Dogs in Heian Japan: companions, courts, and culture

Part 1

Court life at the start of the Heian period

The Heian period ran from 794 to 1186. Sei Shonagon joined the court of Empress Teishi in 993, when she was in her late twenties. Teishi had become an empress in 990, at just fourteen years old, when her father was named regent to the young emperor. Court life was competitive and precarious, and a person's fortune could rise or fall with the emperor's favor. If you have ever worried about how your own dog would fare in a strange new place, the court was not so different for the animals that lived there.

Teishi's position was already slipping by the time Shonagon arrived at court. Her father, the regent, died in 995, and two of her brothers were exiled that same year. The Pillow Book itself began to circulate at court around 995 to 996, not long before Teishi died at twenty-three, after which Shonagon, by then a widow of forty, left the palace.

Part 2

The story of Okinamaro in the Pillow Book

One dog story from this period comes from The Pillow Book, Sei Shonagon's collection of court anecdotes. The emperor's cat, who had been given the headdress of nobility and the name Lady Myobu, was resting on the veranda when a gentlewoman set a dog named Okinamaro on her. The startled cat ran to the emperor, who ordered two officials to beat Okinamaro and banish him from the palace grounds. Dog Island, where the dog was sent, was probably a refuge for unwanted dogs rather than a formal punishment site.

1. A few days later a battered, swollen dog wandered into the court, but no one recognized him.
2. The empress and her ladies were mourning Okinamaro's fate when the strange dog began to shake and weep at the sound of his name.
3. They realized the trembling dog was Okinamaro, who had refused to answer to his name to keep from betraying himself.

You might recognize this scene if your own dog has ever gotten into trouble with another household animal and then hidden out of fear.

Part 3

What the story reveals about dogs and status

Sei Shonagon wrote that the scene struck her as strange and moving, and that she still cried when people brought it up. She recalled that Okinamaro used to swagger about happily, wearing a garland of peach blossoms at festivals, before his fall from favor. Court accounts like hers suggest that women, who spent much of their time indoors with their companions, felt more tenderness toward pets than men generally did.

Part 4

What we know and do not know about Heian-era dog breeds

The Shiba Inu is one of Japan's original hunting dog breeds, used to flush game in mountainous terrain.