Dejima Takeharu (出島 武春, born March 21, 1974) is a former
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...
wrestler from
Kanazawa
is the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in central Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was .
Etymology
The name "Kanazaw ...
,
Ishikawa,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. A former amateur champion, he made his professional debut in 1996, reaching the top ''
makuuchi
, or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous ...
'' division the following year. In July 1999 he won the ''
yūshō'' or tournament championship and earned promotion to the second highest rank of ''
ōzeki''. He lost the rank in
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
and, for the most part, remained a ''
maegashira'' until his retirement in
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
. He won ten
special prizes and six
gold stars over his long career. He wrestled for
Musashigawa stable. He is now an
elder of the
Japan Sumo Association
The , officially the ; sometimes abbreviated JSA or NSK, and more usually called Sumo Kyōkai, is the governing body that operates and controls Professional sports, professional sumo wrestling, called , in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Min ...
under the name Ōnaruto Oyakata.
Early career
Dejima did sumo at elementary school, where he was a rival of fellow top division wrestler
Tochinonada. He was an amateur champion at
Chuo University
, commonly referred to as or , is a private research university in Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan. The university finds its roots in a school called Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (English Law School), which was founded in 1885, and became a university in 1 ...
. Dejima joined professional sumo in March 1996 at the age of 22, recruited by
Musashigawa stable, home to then ''ōzeki''
Musashimaru. Due to his amateur success he was given ''
makushita tsukedashi
The following words are terms used in sumo wrestling in Japan.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
...
'' status and was allowed to make his debut in the third ''
makushita'' division. He did not adopt a traditional ''
shikona
A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Muromachi period and established itself during the Edo period, where they were used as a means to hide the identities of the .
Given by the master to his di ...
'', and he only ever used his real name as an active wrestler. In January 1997 he captured the tournament championship in the second ''
jūryō'' division and was promoted to the top ''
makuuchi
, or , is the top division of Professional sumo divisions, the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous ...
'' division. His rise was so rapid that his hair had not yet grown long enough to be fashioned into the traditional ''
oichonmage'' topknot.
Dejima scored an impressive 11 wins in his top division debut, and was awarded two
special prizes, for technique and fighting spirit. After another 11–4 score in September, in which he won two more prizes and earned his first two ''
kinboshi
is a notation used in professional sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part oth ...
'' or gold stars for defeating ''yokozuna'', he made his ''
san'yaku'' debut at ''
sekiwake'' in November 1997. However, after winning five of his first six matches, he injured himself on the seventh day and missed the next two tournaments. He made a full recovery and after reappearing in May 1998 he quickly returned to the ''san'yaku'' ranks at ''
komusubi'' in September 1998, a rank he held for four straight tournaments.
''Ōzeki''
Dejima returned to ''sekiwake'' in May 1999 and produced a strong 11–4 record, and in the following ''
basho'' in July 1999 he won his first top division ''
yūshō'' or tournament championship, defeating ''
yokozuna
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the o ...
''
Akebono and
Takanohana and both ''ōzeki'' to score 13–2 and then beating Akebono once again in a playoff. Dejima chose to ''
henka'' the ''yokozuna'' in this bout, for which he received some criticism. Nevertheless, in addition to his ''yūshō'' he was awarded all three special prizes on offer, for technique, outstanding performance and fighting spirit. He was only the second wrestler after
Takahanada to achieve this feat. After the tournament his promotion to ''ōzeki'' was confirmed.
He was the fourth former amateur champion, after
Yutakayama,
Wajima and
Asashio, to reach sumo's second highest rank. His stablemates
Musōyama and
Miyabiyama subsequently made ''ōzeki'' also, in March and May 2000 respectively. 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, with his best result being an 11–4 score in March 2000, 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''. Returning in September, he needed ten wins to return to ''ōzeki'' but still in poor condition he could only manage a 5–10 record.
Later career

Persistent injuries, particularly to his knees and ankles, prevented Dejima from making any sustained attempt to regain ''ōzeki'' status. Aside from an 11–4 runner-up performance in January 2003 which briefly returned him to ''san'yaku'', he largely remained in the ''
maegashira'' ranks. He competed for 48 tournaments after dropping from the ''ōzeki'' rank – longer than any other former ''ōzeki'' in history until Miyabiyama overtook him. Near the end of his career he was still capable of producing strong results, 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 second runner-up performance in ''makuuchi'' and his highest score in a tournament since his title win, and was awarded his fourth
fighting spirit prize. In November 2007 he earned ten wins from the ''maegashira'' 2 rank, and won promotion to ''
komusubi'' for the January 2008 tournament. His return to the ''san'yaku'' ranks after 27 tournaments away was the third slowest in the modern era. He was however able to win only three bouts there. In November 2008 he won his first six matches, but then lost nine in a row. In May 2009, ranked at ''maegashira'' 12, he seemed in danger of demotion from ''makuuchi'' after recording only three wins in the first nine days, but he made a partial recovery to score 7–8.
Retirement from sumo
In the July 2009 tournament, which came exactly ten years after his championship win, Dejima announced his retirement from active competition after suffering nine losses in the first eleven days, rather than face demotion to the second ''jūryō'' division.
Dejima has stayed in the sumo world as a coach at Musashigawa stable (now
Fujishima stable) under the
elder name Ōnaruto Oyakata. His official retirement ceremony or ''
danpatsu-shiki'' was held at the
Ryōgoku Kokugikan on 29 May 2010.
Fighting style

Dejima was an ''oshi-sumo'' specialist, favouring pushing and thrusting
techniques (''tsuki-oshi'') over fighting on the ''
mawashi'' or belt. His most common winning technique was ''oshi-dashi'', or push-out, followed closely by ''yori-kiri'' or force out. These two techniques accounted for around 70 percent of his wins.
He rarely employed throwing moves, his most common being the beltless ''sukuinage'' or scoop throw which he used for only 3 percent of his victories.
He was famed for his explosive start at the ''
tachi-ai'' and so was often prone to being
sidestepped at the initial charge. The technique which he has been defeated most often, aside from ''yori-kiri'', is ''hataki-komi'', a slap down move that is often the result of a sidestep.
He was also vulnerable to the pull down, ''hiki-otoshi''.
He suffered from knee and
ankle problems in his latter years and had lost much of his speed and mobility. He remarked upon this at his retirement press conference, saying, "I have been battling with injuries and old wounds for some years now."
Career record
See also
*
*
List of sumo tournament top division champions
This is a list of wrestlers who have won the top division (''makuuchi'') championship in professional sumo since 1909, when the current championship system was established. These official tournaments are held exclusively in Japan.
1958 to prese ...
*
List of sumo tournament top division runners-up
*
List of sumo tournament second division champions
*
List of past sumo wrestlers
This is a list of prominent past wrestlers (either retired or deceased) in the sport of professional sumo. They are listed in order of the year and tournament month that they made their professional debuts. The information listed below was gleaned ...
*
List of sumo elders
This is a list of toshiyori, elders of the Japan Sumo Association (JSA). More accurately called "elder stock" or ''toshiyori kabu,'' these names are a finite number of licenses that can be passed on, and are strictly controlled by the JSA. They all ...
*
List of ōzeki
References
External links
*
Official profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dejima, Takeharu
1974 births
Living people
Chuo University alumni
Japanese sumo wrestlers
Ōzeki
Sportspeople from Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Sumo people from Ishikawa Prefecture
Sumo wrestlers who use their birth name