The Tōmaru () is a 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
long-crowing chicken
Long-crowing chicken breeds are characterised by the unusually long-drawn-out crow of the cocks, which may in some cases last for up to 60 seconds. The oldest references to long-crowing cocks are from China. Long-crowing breeds are found in ...
. The crow may be sustained for some 25 seconds. It is one of four Japanese long-crowing breeds, the others being the
Koeyoshi, the
Kurokashiwa and the
Tōtenkō.
History
The Tōmaru is thought to have originated in China at the time of the
Tang Dynasty; the
kanji character , 'tou', represents that dynasty.
The Tomaru was registered as a
Japanese natural monument
is a collective term used by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties to denote Cultural Properties of JapanIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural ...
of
Niigata Prefecture in 1939.
Characteristics
The Tōmaru has only one
colour, black with a greenish sheen. The body is broad and compact with a full breast. The tail is held low, but higher than horizontally; although the
sickle feathers may be long enough to touch the ground, this is not usually considered a long-tailed breed. The feet and shanks are dark slate-grey. The comb is single. The ears and face are red, sometimes with dark markings; in hens the face may be entirely black.
References
Chicken breeds
Chicken breeds originating in Japan
Long-crowing chickens
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