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Dog (Inu)

The oldest domesticated animal, dogs have long served as hunting dogs and guard dogs in Japan

Dogs, also known as domestic dogs (ie inu), are mammals belonging to the order Carnivora and the family Canidae. They are the oldest domesticated animal, their remains having been found in sites of the Upper Paleolithic period (50,000-12,000 years ago). Their ancestors were similar to dingo dogs and pariah dogs, with an admixture of wolves and jackals. They are believed to have been first domesticated in the region covering the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. They have a sharp sense of smell, considerable endurance, and their body structure is suitable for long-distance running. They are clever and obedient. They are omnivorous, but mainly eat animals, and they travel in packs. A dog is sexually mature by 6 to 9 months, becomes old at the age of 12, and can live up to 20 years. It is believed that there are more than 400 varieties.

       Since ancient times, the dogs indigenous to Japan have been Japanese dogs, known in Japanese as Nihon ken or waken. They came from Southern Asia with the Jomon people more than 10,000 years ago. The oldest bones have been excavated from ruins of the Jomon period (ca. 8000-ca. 200 BC). Hokkaido dogs and Ryukyu dogs retain the characteristics of dogs of this period and are closely related to Japanese dogs. It is thought that dogs from the Korean Peninsula came to Japan from about 2,000 years ago and bred with native dogs from the Jomon period.

       Current Japanese dogs all have stubby snouts, standing ears, and curled tails. In 1934 the Nihonken Hozonkai (Japan Dog Preservation Society) designated the following breeds as native: Akita, Kai (Yamanashi Prefecture), Kishu (Wakayama Prefecture), Shiba, Shikoku, and Hokkaido.

       Since ancient times these dogs have been bred as hunting dogs and guard dogs, and the Inukaibe (Corporation of Dog Keepers), which bred guard dogs, had a place in the Yamato court. Since the Heian period, dogs have often been used for falconry and other types of hunting, and some dogs were imported from abroad. They are also bred as pets and are described in Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book.

       In contrast, dogs have also been abused. Inuoumono, a martial art that involved hunting dogs as prey, was practiced from the end of the Heian period to the Kamakura period (1185-1333). There was also the sport of hunting dogs (inukari). In the Edo period (1603-1867), wild dogs were rampant, and dogs were killed for their skin and meat. In response to this trend, in 1682 Tokugawa Tsunayoshi issued his Decree on Compassion for Animals, ordering the protection and registration of dogs.

       There are many customs related to dogs, including inuhariko, a local toy placed in the bedroom to protect infants from evil, and Iwata obi, a sash worn by pregnant women around the belly on the day of the dog in the fifth month of pregnancy, to pray for a safe delivery.

       In Nanso Satomi hakken den (Chronicles of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nanso) by Takizawa Bakin, a goblin dog Yatsufusa appears in the story, and the eight samurai heroes each have the Chinese character for dog in their surname. The Fu Dog placed in front of the gates of shrines and temples was originally a lion, an imaginary animal for Japanese people, and as the appearance of the lion gradually changed toward that of a dog, it came to be called Komainu (Guardian Dog).

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Books

Juvenile literature works that feature dogs

Related Works

Figures of dogs

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Past Exhibitions

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Institutions Holding Related Materials

  • 和歌山県伊都郡かつらぎ町にある神社で、世界文化遺産である「紀伊山地の霊場と参詣道」の構成資産のひとつ。弘法大師を高野山に導いたのが当神社のお使いである白黒2頭の犬と伝わることから、ご神犬として紀州犬が奉献されている。毎月16日に斎行される月次祭の後にご神犬がご神前に参拝し、一定時間公開されている。

  • 秋田県大館市にある観光交流施設。秋田犬に関する資料展示などがある。

  • 伝統文化である土佐闘犬大会を開催している。土佐犬の歴史や闘犬のルールなどが紹介されている。

  • 各地の支部主催で年2回開かれる。見学可。

  • The National Diet Library (NDL), founded in 1948, is the library which belongs to the Diet. The NDL assists the activities of the National Diet. The Library collects and conserves materials and information both from Japan and abroad, serving as a foundation of knowledge and culture and providing library services to administrative and judicial entities and Japanese citizens.

  • As Japan’s representative museum, Tokyo National Museum collects, preserves, displays, and researches the cultural properties of Asia with a focus on Japan, and also provides educational programs.

  • Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art was founded as the successor of the Aichi Prefectural Art Gallery, which originally opened in Sakae, the center of Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, in 1955. The museum opened in 1992 as part of the Aichi Arts Center, an urban cultural complex, and has established a wide-range collection of approximately 8,000 items, centered on works of art of the twentieth century. The Museum has also organized numerous exhibition of a wide-range of themes. The Museum has actively worked to develop and communicate new aspects of art and culture to the public, based on its core mission to serve as the primary art museum of the Chubu region.

External Links

External Links

  • 日本犬6犬種の特徴などを詳細に紹介している。

  • さまざまな犬種を写真付きで解説。

References

  1. 棚橋正博 著,青裳堂書店
  2. 日立デジタル平凡社,平凡社