Akita breed description:

The sun has poured a dish of its own color over this dog - that's what the Japanese say about akita.

Japan…

The land of the rising sun, blooming cherry orchards, origami, samurai, the history of Japan shrouded in legends and mysteries, centuries-old culture and traditions…

For each of us, Japan is associated with something different, but more often with something little known and a little mysterious. And only a few know that Japan also has a special attitude towards Japanese dog breeds and their centuries-old history. Japanese dog breeds and the attitude of Japanese people towards them are part of Japanese culture and history.

Akita – one of the oldest dog breeds not only in Japan, but also in the world, an integral part of the cultural and historical heritage of this ancient, intelligent and mythical land.

History of the breed:

To talk about the Akita and not mention the history of the breed means not to say anything about these beautiful, harmonious and smart dogs.

Until now, there is no clear opinion about when, from where, under what circumstances this breed appeared in Japan, what has been the development of the breed over the centuries and what has influenced what Akita looks like today and how we know it. But historians and breed researchers agree - it is one of the oldest dog breeds that has remained unchanged for centuries.

Around the beginning of our era, when the great migration of peoples from Korea and China began, their dogs also moved to the Japanese islands along with people, who over time mixed with the local dogs already living on the islands. This is attributed to the time when Japanese statehood began to form. But a little later, the ancestors of modern Japanese began to master new territories - including the northern part of Hoshu Island. The modern prefectures of Japan - Akita, Iwate, Aomori, Yamagata, which is considered the homeland of Akita, are located there. The appearance of the dogs of that time is evidenced by drawings on vessels found during archaeological excavations - the dogs have erect ears and a tail curled over the back or standing, which is very reminiscent of the modern Akita.

The name of the breed comes from the name of this mountainous province - AKITA, located in the northern part of the largest Japanese island, Hoshu Island. Since this part of the island is mountainous, difficult to reach and has a relatively harsh climate, it was practically isolated from the rest of Japan for a long time. Living in such isolation, the Akita as a breed developed without admixtures from other breeds and stabilized.

In the first written evidence found about 6th - 7th centuries. Japan, one can find information that emperors and their entourage have already used dogs, the ancestors of the Akita, for hawk hunting.

The story of the dog Shiro is considered the first historical legend where the Akita is described.

The event dates back to 1604 and, according to a Japanese epic, a hunter named Sadaroku, who had a hunting permit with his white dog Shiro, went to the mountains to hunt deer, but forgot his hunting permit at home. Sadaroku was captured along with his hunting trophies by soldiers from a neighboring region who were at war and put in prison. Legend has it that the dog, assessing the situation, ran to the hunter's house. The hunter's wife, seeing the dog panting and exhausted, realized that something bad had happened. Seeing that this important document - a hunting permit - had been left at home, she tied it to the dog's collar and sent it to its owner. The dog took the permit to its owner, but unfortunately - it was too late. Sadaroku had already been punished. The legend has several versions of what happened next with the dog Shiro and the hunter's widow, but after Shiro's death, the local residents buried Shiro in a specially built tomb for him, so impressed were they by the dog's loyalty.

For more than 260 years, the northern part of Hoshu Island - the territory of present-day Akita Province - was ruled by the family of the exiled ruler Satake. From generation to generation, representatives of the Satake family took care of the fighting skills and fighting spirit of their men and organized not only various types of single combat tournaments, but were also passionate about dogs, including organizing dog fights and looking for large and strong dogs suitable for these fights in the surrounding area.

Since the main source of livelihood of the people of this region was hunting, dogs were also bred mainly for hunting, the original name of the breed was "matagi-ken" - a hunting dog. It was in this mountainous region - a place with a relatively harsh climate - that strong, large dogs with a massive, bear-like skull and thick wool began to be bred around 1600.

Historical use of dogs:

Akitas, as dogs, were used to hunt large animals - wild boars, deer, black bears, but representatives of the ruling dynasty - also in dog fights. Between 1603 and 1867, the greatest changes in the history of the breed and the appearance of the Akita took place. The original Akita was a small or medium-sized dog, but after the discovery of gold deposits in the Akita province and the long-term feudal wars between the peoples made the inhabitants of the province very distrustful and cautious, the Akita dogs were increasingly used as guard dogs, so they had to look bigger and fiercer. The local residents of Akita highly valued the Akita as a guard dog, because the Akita was loyal, loved its owner