Is this japanese maple worth digging out?

[bwaynef]

I try not to get hungup on japanese terms, but I understand kabudachi to have the trunks all starting at the same plane (or nearly so) on the trunk. I think what you have will make a fine informal upright. Almost all of the thick branches need to be reduced, but I'd consider keeping some part of most of them rather than cutting back to an informal upright stump and starting the branching over.