Famous Dogs in Japanese History

Starting from hunting in the woods until his master who guides the blind walking in public places, dogs have become man's best friend since time immemorial.

Here is the famous dogs in the history of Japan, whose body was successfully preserved and on display at the National Museum of Natural Science (国立 科学 博物馆 / Kokuritsu Kagaku Hakubutsukan) in Tokyo ...


1. Hachiko

This is probably the most famous dog in all of Japan. Renowned for his loyalty to wait for the arrival of the employer, Hidesaburo Ueno, Shibuya station for 10 years, when his master had died.

The story of Hachiko has been enshrined in the Japanese children's books and was adapted into two films. He is regarded as a national hero and his bronze statue stands firmly at the Shibuya station.

He reportedly died on 8 April 1935 after swallowing chicken skewers (yakitori) so ripped stomach. But in 2011, a team of doctors from the University of Tokyo, said another. They stated that Hachiko died of cancer.

[read the post here]


2.Jiro

Jiro is the kind of dog "Sakhalin Husky" or "Karafuto-Ken" (桦 太 犬), which specially bred dogs to pull sledges on the ice. Jiro became famous because he could survive a full year in the Antarctic after the team left by a scientific expedition in Antarctica.

In February 1958, a Japanese survey team stationed in Antarctica leave their bases. Thinking that a new survey team will soon come, they leave 15 Sakhalin Husky dog chained manner. But because there is a change of plans, no one is back for almost a year. When the next survey team returned to the base in January 1959, they found two of the 15 dogs, Taro and Jiro, miraculously still alive. OH no, they have the heart once T.T


3.Kai Ken

Kai Ken hound aka "Tora Inu" or "Dog Tiger" is considered the Japanese as the most ancient dog types and purest ever bred in Japan. Developed first in the world centuries ago in the remote district of Kai (Yamanashi prefecture), this type of dog used for hunting pigs and deer in the wilderness. Kai Ken designated as a national treasure of Japan in 1934.


4.Honshu Wolf

Honshu wolf (Canis lupus Ookami hodophilax or Nihon) is one of two species of wolf that has been extinct in Japan - the other is a wolf Hokkaido.

This species, which had become king of dogs on the island of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, is thought to have become extinct because of disease and eradication of rabies by the Japanese themselves. Last Honshu wolf is believed to have died in 1905 in Nara prefecture, although the exact date is disputed.