterly determined to win.

For me matches are a matter of
life and death.

You're on edge because you're facing
the possibility of defeat.

But that's also the fun of it.

On this day, they're doing practice matches.

Hasegawa's style is about getting a quick start and driving her opponent out of the ring.

Something seems to be off...

Can you continue? You OK?

I can't.

Need ice?

It seems she's jammed her left pinky finger.

She's been dealing with minor injuries like this since she took up sumo 14 years ago.

Hasegawa is originally from the town of Ajigasawa in the northern prefecture of Aomori.

It's a place that's famous for producing sumo wrestlers.

Due to the influence of her older brother doing children's sumo,

she was inspired to take up the sport at the age of six.

She became national champion in grade school and again in junior high.

In high school, she claimed the middleweight title in the Junior World Sumo Championships.

And now, as a college athlete, she's set her sights on the gold at the Sumo World Championships.

My sumo is aggressive.
I have an attacking style.

Whether my opponent is Japanese
or from overseas,

I intend to execute my style of sumo.

Now back to Hisano, currently considered Japan's best female sumo wrestler.

On this day, she's paying a visit to the sumo club at her alma mater.

The club currently has six female athletes.

Hisano joins in as a training partner for her younger sisters.

But then...

I'm gonna take a break.

Hisano injured her right shoulder at a tournament earlier in the year.

It hasn't fully healed yet.

If I aggravate it during training
or in a match,

I might not be able to compete.

So I'm a little anxious, but I can't
let it get me down.

I'll keep checking in with myself
and how I'm doing.

And so Hisano continues to train while fighting the pain in her shoulder.

After coming home from a tough session, she has a favorite way to unwind.

Here's my collection. My favorites.

Her shelves are lined with anime figurines and other collectibles.

She says she's a massive fan, and especially enjoys creating anime-inspired drawings.

It's been her hobby for 17 years, alongside sumo.

I get completely absorbed.

When I hit a wall in sumo,
I turn to drawing.

It helps me not think about sumo.

Two hours later...

There, all finished.

It turned out nicely.

It's a self-portrait drawn in an anime style.

There are currently about 600 amateur female sumo wrestlers like Hisano in Japan.

That's far fewer than the number of males.

One reason is that for women, there is no path to going pro.

Professional sumo wrestlers, known as rikishi, are traditionally male.

To date there has never been a female rikishi.

But despite the uncertainties, Hisano is committed to the sport.

We asked her why.

I've been in many bouts
and even won some titles.

Little by little I've created
a place for myself in sumo.

Moving forward I want to expand on that.

Sumo is the most important thing
in my life right now.

One month to go until the Sumo World Championships.

Hisano continues to push through her shoulder pain.

Under the advice of her coach, she's working on something for the tournament.

With larger opponents, push them up.
Not back. Up.

Her strategy against foreign wrestlers,

who tend to be physically larger, will be to push up against them.

By applying upward force against a larger opponent...

She can compromise their grip on the floor, which makes it easier to drive them out of the ring.

Hisano's working on this technique with a specific rival in mind.

That rival happens to be busy training in southwestern Japan.

Ivanna Berezovska is from Ukraine.

She's studying abroad at a Japanese university with a reputation for its sumo club.

Since last year we've been unable
to train in Ukraine.

I'm happy to be able to practice in Japan.

I can train in a calm environment,
without being afraid.

Prior to the invasion, Ukraine had about 3,000 amateur sumo wrestlers.

The sport is so popular that the country's even produced professional rikishi.

Ivanna started going to her local dojo when she was 18.

She won tournaments in and outside of Ukraine,

and was even selected as a member of the national sumo team.

But then the invasion turned the eastern town where was training into a warzone.

She could no longer practice her sumo.

But a Japanese university saw what she had to offer,

and invited her to come study with them starting in the spring, waiving her tuition fees.

Living alone in a foreign country is not easy, but she has photos to remind her of home.

My family.

Mom.

My older brother.

His wife.

My family lives in a small village
with no factories, no industry.

So it's a comparatively safe area.

They're praying for my victory
at the world championships.

Meanwhile, Hasegawa was grappling with an unexpected slump ahead of the world championships.

On this day, a fellow sumo wrestler based at a university in Kyoto is in town to train together.

Hasegawa is struggling.

I can feel myself being indecisive.

Her fighting style relies on speed to gain an advantage in the initial clash.

But she's too focused on what her opponent might do,

and it's made her unable to charge out of the gate.

Sumo wrestlers overseas tend to have
a lot of power.

Many have wrestling and
judo backgrounds.

And I keep assuming the initiative
will be theirs.

So I can't get a feel for my timing.
I waver in the initial clash.

Three days until the world championships.

Hisano visits a local clinic to get her right shoulder checked.

I see something that could be
a ruptured tendon.

Normally you'd consider surgery
in this situation.

An MRI scan reveals what the doctor suspects is a ruptured tendon.

He says surgery is needed to fully heal her shoulder.

Thank you, doctor.

Despite the news, she's already made up her mind about competing.

It hurts, but I'm not going to
back out of the tournament.

If I show weakness, my opponents
will pounce.

So I try not to show that I'm in pain.

On the day of the tournament,

58 female sumo wrestlers from 28 countries and territories gather at the venue.

Hisano and Hasegawa arrive together.

After changing, Hasegawa immediately starts to warm up with some suriashi drills.

Ever since she fell into a slump, she's been practicing this basic technique to rediscover her form.

She keeps at it until the last minute before the tournament starts.

I don't want to hesitate and
give up the initiative.

I want to be aggressive.

That's my style of sumo.

I just have to go out there and
give it all I've got.

The first half is the individual event, which is split into weight classes.

Let's see the middleweight class.

Hasegawa steps into the ring for Round 1.

Her opponent is from Poland.

She's off to a strong start.

Next up, Hasegawa's semifinal match.

She faces off against a wrestler from Ukraine.

I just have to trust in my training.

And execute on my game plan.

It looked as if she'd seized the initiative in the initial clash.

But then her opponent unleased a series of powerful thrusts...

...driving her out of the ring.

Hasegawa's tournament comes to an end with a third-place finish.

Next up, the openweight class.

Hisano enters the ring for her first-round bout.

Her opponent is from Poland.

Despite the pain in her right shoulder, Hisano puts on a series of powerful displays...

...and advances to the final.

Let's do this!

She steps up to the stage of her dreams, with the world championship on the line.

Her opponent is from Norway.

The moment of truth.

Hisano is victorious.

She took a thrust to her right shoulder...

...but fought through the pain and managed to seize a belt grip.

From there, she forced her opponent out of the ring.

She's achieved her dream of becoming best in the world.

Phew!

I won!

Thank you guys.

Now we go to the finals of the team event, which finishes out the tournament.

Team Japan versus Team Ukraine.

They face off in a best-of-three series.

The teams split the first two matches.

So it all comes down to the final showdown.

Hisano's opponent...

...is none other than Ivanna, the study abroad student.

She took the gold in the heavyweight class of the individual event.

It's time for Hisano to execute the game plan she's been working on.

I wanted to get low and drive upwards.

Go in headfirst and push her out.

Hisano attempted to drive upwards...

...but Ivanna's long arms neutralized her...

...and she was driven out of the ring.

It's a great honor to compete in Japan
against a Japanese wrestler and win.

I'm very happy.

Despite finishing the team event with a loss,

Hisano had a smile on her face for the medal ceremony.

I'm so glad I got into sumo.
My hard work has paid off.

It can be hard and painful at times.
But it's my reason for living.

4 days later...

After shedding tears of
disappointment,

Hasegawa Rio shook off the loss
and got back to training.

Her goal is to become next year's
world champion.

I gave it my all and lost.

But it's only made my desire
to compete stronger.

The tournament showed me
I still have a long road ahead.

I have to become stronger.

I will keep on growing as a wrestler.

These athletes love the way sumo matches
are decided in an instant.

Today they'll take to the ring again
to give it their all.