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Mr. Mutsuo Okada is one of the few remaining
informed writers on the Akita
dog in Japan.
He learned much about the Akita
dog with frequent visits to the home of the late Mr.
Hyoemon Kyono in Yuzawa. Mr. Kyono was well-known in
Yuzawa and was involved with the Tosa Fighting Dog
earlier in his career and later with the Akita dog. He was a respected
member and official with the Tosa Fighting Dog Society,
Nippo and eventually with Akikyo.
During his student days in Tokyo, Mr. Okada also saw the
famous Kongo-go at the home of Mr. Heihachi Hashimoto,
the owner and handler of Kongo.
Mr. Okada also obtained some first hand
information on the origins of the Akita dot by visiting the
mountain villages of Sawauchi and Gosho, as Mr. Kyono
did decades earlier.
He also developed a close a very close
friendship with Mr. Tamejiro Ishibashi of Akikyo, who
also lives in Yuzawa and who was a relative and also a
student of Mr. Kyono. Mr. Okada’s friendship with Mr.
Ishibashi continues to this day. Mr. Ishibashi produced
the famous Akita dog Daiunme-go.
Mr. Okada was also the vice-chairman of
Akikyo until his retirement from that organization in
the early 1900s.
His articles on the Akita dog have appeared in
Japanese dog magazines such as the Aiken No Tomo and the
Aiken Journal for over twenty-five years. He is also the
author of the book, Keito Tokuhon, Akitainu (A Book on
Pedigrees of the Akita Dog) that was published in 1992
by Sebundo Shinkosha of Tokyo,
Japan.
This book has been used as a reference on the history
and pedigreed of the Akita dogs by both Akiho and
Akikyo. Some of his articles on the Akita dogs that have been
translated into English have appeared from time to time
in the Akita World since January 1994.
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