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Nihonken Kouza
(A
Lecture Series on Japanese Dogs)
Kaigai No Akitainu
No Ruutsu Wo Saguru
By
Mutsuo Okada |
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Offspring of Kongo in the
United States
Although the popularity of the Akita
dog continues to decrease in Japan, the popularity
of the Akita dog in the United States and other
foreign countries now surpasses that of Japan, based
on the numbers of Akita dogs that are being produced
over there today. I will now discuss the roots of
the Akita dogs that went to the United States after
World War II. |
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The Akita dog in the United
States has its postwar beginnings with the exporting
of Kongo-go’s offspring, when Kongo-go was at
his peak of popularity. These were the closely
linebred offspring of Eisu-go [Ace-go] (that
came from the breeding of Kongo and Haname. Eisu-go
was owned my
Mr. Michael Shitara, owner of the Maiksuso
Kennel and who was well known dog dealer at that
time. Mr. Shitara’s friend, Mr. J.C. Prim?
(my apologies of the name is misspelled), who, at
that time, was on the staff at the General
Headquarters (GHQ) of the U.S. Forces of Occupation,
sent three more Akita dogs to the United States.
These two gentlemen were the earlier providers of
Akita dogs to the United States. |
Click On Picture To
Enlarge
Kongo-go
Eisu-go or Ace-go
Mr.
Michael Shitara Mr. J.C. Prim?
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The Kongo line type with the
corpulent body (or spongy body) and characteristic face
and coat colors have been retained in many of the Akita
dogs in the United States to this day. |
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The Exportation of Pintos
The second wave went there with the
exporting of the red pintos and brindle pintos. In order
to understand how this came about, one must first know
what happened in Japan just prior to this time.
Goromaru-go was a pinto from the Ichinoseki line
that began to gain in popularity in Japan around 1952.
With the coming of Tsukasa, Senzan and
Torafusa, popularity of the Ichinoseki line began to
exceed that of the Kongo line around 1955. Goromaru-go
had the face and coat colors that reminded one of the
St. Bernard type that came form the “Shin Akita” (“New
Akita”). The “Shin Akitas” came form breeding the Akita
fighting dog to the Tosa fighting dogs and dogs of other
breeds. |
Goromaru-go
Goromaru-go Tsukasa-go
Senzan-go Torafusa-go |
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Meanwhile, Tamakumo-go,
also of the Ichinoseki line, also began to gain
popularity at this time. Soon Goromaru and Tamakumo
became the two main bloodlines of the Ichinoseki line. |
Tamakumo-go Goromaru-go
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Although Goromaru-go was a
pinto, none of his offspring were pintos. However,
they inherited his characteristic white coat that
came up to the shoulders. However, his grandsons,
Muchi-go
and Fukutaro-go
were pintos. Pintos became popular in Japan when
Muchi-go became a winner at the Akiho (Akitainu
Hozonkai) and Akitainu Kyokai) dog shows,
respectively.
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Muchi-go
Fukutaro-go
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Tamakumo-go,
a black brindle, did not produce any pintos. However,
some of his descendants bred to the Goromaru line
produced some strange brindle pintos which soon became
popular. Examples of these were Amakuni-go of Akiho and
Rikimaru-go of Akikyo. Both were black brindles
with indistinct stripes.
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Tamakumo-go
Rikimaru-go |
When Akita dogs with the white
coats that came up to the shoulders began to win,
brindle pintos of that type seen in Torahibiki-go
became popular along with red and brindle Akita dogs.
Many may recall the Great Tokyo Chikuken (Tokyo Domestic
Dog) scandal that shook dog circles and society for a
while. Tokyo Chikuken widely promoted the Torahibiki-go
type of dog and exported many of these dogs. This type
of Akita dog also became popular in Japan during this
period.
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Torahibiki-go
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If the Kongo line was the
first wave, pintos from the Goromaru line could be
considered as the Akita dogs of the second wave.
However, some soon became wary
of this type of pinto, and many in Japan began to favor
the red and brindle Akita dogs. Red dogs with the black
masks began to be excluded, and the trend was soon
toward the clear yellowish red Akita dogs with white
cheeks. The white mask were also popular. Thus, the
pintos were soon eliminated.
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This was followed by the
so-called period of the female, Daiunme-go, black
brindle, from the Yuzawa Ishibashi Kennel. Daiunme-go
produced some outstanding Akita dogs such as
Kumohibiki-go. Daiunme-go’s grandsons such as the
red Tetsuyuki-go and the red brindle
Kumomaru-go soon became popular. Furthermore,
Kita-no-o-go of Akikyo, considered as a white dog of
high purity, also hastened progress toward the ideal
large type Japanese dog during the latter part of 1965. |
Daiunme-go
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Kumohibiki-go
Tetsuyuki-go
Kumomaru-go
Kita-no-o-go
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Akiho’s Large Type Japanese
Dogs Abroad
About this time, the Los Angeles Branch of
Akiho was organized and the proper type of Akita dogs
began to be imported from Japan.
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However, the United States in
a huge nation and influences of earlier breeder of the
first and second waves in the United States resulted in
viewpoints different from those in Japan.
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In Japan, changes tend to
occur every three or more years. Whenever an Akita
dogs gains any favorable attention, breeders in
Japan tend to move toward that bloodline. This may
not be true abroad. Newcomers there tend to retain
those Akita dogs from the first and second waves.
Consequently, we now see three different types of
Akita dogs in the United States.
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In Japan, only one type of
Akita dog is found today. Akita dogs from the past may
be in the pedigrees of today’s Akita dogs, but no
features of the older types are seen in these Akita
dogs. The differences between Akita dogs in Japan and
abroad have also resulted in much debate.
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A Revival Toward the Large
Japanese Type Dog
A study into the history of the Akita dog may provide
answers to some of the questions. The Akita dog was
almost lost during the Taisho Period (1912- 1926) when
they were bred to Tosa fighting dogs. These mixed Akita
dogs were called the “Shin Akita” (“New Akita”) and were
used as fighting dogs.
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Mr. Hirokichi Saito
started the Nipponinu Hozonkai (Nippo) around 1928 to
make a call to the public for the purification of the
Akita dog with standing ears and curled tail. “To create
the large Japanese type dog” may be a better term than
“revival of the large Japanese type dog.” Although, the
term “restoration of the classical Akita dog” has been
used in the past, the word “classical” usually refers to
written materials such as books. Therefore, the term “old
type” or the “primitive type” of Akita may be preferable.
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Mr. Hirokichi Saito
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Informed breeders are trying
to produce what they believe to be the original form of
the Akita dog that existed before the outcrossing to
other dog breeds.
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However, studies by Hirokichi
Saito have shown that no dog bones suggesting a
height greater than 2 shaku (approximately 60.6 cm,
23.9 inches) have yet to be found by archeologists.
Height increased with outcrossing to the Tosa
fighting dog or to dogs of other western breeds. The
height of dogs of the Ichinoseki line increased when
they were bred to bloodlines of the “Shin Akita”
(“New Akita”).
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Dogs of
the Dewa line increased in height from the bloodline of
Tachi-go. Kongo-go of the Dewa line has been known
for its great size and weight. The Dewa line has the
bloodline of
Mutsu-go, the son of Kappei-go and that of
Tachi-go. Kappei-go was produced by Mr. Takeo Sato,
a dog dealer from Tokyo. He also had much to do with
Tachi-go.
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Tachi-go
front
Tachi-go side |
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I have discussed the
bloodlines of Dewa-go, Tachi-go and Mutsu-go in
the past and will not go into any lengthy details at
this time. However, Photographs of these dogs reveal the
facial features of Kongo.
Kappei-go, Mutsu’s sire, was a medium black and tan
dog with the “yottsume (four eyes pattern” on its
forehead and face, and registered with Nippo in the
medium type group. Mr. Takeo Sato has stated that
Kappei-go came from breeding an Ainu (Hakkaido) (medium
type) dog to a German Shepherd dog. |
Dewa-go
Tachi-go
Mutsu-go
Kappei-go
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Tachi-go
with a height of 2 shaku 4 sun (approximately 72.7 cm,
28.6 inches) was produced by Mr. Toyoji Kanari
(Masanari?). Tachi’s coat color is not that of a true
Akita dog. He was registered with Nippo (Nippo was the
only prestigious Japanese dog organization at that
time). Tachi’s sire, Iwa-go came from Niigata. His
pedigree is unknown. Tachi’s dam, Hatsu-go came from
Tokyo. Her pedigree is also unknown. However, I have
recently discovered a pedigree of one of the offspring
of Tachi-go that was produced in Odate when Tachi-go was
there for a time. The pedigree is on an application form
of Mr. Kanari. According to this pedigree, Iwa-go was
out of Maru and Funi (Fuji).
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In the Volume 1, Issue No 3 of the Nippo Bulletin
is a Photograph of Maru
taken at the Nippo’s First Headquarters Show of November
6, 1932. The dog’s height of 68 cm (approximately 26.8
inches) should be noted. Mr. Toyoji Kanari was the
owner. This is in agreement with the information from
Mr. Takeo Sato. One could just visualize the types of
Akita dogs that were produced from this dog.
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Maru-go
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In the mid 1920’s, many large
type Japanese dogs also existed outside the
prefecture of Akita. I have discussed such dogs in
the past, but due to limitation of space I will end
my discussion for now. -- End
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Mutsuo Okada
was born in Tokyo in 1937. He is a 1959 graduate of the
Keio University with a major in economics. From his
junior high school days, he received much of his
education on the Akita dog from Mr. Hyoemon Kyono. He is
a former vice chairman of the Akitainu Kyokai (Akikyo).
He is currently president of the Royal Ham Company, Inc.
in Tokyo. |
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Translator’s Comments:
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.
I had the privilege of meeting him for
the first time in Tokyo in 1992. He continues to provide
me with information and photographs related to the Akita
dog for which I am grateful.
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Reference
Okada Mutsuo “Kaigai No Akitainu No Ruutsu Wo Saguru (“
Seeking The Roots of The Akita Dogs Overseas”),”
Aiken No Tomo, pp. 377-379,
February, 2000, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing Co., Ltd.,
Tokyo, Japan.
Translated by Tatsuo Kimura
with permission form Mutsuo Okada.
Additional photographs were
added by translator from other articles, most of which
also came from Mr. Okada. |
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