Where We Call Home.

Is sumo only for men?

Of course not!

Women's sumo is gaining popularity around the world.

This woman fell in love with sumo wrestling.

Thirty-three-year-old Ivanna Berezovska from Ukraine.

Sumo is an essential part of my life.

It taught me how to stay calm and focused.

Representing her country in international events, she's among the world's top wrestlers.

But when she lost her place of training to the war in her homeland, she decided to come to Japan.

By winning, I want to show Ukraine in a new light.

Let's follow Ivanna in the pursuit of her passion.

Dazaifu City in Fukuoka Prefecture.

It's a town famous for Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, dedicated to the worship of the deity of learning.

Nearby is the Kyushu Institute of Information Sciences, which Ivanna entered as a student last year.

Their prestigious sumo club trained wrestlers who went on to join the Grand Sumo - the professional circuit.

Among the current eighteen members, two of them are women, including Ivanna.

Overcoming language barriers, she trains with her fellow club members, all of whom are younger than her.

You...

You take too much time.

She shares her knowhow and techniques...

It hurts?

...and even treats injuries.

She's become like everyone's big sister.

The rules of sumo are simple:

make your opponent exit the ring or cause any part other than the soles of their feet to touch the ground to win.

I like the initial charge.

In sumo there's no going back. You must push forward.

Ivanna's passion for sumo began at the age of eighteen.

She won several gold medals representing her home country.

But the place where she trained was destroyed in the war.

To continue to practice sumo, she was invited over by the university's sumo club coach, Takeishi Yosuke.

I think Ivanna's presence has changed the way the students look at sumo.

They learned to appreciate being able to freely practice sumo.

Ivanna is now in her second year at the university.

In Japan, I train in sumo and study Japanese.

In the daytime, she mainly learns Japanese.

She lives near the campus in a self-contained studio apartment.

Let's cook some fish.

She cooks her own meals every day - fish being among her favorites.

I'll also have "natto."

The perfect diet to stay fit and nimble.

It's been almost a year since Ivanna came to Japan.

She says she's gotten used to Japanese food, which she often prepares on her own.

Her mother as well as her brother and his wife live in Ukraine.

She loves talking with her mother online.

- Hi!
- Hi.

- How're you doing?
- Pretty good.

I just got home and had dinner. You?

Yesterday, the sirens blared non-stop for nine hours.

- Nine hours?
- Yes. It never happened before.

Really?

The war took away her family's peaceful everyday life.

I gotta get to my homework.

OK, talk to you soon. Love you!

I want the war to end as soon as possible.

The thought of innocent lives lost, including children, is horrifying.

I want to express my wish for world peace.

On a Saturday, when she's off from university, Ivanna rents a car.

Her destination?

A high school some hundred-fifty kilometers away in Nagasaki Prefecture.

She's here to see someone in particular.

We trained together on the national team. He's like my little brother.

Good morning!

What happened to your belly?

But I lost a bit of weight.

Sixteen-year-old Yehor Chuhun.

He left Ukraine to come study here half a year ago.

With a tall and strong stature, he shows much potential to one day join the Grand Sumo.

But he's only sixteen.

Worried about him, Ivanna came to check on how he's doing.

Go in, Yehor! Go in!

Move forward!

Yehor, your elbows!

Go, go!

Even when tossed to the ground, Yehor gets back up and holds firm.

But his biggest struggles seem to be outside the ring.

I'm still sad. I worry for my family. I'm not used to life here.

But I'm doing my best.

Ivanna is like a teacher to me. I'm glad when she comes to visit.

Life abroad is hard to get used to.

Yehor says he especially has difficulty with Japanese food.

Today, the sumo club invited a local rugby team over for a party with a kind of hot pot called "chanko-nabe."

Yehor gives it a try.

Yehor, you gotta train.

In sumo, eating is said to also be a part of a wrestler's training.

You're OK, Yehor?

Not really.

Ivanna is concerned about Yehor's eating habits.

And it seems she was right to worry.

Yehor...

What are you doing? This is all full of sugar.

I take vitamin D in the morning.

- What's this?
- Ice cream.

You can eat fruit.

Keep your room tidy.

Your room represents you. It's a reflection of your mind.

I know living in another country can be hard emotionally.

I want to offer him support.

He's a smart kid. I know he can do it.

Yehor has a goal in mind.

I want to join a professional stable and perfect my sumo.

I want to become Yokozuna.

I hadn't heard that language in a while.

- What language?
- Ukrainian.

Yehor...

You gotta work hard, then work hard some more!

The two share the same passion for sumo.

Thank you.

This spring brings a new challenge for Ivanna to take on.

Good afternoon.

An international tournament she's been training for is coming up in two days.

But something worries her.

She hasn't completely recovered from an injury to her right knee.

Her condition has been getting worse.

She's had surgery and continued to train.

- Don't overdo it.
- I'll be fine, coach.

Ivanna is not giving up on the competition.

I do this for Ukraine. I want its name to be heard.

By winning, I want to show the different sides of Ukraine.

The day of the tournament.

About one hundred wrestlers from all over Japan, as well as Taiwan, gathered for the event.

Women's sumo competitions are divided into weight classes.

Ivanna will compete in the heavyweight and all-weight categories, with the goal to win in both.

First, the heavyweight bouts.

Ivanna gets pushed off balance, but she hangs on...and wins!

She skillfully countered her opponent's attempt to sweep her leg.

She barely managed to win her first fight.

Take it easy.

She continues to play it safe, and conquers the heavyweight category.

Now, the event she's been training for:

bouts between eighty-seven powerhouses from all weight classes.

To win, she'll have to beat six opponents in a row.

Because of her injury, Ivanna will have to be careful against smaller, more agile wrestlers.

Always pushing forward with her unflinching sumo style,

Ivanna wins her way to the final match.

Meanwhile, one wrestler drew attention with her amazing speed and tenacity.

Hasegawa Rio has been praised as a sumo prodigy since childhood.

She's in the middleweight category.

She's the one Ivanna will be facing in the final match.

The final bout in the all-weight category.

On the east side, Ivanna Berezovska.

On the west side, Hasegawa Rio.

The fights have taken a toll on her injured knee.

But, as a world champion, she can't afford to lose.

She loses her balance!

But she holds her ground.

And then...

A frontal push down!

Ivanna won the tournament.

I was nervous, but I gave it my all to win.

You're so fast!

I want to tell my family and the people of Ukraine.

A week later, Ivanna arrives at the university carrying two large bags.

She heads to the sumo club's kitchen.

- Good morning!
- Good morning!

What did she bring?

So big!

Pork...

and beets, a Ukrainian essential, along with other vegetables.

You always prepare tasty Japanese dishes, like "chanko-nabe."

Now it's my turn. I'll prepare Ukrainian borscht for you.

She's going to cook for the members of the sumo club...

...together with Go...

...and Kotaro.

The two have never made borscht before.

- Is it good?
- Yes.

Believe me.

Ah, I trust you!

When they first met a year ago, communication was difficult, but now...

It's hard?

I'm hot!

They join hands to prepare borscht.

The color changed!

Four hours have passed.

In Ukraine, we say if the spoon stays upright, it's going to be good.

Here it is: borscht, Ivanna-style.

A recipe she learned from her mother.

Will everyone like it?

Bon appétit!

It's good.

All seem to enjoy it.

It's delicious!

It's gone in a flash!

I want to express my thanks to all of you.

I've made so many memories in the past year.

Thank you for your trust, respect and support.

In Japanese... Let's all do our best together...

in competitions this year.

Her clubmates too have a word to offer.

Thank you for preparing borscht for us today.

To have a world-class wrestler like you join us is very inspiring and motivating.

A token of gratitude.

They give her some of her favorite: fish.

A year ago, Ivanna came to Japan alone.

But before she knew it, she'd made plenty of friends.

People must respect one another.

I want to open my own sumo club...

and share my experience with young generations.

No matter what, keep pushing forward.

Hi! I'm Harsono.

I'm from Indonesia.

I work as a gardener in Japan.

Need gardening work done? I'm your man!

Ichinomiya in Aichi Prefecture is a residential town near Nagoya City.

9:00 a.m.
work starts.

Harsono has been taking care of this garden for 4 years.

He works with much attention on this drooping cherry tree.

Cleaned up my pruning shears.

He always uses well-cleaned tools for the maintenance and pruning of trees.

Cherry trees are delicate. I can't let them get in contact with bacteria.

Pruning involves a variety of tricks and techniques.

He reduces the number of branches that grow in the same direction.

It grew too long, so I'll cut it off.

If we look at it from a distance, this branch is a bit too high.

I leave the branch underneath and cut it.

This should give a better balance.

It lets more wind blow through the branches, and...

makes them more resistant to disease and insects.

Here's what years of careful pruning work can do.

We always chat about this and that over a cup of tea.

Harsono is so meticulous.

In his work, he doesn't just think in terms of a year or two.

He thinks much further ahead.

The cherry tree has gotten so much better.

It's thanks to Harsono's hard work.

I always look forward to enjoying some Japanese sweets.

Harsono came to Japan in 1996 to study farming techniques.

Later, an acquaintance invited him to try doing gardening work.

At first, I felt this wasn't the kind of work I wanted to do.

But over time, as I kept working, I began to enjoy it.

I notice each tree has its own character, even among the same species.

It's fun to observe that as I work.

Kozaki-san has been a great support for the past 18 years.

Kozaki-san is the foreman of the first gardening company Harsono worked for.

He's taught me so much, from the prior preparation...

to the workflow and how to prune trees, and so on.

I learned all of it little by little.

At first, I thought he would choose to do this work only temporarily.

But he put so much effort in his work.

Even now that he's become freelance, he often helps me.

Especially when working on large trees, which can be dangerous, he can handle it.

He's a huge help.

I'm always grateful to Kozaki-san.

And my own way of showing my gratitude...

is to give it my all when I work.

I'm really glad he chose to do this profession.

There are fewer and fewer traditional gardeners in Japan.

So, I hope he continues to work here.

My treasure is the Japanese garden of the Adachi Museum of Art.

I love how the garden is in harmony with the natural mountain landscape behind it.

It becomes part of the garden.

To integrate the garden with its natural surroundings...

is such a wonderful philosophy.

I hope this beautiful part of Japanese culture can be used in Indonesia.

I wish to build a place like that in Indonesia one day.

It's my biggest dream.