Denuma Taiki 出沼 大樹 · でぬま たいき

Denuma Taiki (出沼 大樹) uses his real surname directly as his shikona — a relatively uncommon choice in modern sumo. Born February 7, 2001 in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa, he debuted at the March 2019 Haru Basho at age 18 and is now in his eighth year as a professional, with 42 tournaments on his record.

Physically he is built around destructive forward pressure. At 178 cm and 169.6 kg he is heavier than most opponents in his current division, and his fighting style — classified as tsuki-oshi (thrust and push) by the Japan Sumo Association — relies on overwhelming opponents at the charge rather than seeking belt grips. His career-high rank of East Makushita 32, reached in November 2024, demonstrates that the approach works at higher levels too.

Outside the dohyō, Denuma is one of Futagoyama Stable's most-watched wrestlers thanks to his cooking. As a regular member of the stable's chanko-ban (cooking duty) rotation, his signature fried-chicken dish "Karaage no Numa" ("the fried-chicken swamp") was featured on Fuji TV's variety programme Uwasa no Okyaku-sama and went viral, bringing him unexpected mainstream attention.

The Japan Sumo Association classifies Denuma as a tsuki-oshi (thrust-and-push) wrestler. His career win-techniques are concentrated in the forward-pressure family:

Source: Japan Sumo Association career data via SumoDB.

The pattern is consistent: in 64% of his career wins he is going forward and the opponent is going backward. He converts that pressure either by pushing out (oshidashi), thrusting down (tsukitaoshi), or — when he has wrapped the opponent up from behind — pushing them rearward (okuridashi). Belt-grip wins are rare for him, which is in line with his stated identity as an oshi wrestler rather than a yotsu (grappling) wrestler.

"Karaage no Numa" (唐揚げの沼 — literally "the fried-chicken swamp") is the dish that turned Denuma into a name beyond sumo fans. He developed it during his shifts on the stable's cooking-duty rotation (chanko-ban): a deeply marinated, garlic-heavy fried chicken plated in a wide vessel, the chicken half-submerged in seasoned oil and sauce — hence the "swamp" descriptor.

The dish was featured on Fuji TV's Uwasa no Okyaku-sama variety programme and went viral, prompting recreations from food creators across Japan. The wordplay (numa appears in his shikona 出沼 and means "swamp") makes the branding stick.

Denuma's role on the chanko rotation is regular: across our analysis of 72 chanko-duty episodes published on the stable's official YouTube channel between March 2025 and March 2026, he appeared in 21 episodes — one of the three most-frequent chanko-ban members at Futagoyama. See the chanko nabe article for the full data.

Source: Self-introduction, New Year resolution, and Q&A videos on Futagoyama Stable's official YouTube channel "Sumo food" (2024–2026), transcribed from on-screen captions and verbatim wrestler statements.

From Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. He has stated his hobby on camera as "cooking and sleeping" — fellow wrestler Nabatame remarked, "you really love cooking, don't you," confirming the genuine interest behind "Karaage no Numa." Asked for his dream overseas trip, he gave a uniquely specific answer: "America — I want to try authentic Coca-Cola." His current health concern is chronic heel pain. Foot size: 30–31 cm. Favourite food: yakitori. Favourite musician: UVERworld. Favourite YouTube channel: "Neet to Isōrō to Takasaki." Recent self-stated weight: 168 kg (Sep 2025).