The is a criticallyendangered Japanese
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 ...
of small
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
. It originates from the island of
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
, the smallest of the four principal islands of Japan, and is named for the
former district of
Noma
Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to:
Places
* NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US
** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro
* Noma, Florida, US
* NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England
* Noma Distr ...
, the northernmost part of the
former province of
Iyo, now
Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...
. It is the smallest of the eight
native horse breeds of Japan.
History
Japanese horses are thought to derive from stock brought at several different times from various parts of the Asian mainland; the first such importations took place by the sixth century at the latest. Horses were used for farming – as
pack-animals although not for
draught power; until the advent of
firearms
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
in the later sixteenth century, they were much used for warfare. The horses were not large: remains of some 130 horses have been excavated from battlefields dating to the
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...
(1185–1333 AD); they ranged from in
withers
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...
height.
The Noma may originate from the small islands of the
Seto Inland Sea
The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...
between
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
and
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
, where it may have been used for transport. According to one account, in the early sixteenth century the
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
of the
Iyo-Matsuyama Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
of Shikoku wanted to breed horses for military use. Larger horses were kept for that purpose, while smaller ones were given to farmers, who found them useful as pack-animals on steep terrain. The Noma is thought to derive from these. There were not many of them; the total number in the mid-1800s is estimated at about three hundred.
After the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905, there was pressure to breed much larger horses for warfare. Large foreign horses were imported, and the rearing of the small traditional indigenous breeds was forbidden. Numbers of the Noma fell sharply. Some isolated farmers kept a few for farm work, but with the
mechanisation of agriculture
Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...
after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, their usefulness decreased further.
By 1978 there were six Noma horses remaining; two were in the in
Tobe, and four were kept by a private breeder. A government-funded reserve, the Noma Uma Highland, was established in 1989 by the city of
Imabari
270px, Imabari City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Imabari city center
is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75947 households and a population ...
, in
Ehime Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...
of Shikoku; it started with thirty of the horses. By 2008 the number had risen to eighty-four.
A study of
microsatellite variation among Japanese horse breeds in 2003 found the Noma to be
closely related to three other Japanese small-island breeds, the
Misaki
Misaki ( ja, 御先, "misaki") are a collective term for spirit-like existences in Japan like gods, demons and spirits, among other supernatural entities. Their name comes from a kannushi's vanguard.
Summary
Misaki are subordinate to the high ...
, the
Tokara
The is an archipelago in the Nansei Islands, and are part of the Satsunan Islands, which is in turn part of the Ryukyu Archipelago. The chain consists of twelve small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima. The islands have a tota ...
, and
Yonaguni
, one of the Yaeyama Islands, is the westernmost inhabited island of Japan, lying from the east coast of Taiwan, between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean proper. The island is administered as the Towns of Japan, town of Yonaguni, Okina ...
.
Characteristics
The Noma is a small, compact and sturdy horse. It is hardy and strong, and agile on difficult mountain terrain.
Use
The Noma was traditionally used as an agricultural pack-animal, and in warfare; it is now principally a tourist attraction. The Noma Uma Highland is visited by some 20 000 people per year. The Noma is used for
riding – often by children – and for
horse therapy.
References
{{portal bar, Horses, Japan
Horse breeds
Horse breeds originating in Japan