50 Fun Facts About Akita

The Akita traces its roots to hunting dogs kept by which traditional hunters of northern Japan?

They used the dogs to track and hold bears, boar and serow in deep snow.

In which region of Japan did the breed originate?

Akita Prefecture, which gives the breed its name, lies in that region.

Which large animal were the breed's ancestors used to hunt in snowy mountains?

Wild boar and the Japanese serow were other quarry.

What was the breed called until it was renamed the Akita Inu in 1931?

Samurai and wealthy farmers in the Ōdate area kept it as a guard and fighting dog.

Which samurai clan ruled the Akita region and reportedly encouraged dogfighting among vassals?

The Satake West Family kept Ōdate Castle during the Edo period.

A legendary late-Edo temple dog named Moku stood about how tall at the shoulder?

He was said to be big enough to carry an adult on his back.

In which year was the Akita declared a Japanese natural monument?

It was the first domestic dog breed to receive the designation.

What distinction did the Akita earn among Japanese dog breeds in 1931?

The Shiba Inu followed in 1936.

Who founded the Akita Inu Hozonkai preservation society in 1927?

Izumi Shigeie organised it to save the original type from crossbreeding.

Crossbreeding with which fighting breed had muddied the Akita by the early 1900s?

Imported foreign dogs were also mixed in during the dog-fighting craze.

With which breed were Akitas crossed during World War II to escape a cull of non-military dogs?

Shepherds were the only dogs approved for military use in Japan.

In which earlier war were Akitas used to track prisoners of war and lost sailors?

That conflict was fought in 1904–05.

Roughly how many purebred Akitas survived in Japan at the end of World War II?

Akitas were culled first because they ate a lot and their fur could line coats.

Which two bloodlines were most influential in rebuilding the breed?

The Dewa line was nicknamed the 'German Shepherd' type and the Ichinoseki the 'Mastiff' type.

Which breeder is credited as a major reason the Akita survived the postwar years?

Akitas were bred for a standardised appearance for the first time in that era.

In which decade did the foxier Japanese type begin to diverge from the American type?

America and Europe had preserved the bear-headed dogs that fell out of favour in Japan.

Hachikō's faithfulness became a Japanese national symbol of what?

His story was put in a second-grade textbook in 1935 to teach kindness and gratitude.

What was the profession of Hachikō's owner, Hidesaburō Ueno?

He taught agricultural engineering at Tokyo Imperial University.

At which Tokyo station did Hachikō wait for his owner each day?

Ironically he had actually arrived in Tokyo at Ueno Station in January 1924.

What does the 'Hachi' in Hachikō's name mean?

One theory is that the professor skipped 'seven' because Tokyoites pronounced it badly.

How did Professor Ueno die in May 1925?

He had been with the dog only about 15 months.

Which newspaper article in October 1932 made Hachikō famous across Japan?

It was full of errors and a correction ran a month later titled 'Hachi-kō is a Fine Dog'.

Which sculptor made Hachikō's original bronze statue, complete with his drooping left ear?

He and his daughter died in the May 1945 Tokyo air raid.

What happened to Hachikō's first bronze statue during World War II?

It became locomotive parts on August 14, 1945, one day before the surrender.

On what date each year is Hachikō honoured with a ceremony at his statue?

It marks the day he died in 1935.

A 2011 re-examination found Hachikō died of heartworm and what else?

Four skewers were in his stomach but caused no damage, ending a decades-long debate.

Where is Hachikō's mounted pelt displayed?

His preserved organs are at the University of Tokyo's agriculture museum.

Which 1987 Japanese film about the loyal dog was the country's top-grossing film that year?

It was the last big hit for the studio Shochiku Kinema Kenkyū-jo.

Who starred in the 2009 American film Hachi: A Dog's Tale?

Lasse Hallström directed it in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.

In which Rhode Island city was Hachi: A Dog's Tale filmed?

The city later unveiled a replica of the Shibuya statue bought on eBay.

How many Akitas played Hachi in the 2009 film?

Leyla, Chico and Forrest shared the role; trainer Mark Harden adopted Chico afterwards.

Which famous American was given the first two Akitas to enter the United States in 1937?

She called the first, Kamikaze-go, 'an angel in fur'.

What was the name of the first Akita given to the famous deafblind author in 1937?

He died of distemper at seven and a half months; his litter brother was sent as a replacement.

What nickname was given to Kenzan-go, the second Akita sent to America in 1938?

He slept at the foot of her bed on his very first night.

How did many American servicemen first encounter the breed?

Many brought an Akita home at the end of their tour.

In which year did the American Kennel Club first recognise the Akita, in its Miscellaneous class?

The standard was not approved until 1972, when it moved to the Working class.

What did the AKC do between 1974 and 1992 regarding Akitas imported from Japan?

The cut-off set the stage for today's split between American and Japanese types.

What did the FCI first call the American type when it split the breeds in 1999?

It was renamed the American Akita in January 2006.

Since when has the AKC treated American and Japanese Akitas as separate breeds?

It no longer allows free breeding between the two.

How is a Japanese Akita's head usually described, in contrast to the American type's bear head?

American Akitas are heavier-boned and larger overall.

Which marking is a disqualification for Japanese Akitas but allowed on American ones?

Pinto patterning is also barred on the Japanese type.

Which colour is NOT permitted on a Japanese Akita?

Japanese dogs are limited to red, fawn, sesame, brindle and pure white, all with urajiro.

Roughly how much does a mature American-type male Akita weigh?

Males stand 26–28 inches at the withers; the Japanese type is a little smaller.

What is the long-coated Akita variety called?

It comes from a recessive gene thought to trace to the Karafuto Ken.

Akitas' feet are described as resembling which animal's?

Tight, well-knuckled feet and a tail curled over the back are breed hallmarks.

What life expectancy did a UK study give the breed?

The purebred average in the same study was 12.7.

Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada syndrome, seen in Akitas, affects which parts of the body?

It is one of several autoimmune diseases known in the breed.

Why do lab results often overstate one electrolyte in Akita samples?

The trait is shared by several East Asian breeds including the Shiba Inu.

In which year was the Akita Dog Museum built in Ōdate?

It marked the 50th anniversary of the preservation society AKIHO.

What was the name of the only known offspring of Hachikō?

His mother was a Fox Terrier named Debbie; Kuma-kō attended Hachikō's funeral.