Shikoku

The Shikoku, also called the Shikoku Ken or Kōchi Inu, is a medium-sized hunting dog from the mountainous island of Shikoku in Japan, where it was used on deer, wild boar and other game. It is a typical Japanese spitz, with a dense, harsh coat, pricked ears and a tail carried over the back. The breed is rare, even in Japan, and its numbers are slowly declining.

History

The Shikoku is one of the six native Japanese breeds. In size it falls between the large Akita and the smaller Shiba. In the 1930s the Japanese dog expert Haruo Isogai sorted the native dogs into large, medium and small types, and placed the Shikoku among the medium-sized dogs together with the Kai Ken, the Ainu Ken and the Kishu Ken. His work was a nationalist response to the growing fashion for European breeds in Japan at the time.

Five lines of Shikoku were developed: the eastern Iya and Kochi-Aki strains and the western Hata, Hongawa and Awa strains. The differences between them have blurred as the remote districts they came from became easier to reach. The Hongawa area, being hard to get to, kept the purest dogs. The Awa line all but disappeared through the hardships of World War II and frequent crossing with outside dogs, and the modern Shikoku is thought to descend mainly from the Hongawa and Hata lines.

Appearance

The standard height is 52 cm for males and 49 cm for females, with 3 cm allowed either way. Males and females differ clearly in expression and build. The body is strong and muscular, slightly longer than tall, and carries no excess weight.

There are three coat colors: sesame, red sesame and black sesame. A rare cream color is not accepted by the standard. In every color the dog shows pale markings called urajiro on its underside, in much the same places as tan points on a black dog: above the eyes, on the sides of the muzzle and cheeks, under the jaw, on the paws and insides of the legs and under the tail.

Temperament

The Shikoku is nimble and spirited, with sharp senses, great endurance and a high level of alertness. It is an eager hunter that is fiercely loyal and docile toward its owner, and it can serve as a hunting dog, a watchdog or a companion. Having developed on rough ground, it climbs well and makes a good hiking partner.

Japanese hunters, the Matagi, trained Shikoku to hold game in one of two ways, by barking or by biting. Barking is preferred because it is safer for the dog.

Care and health

The breed has one known major health problem, a predisposition to epilepsy. Two other conditions, canine focal metatarsal fistulation and neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, have occasionally been reported in Japan.

Facts on this page were checked against Wikipedia and may have changed since.