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Akita history: from Japanese mountain hunter to national icon

See the real story – guest starring your dog.

You're here to learn where the akita came from, and it is a story with more twists than most breed histories. The akita traces back to the mountains of northern Japan, where hunting dogs called matagi-inu helped local hunters track bear, boar, and deer. The breed came close to disappearing more than once, survived a rabies scare and a war, and later split into two separate lines, one kept in Japan and one bred in America. Along the way, one akita named Hachikō made the whole breed famous.

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The story in 6 parts

A short version first. The full story, with every detail, is further down.

Part 1

What the akita was originally bred to do

The akita comes from Akita Prefecture, a mountainous, cold region on the northern tip of Honshu Island in Japan.

Part 2

How the breed nearly disappeared

In the early 1900s, competitive dog fighting was popular in Japan, and breeders crossed the native northern dogs with other breeds, including the Tosa Fighting Dog, Great Danes, and Tibetan Mastiffs, to make bigger, fiercer fighters.

Part 3

Hachikō and the akita's place in Japanese culture

You may already know the akita through one dog rather than through any of these events: Hachikō.

Part 4

How the akita reached the United States

Helen Keller is credited with bringing the first akita to the United States.

Part 5

Two akitas, one name: understanding the split

Today the American Kennel Club treats the American akita and the Japanese akita as two separate breeds.

Part 6

What the akita's working past means for your dog today

The akita's ancestors worked as hunting dogs, and later as guard dogs and, during a darker period, as fighting dogs.

Read the full story

Part 1

What the akita was originally bred to do

The akita comes from Akita Prefecture, a mountainous, cold region on the northern tip of Honshu Island in Japan. Hunters there worked with dogs known as matagi-inu, and the word matagi meant an esteemed hunter. These dogs tracked and held large game such as black bear, wild boar, and Japanese serow in snow-covered mountain terrain. Not every historian agrees on how far back this hunting-dog line goes, and some argue the modern akita took shape later from a mixed group of village dogs rather than one continuous hunting breed.

Part 2

How the breed nearly disappeared

In the early 1900s, competitive dog fighting was popular in Japan, and breeders crossed the native northern dogs with other breeds, including the Tosa Fighting Dog, Great Danes, and Tibetan Mastiffs, to make bigger, fiercer fighters. A rabies outbreak that struck Japan starting in 1899 made things worse, with around 3,000 cases reported by 1929 and dogs killed indiscriminately out of fear they carried the disease. By the early 1900s the breed was close to gone. World War II brought a second crisis: the government ordered that non-military dogs be culled, dog fur was used to line military clothing, and only German Shepherds working for the police or military were spared. Preservation groups worked to rebuild the breed even as this was happening, starting with the Akita Inu Hozonkai, founded in Odate in 1927, followed by another Japanese dog club, NIPPO, in 1928. In 1931 the Japanese government declared the akita a natural monument, and it went on to subsidize the food and care of champion akitas whose owners could not afford to keep them.

Part 3

Hachikō and the akita's place in Japanese culture

You may already know the akita through one dog rather than through any of these events: Hachikō. Hachikō was born in Odate in 1923 and belonged to Dr. Ueno, a lecturer at the University of Tokyo. Each morning Hachikō walked with him to Shibuya Station and returned there to meet him at the end of the day. Dr. Ueno died suddenly at work in 1925, but Hachikō kept coming to the station to wait for him, and the story became known across Tokyo, making front-page news by 1932. Hachikō continued this routine for almost ten years until he was found dead near the station in 1935. Statues of Hachikō went up at Shibuya Station in 1934 and at Odate Station in 1935, and although the original figures were melted down during the war, new versions were made in 1947 and 1987. His story is credited with focusing national attention on the value of Japan's native dogs.

Part 4

How the akita reached the United States

Helen Keller is credited with bringing the first akita to the United States. During a visit to Japan she was moved by Hachikō's story, and Japan's Minister of Education gave her an akita puppy named Kamikaze in 1937. That puppy died of distemper, so she was given one of his littermates instead. After World War II, American servicemen stationed in Japan admired the breed's strength and adaptability and brought dogs home with them, mostly from two Japanese lines known as Dewa and Ichinoseki. If you trace an American akita's pedigree far enough back, it likely runs through one of those two post-war lines. In the United States, breed clubs merged over the following decades, and the American Kennel Club admitted the akita to full breed status on April 4, 1973. In 1999 the Fédération Cynologique Internationale agreed to treat the American type as a separate breed, calling it the Great Japanese Dog, later renamed the American Akita in 2006.

Part 5

Two akitas, one name: understanding the split

Today the American Kennel Club treats the American akita and the Japanese akita as two separate breeds. As of 2020, the American Kennel Club also treats the American akita and the Japanese akita as two separate breeds and no longer allows free breeding between them. Several other registries, including the United Kennel Club, the FCI, The Kennel Club, the Australian National Kennel Council, the New Zealand Kennel Club, and the Japan Kennel Club, already treated them as separate breeds. The American akita and the Japanese akita, sometimes called akita inu, are now treated as separate breeds.

Part 6

What the akita's working past means for your dog today

The akita's ancestors worked as hunting dogs, and later as guard dogs and, during a darker period, as fighting dogs. Matagi hunters valued the breed's quiet style of hunting and holding prey at bay.

Things you might not know

  • His story is credited with focusing national attention on the value of Japan's native dogs.
  • Helen Keller is credited with bringing the first akita to the United States.
  • Matagi hunters valued the breed's quiet style of hunting and holding prey at bay.
  • The American akita and the Japanese akita, sometimes called akita inu, are now treated as separate breeds.

Year by year

  1. 1923Hachikō was born in Odate in 1923 and belonged to Dr. Ueno, a lecturer at the University of Tokyo.
  2. 1925Dr. Ueno died suddenly at work in 1925, but Hachikō kept coming to the station to wait for him, and the story became known across Tokyo, making front-page news by 1932.
  3. 1927Preservation groups worked to rebuild the breed even as this was happening, starting with the Akita Inu Hozonkai, founded in Odate in 1927, followed by another Japanese dog club, NIPPO, in 1928.
  4. 1928Preservation groups worked to rebuild the breed even as this was happening, starting with the Akita Inu Hozonkai, founded in Odate in 1927, followed by another Japanese dog club, NIPPO, in 1928.
  5. 1931In 1931 the Japanese government declared the akita a natural monument, and it went on to subsidize the food and care of champion akitas whose owners could not afford to keep them.
  6. 1932Dr. Ueno died suddenly at work in 1925, but Hachikō kept coming to the station to wait for him, and the story became known across Tokyo, making front-page news by 1932.
  7. 1934Statues of Hachikō went up at Shibuya Station in 1934 and at Odate Station in 1935, and although the original figures were melted down during the war, new versions were made in 1947 and 1987.
  8. 1935Statues of Hachikō went up at Shibuya Station in 1934 and at Odate Station in 1935, and although the original figures were melted down during the war, new versions were made in 1947 and 1987.

Questions people ask

Why is the akita considered a symbol of Japan?

The Japanese government declared the akita a natural monument in 1931, and it later subsidized the care of champion dogs whose owners could not afford to feed them. The breed's link to Hachikō, the dog who kept waiting for his owner at Shibuya Station, also drew national attention to the akita as a symbol of loyalty.

How did the akita almost go extinct?

A rabies outbreak beginning in 1899 led to the indiscriminate killing of dogs, including akitas, and by the early 1900s the breed was close to gone. World War II brought a second crisis, when non-military dogs were ordered culled and dog fur was used for military clothing, and some owners crossed their akitas with German Shepherds to try to save them.

What is the difference between an American akita and a Japanese akita?

As of 2020 the American Kennel Club treats them as two separate breeds, and registries such as the United Kennel Club, the FCI, and the Japan Kennel Club already did the same.

How did Hachikō become connected to the akita breed?

Hachikō was a dog born in Odate in 1923 who waited for his owner, Dr. Ueno, at Shibuya Station every day, even after his owner died in 1925. The story soon had the whole of Tokyo talking about him, and it focused national attention on the value of the native dogs.

Why did Helen Keller bring an akita to the United States?

Helen Keller was moved by the story of Hachikō during a visit to Japan, and Japan's Minister of Education gave her an akita puppy named Kamikaze in 1937. That puppy died of distemper, so she was given one of its littermates in its place, and she is credited with bringing the breed to America.

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Sources

  1. Akita (dog breed) - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.
  2. Arvon Akitas - Akita History. www.arvonakitas.com.
  3. The Subsidized Akita. National Purebred Dog Day®, Jul 14, 2021.
  4. Akita History. www.arvonakitas.com.
  5. prosplit. tamarlane.com.
  6. Whispering Pines Akitas. users.usinternet.com.
  7. Wzorzec FCI i historia Akit - Akita u Izis FCI. Akita u Izis FCI.

Written by TimeWalkies EditorialLast updated How we research