Dogs of Japan

"Haniwa," A terracotta tomb figurine-dog from 6th century Japan, Tokyo National Museum

When we travel abroad, I always miss Ed and Reub (not the blog, but the dogs) so I end up photographing other peoples' dogs. The trip to Japan in June and July was no exception. They say the Japanese are pet-crazy, so I figured there would be lots of photo opps.  Plus, we were headed straight for Akita Prefecture, the birthplace of the Akita Inu, a breed of spitz fighting dogs.

Faithful Hachikō's statue outside of Shibuya Station: it's the meeting place where thousands of people go every day to wait for friends. Every person in this picture is doing that very thing.

Perhaps you know the true story of Hachikō, Japan's most famous Akita? Here it is, well-stated, from Wikipedia:

He was born in 1923 and owned by Professor Hidesaburō Ueno of Tokyo.^[12] Professor Ueno lived near the Shibuya Train Station in a suburb of the city and commuted to work every day on the train. Hachikō accompanied his master to and from the station each day. On May 25, 1925, when the dog was 18 months old, he waited for his master's arrival on the four o'clock train. But he waited in vain; Professor Ueno had suffered a fatal stroke at work. Hachikō continued to wait for his master's return. He traveled to and from the station each day for the next nine years. He allowed the professor's relatives to care for him, but he never gave up the vigil at the station for his master. His vigil became world renowned when, in 1934, shortly before his death, a bronze statue was erected at the Shibuya train station in his honor... eventually, Hachikō's legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty, particularly to the person and institution of the Emperor.

Odate, Akita Prefecture, is Hachikō's birthplace & all of the manhole covers bear this design.

However, it was days before I saw an actual dog. Where were they?

Could it have something to do with the fact that the dog population of Japan was decimated by World War II? The famine of those years caused dogs to be slaughtered for their meat, their pelts donated to the military. It was illegal to own anything but a German Shepherd. There were very few Akitas left by the end of that war, and many of the survivors were taken back to the US by American soldiers.

At last I saw a real live Akita. In Akita! Happy day.

Still, there were more  canine pictures than actual dogs. This pup was on a forest fire awareness sign, kind of like Smokey the Bear.

Saigo Takamori, the "last samurai" and his dog: a statue in Ueno Park, Tokyo. It is said that the dog  is included in order to soften the image of Takamori, the warrior-poet-politician who committed suicide at the end of the Edo period.

"ADA BAT
You must be udabut life.
Believe my ability."

I lacked the nerve to ask this guy for the shirt off his back.

OK. Now for some real live dogs-of-Japan:

Turns out that dogs are quite expensive. This puppy, for sale in a Tokyo pet shop, cost  $2,400.00.

A little white dog (Maltese?) accompanying a shop-owner to work in Kyoto's Inari shrine.

 

A lovely black lab, also at work with her owner.

A Pomeranian out for a stroll.

A West Highland terrier at work, pretty comfy on his rug, and taking up a whole booth.

A Kyoto man wearing a traditional summer kimono, with his Corgi on the Philosopher's Walk.

And that's an iPhone attached to his obi.