Dejima Takeharu

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出島武春
Dejima Takeharu
Personal information

Birth name	Dejima Takeharu
Date of birth	March 21, 1974 (1974-03-21) (age 34)
Place of birth	Ishikawa, Japan
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	160 kg (350 lb)
Career*
Heya	Musashigawa
Current rank	Maegashira 10
Record	552-436-98
Debut	March 1996
Highest rank	Ōzeki (September, 1999)
Yusho	1(Makuuchi) 1(Jūryō) 1(Makushita)
Special Prizes	Outstanding Performance (3) Fighting Spirit (4) Technique (3)
Gold stars	6 (Akebono (2), Takanohana (2), Wakanohana, Asashōryū)
* Career information is correct as of May 2008.

Dejima Takeharu (出島武春, born March 21, 1974) is a sumo wrestler from Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan. His highest rank has been ōzeki.

1 Career
2 Top division record
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Career

Dejima joined professional sumo in March 1996 at the age of 22. He joined Musashigawa stable, home to then ōzeki Musashimaru. Having been an amateur champion at Tokyo University, he was given makushita tsukedashi status and was allowed to make his debut in the third makushita division. In January 1997 he captured the tournament championship in the second jūryō division and was promoted to the top makuuchi division.

Dejima scored an impressive 11 wins in his top division debut, and was awarded two special prizes. He made his sanyaku debut at sekiwake in November 1997 but injured himself and missed the next two tournaments. However he made a full recovery and in July 1999 he won his first top division title, defeating Yokozuna Akebono in a playoff. This was enough to earn him promotion to ōzeki. His stablemates Musōyama and Miyabiyama also made ōzeki, in March and May 2000. With Musashimaru at yokozuna, Dejima had three of his colleagues in the top two ranks, an advantage as sumo wrestlers never fight members of their own stables except in playoffs. Dejima held onto his ōzeki rank for two years, but in July 2001 he was forced to pull out of the tournament with only three wins. As he had also made a losing score in May 2001, he was demoted from ōzeki.

Subsequent injuries have prevented Dejima from making any sustained attempt to regain ōzeki status, and he has largely been in the maegashira ranks ever since. He has competed for longer after dropping from the ozeki rank than any other former ozeki in history. He is nearing the end of his career but is still capable of beating anyone, as he proved in January 2007 by defeating Yokozuna Asashōryū, the only wrestler to do so in that tournament. In May 2007 he produced a strong 12-3 record, his highest score in a tournament since his title win, and was awarded his fourth fighting spirit prize. In November 2007 he earned tens from the maegashira 2 rank, and won promotion to komusubi for the January 2008 tournament. His return to the sanyaku ranks after 27 tournaments away was the third slowest in the modern era. He was however able to win only three bouts there.

He has suffered from knee and ankle problems in recent years and has lost some of his speed and mobility. He is famed for his explosive start at the tachi-ai and so is often prone to being sidestepped at the initial charge.

Dejima has been a rival of fellow top division wrestler Tochinonada since elementary school.^[1]

He has only ever used his real name as an active wrestler and has never adopted a traditional shikona.

[edit] Top division record

Dejima Takeharu^[2]
	January Hatsu basho, Tokyo	March Haru basho, Osaka	May Natsu basho, Tokyo	July Nagoya basho, Nagoya	September Aki basho, Tokyo	November Kyūshū basho, Fukuoka
1997	x	East Maegashira #13 11–4 TF	West Maegashira #3 7–8	East Maegashira #4 8–7	East Maegashira #1 11–4 TO★★	West Sekiwake 3–5–7
1998	Sat out due to injury	Sat out due to injury	West Maegashira #11 10–5 F	West Maegashira #4 10–5 O★★	West Komusubi 8–7	West Komusubi 9–6
1999	East Komusubi 8–7	West Komusubi 9–6	East Sekiwake 11–4	West Sekiwake 13–2 TOF	East Ōzeki 10–5	West Ōzeki 10–5
2000	East Ōzeki 9–6	East Ōzeki 11–4	East Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 10–5	West Ōzeki 10–5	East Ōzeki 9–6
2001	East Ōzeki 7–8	West Ōzeki 8–7	East Ōzeki 5–10	West Ōzeki 3–3–9	West Sekiwake 5–10	West Maegashira #3 7–8
2002	West Maegashira #4 6–9	East Maegashira #7 6–9	East Maegashira #9 9–6	East Maegashira #3 2–3–10	Sat out due to injury	East Maegashira #10 10–5
2003	West Maegashira #3 11–4 ★	East Komusubi 8–7	West Sekiwake 7–8	Sat out due to injury	East Maegashira #10 6–9	West Maegashira #14 11–4
2004	East Maegashira #6 10–5	East Maegashira #2 7–8	West Maegashira #3 7–8	West Maegashira #4 7–8	West Maegashira #5 10–5	East Maegashira #1 0–3–12
2005	East Maegashira #10 9–6	East Maegashira #5 7–8	East Maegashira #6 9–6	East Maegashira #2 7–8	East Maegashira #3 7–8	West Maegashira #3 5–10
2006	West Maegashira #6 8–7	West Maegashira #4 6–9	West Maegashira #7 8–7	West Maegashira #6 8–7	East Maegashira #3 7–8	West Maegashira #3 10–5
2007	West Maegashira #1 4–11 ★	East Maegashira #8 7–8	East Maegashira #10 12–3 F	East Maegashira #2 5–10	East Maegashira #4 8–7	West Maegashira #2 10–5
2008	West Komusubi 3–12	West Maegashira #6 6–9	East Maegashira #10 8–7	x	x	x
Record given as win-loss-absent Championship Retired Demoted from makuuchi Sanshō key: F=Fighting spirit; O=Outstanding performance; T=Technique Also shown: ★=Kinboshi Divisions: Makuuchi — Jūryō — Makushita — Sandanme — Jonidan — Jonokuchi Makuuchi ranks: Yokozuna — Ōzeki — Sekiwake — Komusubi — Maegashira