National Treasures

Native Dogs
of Japan
19th C. natomical drawings of Japanese native breeds by von Seibold

Miscellaneous Notes

  • The breeds native to Japan are all spitzes—a fact guaranteed to attract my attention.
  • Four other breeds, one a spitz, were developed in Japan using imported stock.
  • There are more published sources on these breeds, but I am completely ignorant of Japanese. As always with this project, I would welcome assistance!
Bibliography of the Dog
Spitz Reflections
Kat's Homepage
write me

Japanese Native Breeds
Japanese Middle-
Sized Dog
     

Non-Native Japanese Breeds
Japanese
Tosa

Multiple Japanese Breeds
  • Japanese Dogs: Akita, Shiba, and Other Breeds by Michiko Chiba, Yuichi Tanabe, Takashi Tojo and Tsutomu Muraoka. Kodansha, 2003. An introduction to breeds developed in Japan, the Akita, Hokkaïdo, Kai, Kishu, Shiba, Shikoku, Ryukyu, Jomon, Japanese Spitz, Japanese Chin, Japanese Terrier, and Tosa.
  • "Genetics variants of hemoglobin in canine erythrocytes" by Y Tanabe, T Omi, and K Ota. In: Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics, 1978, vol 9, p 79-83. This study found that a single autosomal locus of two codominant alleles, HbA and HbB, controlled the phenotypic variation of hemoglobin in dogs. Of 37 breeds studied, all dogs of non-Japanese breeds were homozygous for HbB; the HbA allele appeared only in six native Japanese breeds (Akita, Hokkaido, Kishu, Ryukyu, Sanshu and Shiba), with the Shikoku being the only exception among native Japanese breeds tested.
  • "Genetic polymorphism of eserine resistant esterases in canine plasma" by G Sugiura, Y Tanabe and K Ota. In: Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics, 1977, vol 8, p 121-126. A study of six plasma eserine resistant esterase phenotypes in 1438 dogs of 38 breeds. The authors found that the phenotypic variations were controlled by three codominant alleles, which they named ESA, ESB and ESC. ESB was common in most of the breeds, while ESC was seen only in the Akita, the Shikoku, the Hokkaido, Shinshu- and Mino-Shibas and "a spitz dog"; ESA was uncommon in Japanese breeds, but found more often in European dogs.
  • Nihonken Taikan by Shiro Itagaki. Seibundo Shinkosha, 1953 (reprinted in 1987). The title translates as "A Manual of the Japanese Dog"; the author was one of the founders of Nippo (Nippon Inu Hozonkai) the association formed in 1928 for the purpose of protecting the native dogs of Japan and which set forth the first standards for these breeds. In Japanese.