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It is an undeniable fact that Ikuto Hidaka is a massive presence in the story of Itsuki Aoki’s life. Just how massive? So much so that my pen stops because I don’t even know where to begin.

To me, Hidaka-san is my mentor, my boss, my benefactor, and a father figure.

I’ve written about this before, but my connection with Hidaka-san started under circumstances that people from other prefectures might find peculiar. He took me in when I had just debuted in Osaka and was still incredibly green, simply for the fact that “we are both from Shimane Prefecture.”

And as I’ve also noted before, Hidaka-san decided to train me without ever having seen a single one of my matches. So, the first time he actually watched me wrestle, the sheer length of the road ahead must have made him dizzy. In fact, I’ve heard that when I wrestled against the generation just slightly above mine, my complete inability to do anything made him hold his head in despair.

I am truly, deeply sorry for that.

Add to that, if I had to describe myself in one word, I am a “handful.”

I’m supposed to be just outside the so-called Yutori generation, but regardless, my mental fortitude is weak. I get discouraged instantly and have zero self-confidence. Despite caring entirely too much about what other people think, I can only ever act on my own timeline. So, when things are good, I’m fantastic—but when things are bad, I am an absolute disaster.

To make matters even worse, Hidaka-san had ideals for me—how he wanted to train me, the kinds of moves he wanted me to do. But whenever he suggested a move, I would lose to my own fear before even trying it, bursting into tears and crying, “I can’t do it!!” Even if he managed to coax me into trying, I was so clumsy and dangerous that the idea would be instantly scrapped.

On top of all that, I’ve heard he actually wanted me to stop doing what has now become my signature catchphrase: “Yoroshiku onegaishimaaaaaaasu!!!!!”

Looking at it this way, the more I write, the more I think it would have been entirely justified for him to just throw in the towel with me. And of course, there are many, many, many more troublesome things about me that I haven’t even written here.

Yet, Hidaka-san never threw in the towel. He listened, he validated me, sometimes he got angry, and sometimes he gently reasoned with me. Through several clashes and my frequent sobbing, we had countless conversations. He kept searching for the middle ground between “Hidaka’s ideal” and “Aoki’s reality”—or often, a compromise heavily skewed in my favor. Thanks to him, I am still somehow surviving in this industry.

This is one of the things that makes me so grateful and happy to be working with Shawn Capture.

The fact that they face the human being known as “me” head-on, without holding back.

Hidaka-san is a busy man, so naturally, we sometimes have absurd miscommunications. But whenever we face a major problem, he always makes time to talk it out with me.

You have no idea how much I appreciate this. Having walked this path almost entirely one-on-one with him, I feel nothing but gratitude for this environment.

Fundamentally, Hidaka-san respects my will. That includes the “Yoroshiku onegaishimaaaaaaasu!!!!!” I mentioned earlier. He set his own ideals aside and allowed me to keep doing it simply because I wanted to.

As a result, it has now become my trademark. I am truly thankful from the bottom of my heart for his kindness and his judgment. I often wonder what would have become of me today if I hadn’t kept doing it.

Also, Hidaka-san is determined to generously pass down every ounce of technique he’s gained from his vast experiences. Whether in practice, training, or just daily conversation, he teaches me so many things.

One example of this is chain wrestling.

To be honest, at first, I was terrible at what you call chain wrestling. I think I am just as bad at spatial awareness as I am at math.

It’s like my brain simply refuses to comprehend how objects move in three-dimensional space. That’s exactly what chain wrestling is. I didn’t understand what was moving or how, and even if I tried to learn by doing, I couldn’t grasp the mechanics, so I couldn’t find any joy in it.

But Hidaka-san wanted me to be able to fight endlessly with just chain wrestling, to become a fearsome presence using that alone. So, he taught it to me over and over. Even when I’d forget things after a little while, he never got angry; he just had me drill it repeatedly.

The funny thing about my brain is that even when I struggle to grasp something visually, if the logic, reason, and principles are explained to me, I gradually start to understand it. Once things are verbalized, or once I know why something happens, it clicks in my head.

Hidaka-san never neglects this process. He repeats the explanations until I understand.

Because of this, I actually find chain wrestling incredibly fun now. I might forget things I learned a long time ago, or suddenly draw a blank on how to counter when I’m actually in motion. But because I now know what it is that I don’t know, I’m able to ask, “What should I do here?” I think that’s a big reason why I’ve come to enjoy it.

I’ve truly learned the greatness of Socratic ignorance—the wisdom of knowing what you don’t know.

Ever since I met Hidaka-san, I feel like I’ve come to enjoy professional wrestling so much more.

I am incredibly blessed with the connections I’ve made with people. I’ve been taught by so many different individuals across various promotions, and all of that shaped the wrestler known as Itsuki Aoki.

That being said, my true master is undeniably Hidaka-san. Whether it’s about wrestling or life outside the ring, whenever I was agonizing over something or hit a wall, he was the one who worried right alongside me and helped devise a solution.

How can I beat this person? How should I polish this move? How can I survive this tournament? What can I do to make myself better?

What am I lacking? How do I solve this problem? What do I do in a situation like this?

I would bombard him with countless questions, and he would talk me through the solutions over and over again. It really felt like he was a father to me. But whenever I tell Hidaka-san that, he politely but firmly denies it, saying, “I’m not your dad,” so I’ve stopped saying it recently.

Even so, he is like a father, like family to me… I don’t quite know how to put it into words, but taking in the love and knowledge from a master so overflowing with a grateful, soft, and gentle kindness serves as the nourishment that allows “Itsuki Aoki” to keep growing.

The wrestler I respect most is Ikuto Hidaka.

Sometimes he leaves out the subject of his sentences and confuses me. Sometimes his expression is still so hard to read that I get anxious and wonder, “Is he mad?” And because our principles and opinions differ, we routinely have monstrous miscommunications. But I respect absolutely everything about Hidaka-san—his matches, his character—and I truly want to repay the debt of gratitude I owe him, both as a pro wrestler and as a human being.

I am able to hold strong confidence as a pro wrestler thanks to my many experiences. And the only reason I was able to overcome those thousands of hardships, struggles, and bitter-sweet moments is because I am the disciple of Ikuto Hidaka.

I’m sure I’ll run into plenty more problems in the future. I’ll likely have my path blocked by walls so impossibly thick and high that I won’t know what to do. But every time that happens, I will use what Hidaka-san taught me as my support and my weapon, and I will keep punching that wall.

When my spirit is about to break, I’ll rally myself by thinking, “I am his disciple, so I’ll be fine.” And if things ultimately become completely hopeless, I’ll run to him crying and screaming, “Seriously, please help me!!!!!”

It is exactly because I have this environment that I can take a step forward without any fear.

I owe him such an endless debt that sometimes I lose track of whether I’m actually managing to repay it.

That’s why, in order to pay it back no matter what, I must continue to grow stronger. I must continue to be an overwhelming, one-of-a-kind presence.

All so that I can be the proud disciple of the master I so deeply respect.

Well, that’s all for this week.

What’s inside the head of Shimane’s Roaring Girl rarely comes out into the open these days, thanks to my own laziness with social media. But writing things down like this helps me organize my thoughts and realize what’s truly important. Thanks to this column, I was able to realize that all over again.

Beyond that, I’ve been touched by sooooo much kindness from all of you reading this. If it makes everyone happy, if it gives you energy, if it resonates even just a drop in your heart, then I suppose social media isn’t so bad after all.

I’ve received so much unpayable debt and love from all of you, too. I guess my life is destined to be one continuous act of returning favors.

I want to give so much back, so please, everyone, don’t push yourselves too hard. Take care of yourselves first and foremost, and come see me somewhere down the line.

Because I will always be here to cheer you up.

With that said, I hope you’ll continue to support me—Yoroshiku onegaishimaaaaaaasu!!!!!!!!!

Translator’s Notes

• Socratic Ignorance (無知の知): Directly translated as “the knowledge of ignorance,” Aoki uses this philosophical concept to explain how understanding exactly what she didn’t know about chain wrestling was the key to finally enjoying it.
• Yutori Generation: A cultural term in Japan referring to those educated under the “relaxed education” reforms (roughly those born between 1987 and 2004). Older generations often stereotype Yutori youths as lacking competitive drive, resilience, or patience. Aoki is playfully leaning into this stereotype to describe her own mental fragility, despite technically being born slightly out of the core demographic.
• Yoroshiku onegaishimaaaaaaasu!!!!!: A ubiquitous Japanese phrase that roughly translates to “Please take care of me,” “I look forward to working with you,” or in a wrestling context, “Let’s have a good match.” Aoki is famous for screaming this formal greeting at an incredibly deafening volume before her matches, turning polite etiquette into an explosive battle cry.
• Shawn Capture: The promotion, training facility, and agency founded by Ikuto Hidaka.
• Shimane’s Roaring Girl (島根の爆音娘): Itsuki Aoki’s nickname, honoring both her home prefecture and her infamously loud voice.