The is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, where it is a national monument. It is a rare dog even in its native land and is one of the six native Japanese dog breeds protected by the Nihon Ken Hozonkai.

Appearance

The Kai Ken is a medium-sized dog with a wedge shaped head and prick ears. Males are typically 18 to 22 inches at the shoulder, while the females are slightly smaller, 17 to 20 inches at the shoulder. The tail may be curled over the back, or carried in a sickle position. Limbs should be strong and hocks should be well developed reflecting the dogs’ history of mountain life. The coat is of harsh texture, medium length, and comes in various shades of

brindle Brindle is a coat (animal), coat coloring pattern in animals, particularly dogs, cattle, guinea pigs, Cat, cats, and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger-striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger' ...

("tiger" stripes). There are three main recognized shades of brindle: the Aka-tora (red), Chu-tora (middle), and Kuro-tora (black). Puppies are born a solid color, and their

markings develop as they age, sometimes taking as long as five years before fully showing.

Temperament

The Kai Ken is intelligent, agile, alert and brave. They are natural hunters and make good watch dogs, being reserved with strangers but loyal to their families. They are friendly, often good with children and are not usually aggressive towards other dogs. Many love to swim, and have been known to cross rivers and climb trees while chasing their prey.

History

The Kai Ken was split off from the Nihon Ken (Japanese Dog) landrace during the creation of the Nihon Ken Hozonkai (NIPPO) and named after Kai Province in

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

where the breed is said to have originated. Being an agile and effortless climber, the Kai Ken was used to hunt in steep mountainous terrain in Yamanashi where's its primary quarry was the

Japanese serow The : (''Capricornis crispus'') ( 羚羊) is a Japanese goat-antelope, an even-toed ungulate mammal. It is found in dense woodland in Japan, primarily in northern and central Honshu. The serow is seen as a national symbol of Japan, and is subj ...

(Kamoshika), deer, wild boar, and occasionally bear. After the creation of NIPPO in 1928, the Kai Ken was designated a national monument in Japan in 1933. In 1931 th
Kai Ken Aigokai
(KKA) was formed and became the primary Preservation Society for the breed in Japan and still is today.

In popular culture

* Many Kai Kens play important roles in the

Yoshihiro Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. He writes under a pen name in which his first name ''Yoshihiro'' is spelled out in hiragana (よしひろ). Takahashi was born September 18, 1953, in Higashinaruse, Akita. He was very interested in drawing coming of ...

's series Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin and its sequel,

Ginga Densetsu Weed ''Weed'', known in Japan as is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi. It is a sequel to Takahashi's 1980s manga ''Silver Fang -The Shooting Star Gin-'', and focuses on Weed, the son of Gin, the original s ...

, including the brothers Kurotora, Chūtora, and Akatora. In the sequel,

, Kurotora's son, Kagetora, stars as an important character, with his less prominently featured brothers, Harutora and Nobutora, and cousins Dodo, Buru, Shōji, and Shigure. * Another

's manga,

Kacchū no Senshi Gamu is a Japanese manga artist. He writes under a pen name in which his first name ''Yoshihiro'' is spelled out in hiragana (よしひろ). Takahashi was born September 18, 1953, in Higashinaruse, Akita. He was very interested in drawing coming of ...

featured a villainous Kai Ken named Gama. *Chu, a Canine Warrior from the 2006 video game

Ōkami is an action-adventure video game developed by Clover Studio and published by Capcom. It was released for PlayStation 2 in 2006 in Japan and North America, and in 2007 in Europe and Australia. After the closure of Clover Studio a few months a ...

, is also a Kai Ken. *Oswald "Ozzy" (played by Little Bear), a 600 year old magic dog in the movie ''

The Amazing Wizard of Paws ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' from 2015 by director

Bryan Michael Stoller Bryan Michael Stoller (born 1960) is a Canadian independent filmmaker whose films include “First Dog,” “The Amazing Wizard of Paws,” “Santa Stole Our Dog,“ (Universal) ''Turn of the Blade,'' ''The Random Factor,'' '' Miss Cast Away,'' ...

. *Rover, a large dog monster who becomes the main character's pet later in the series, in

One-Punch Man is a Japanese superhero manga series created by One. It tells the story of Saitama, a superhero who, because he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows bored from a lack of challenge. One wrote the original webcomic manga v ...

is based on a Kai Ken.

References

External links