KISHU KEN: HISTORY
The Kishu Ken is a large game hunting dog from the Kii Peninsula, where modern day Wakayama and Mie prefectures sit. The breed has a strong association with the Japanese wolf, from which it is said to be descended. In fact, according to some, the Kishu has a handful of physiological traits that are remnant of the wolf, from their webbed feet and rear dew claws ("wolf claw") that sometimes pop up, to the thickness and acute curve of their teeth. Paying homage to this, many modern Kishu have names paying homage to the wolf.
The Kishu Ken as a breed is fairly young - less than 100 years old - and was first standardized in 1934 through the Nihon Ken Hozonkai (NIPPO.) It was named and developed out of those wolf-descended hunting dogs of the Kii peninsula and refined from there. In early development, the Kishu Ken had many coat colors at a frequency similar to their sibling-breed, the Shikoku Ken. However, popular sire lines that emerged in the late 1950s and 60s slowly transformed the breed into the modern, white-coated dog.
The Kishu has, in the past, been called by other names based on the area where the founding dogs came from; the Kumano Ken and Taichi Ken are among these historic names. Today, all registered dogs are recognized as "Kishu Ken." Like the other Japanese breeds, the Kishu Ken's population suffered in the wake of World War II but were mostly spared due to the mountainous and isolated region they originate from and the hunters who valued them.
Outside of Japan, the Kishu Ken has been recognized by the FCI since 1982, by the UKC since 2006, and by the AKC Foundation Stock Service since 2005. They have been regularly bred outside of Japan since at least 2000 in the USA.
The Kishu was once one of the most populous of the medium-sized breeds in Japan but has recently taken a swift dive toward extinction. This can be attributed to the Kishu Ken's energy and hunting ability which sometimes does not combine with modern Japanese living in small apartments. Despite this, the Kishu Ken is the most common native purebred dog used for boar hunting in Japan. Their numbers outside of Japan remain slim and the sharp decline they've seen in the last decades threatens them with extinction.
The Kishu was once one of the most populous of the medium-sized breeds in Japan but has recently taken a swift dive toward extinction. This can be attributed to the Kishu Ken's energy and hunting ability which sometimes does not combine with modern Japanese living in small apartments. Despite this, the Kishu Ken is the most common native purebred dog used for boar hunting in Japan. Their numbers outside of Japan remain slim and the sharp decline they've seen in the last decades threatens them with extinction.
Shiro go (Wakayama), Kishu Winner Showa 8 (1933)
Photography Credit.
- "The Kishu Ken" Dog Breed Book Series scanned by C.J. Hammond
- Nihon Ken Hozonkai 70 Year Anniversary book scanned by Astor Williams