Here is a list of Japanese dog breeds, or 日本犬 “nihon-ken”, and I’ll add some information and photos as I can find them. By the way, you’ll see the suffix “ken” and “inu” used, and both are just different pronunciations of the character 犬, meaning “dog”. Japanese even don’t seem to agree on which to use, so my advice would be simply to go with the flow, if you’re interacting with Japanese native speakers on this.

Types

Here are the basic types of Japan Dogs:

  1. Waken 和犬 - dogs found natively in Japan from ancient times - 6 types
  2. Nihon Gensan no Inu 日本原産の犬 - dogs bred in Japan mixed with foreign dog stock - 5 types
  3. Regional - dogs particular to specific locations in Japan - 7+ types

Waken

  • Akita-inu 秋田犬（あきたいぬ）
  • Shiba-inu 柴犬（しばいぬ）
  • Kai-ken 甲斐犬（かいけん）
  • Shikoku-ken 四国犬（しこくけん）
  • Kishu-ken 紀州犬（きしゅうけん）
  • Hokkaido-ken 北海道犬（ほっかいどうけん）

Akita-inu 秋田犬（あきたいぬ）

The Akita breed is generally dominant, large, well-muscled and stocky, with a square head and triangular ears, the males weighing about 50kg and standing 65cm at the withers. They are known to be territorial and protective, and can be aggressive towards people and other dogs if untrained. Coloring patterns are similar to shiba-inu, so it’s understandable that people sometimes mix them up. The famous faithful “Hachiko” of Shibuya station fame was an Akita-inu. See the Akita page on Wikipedia for details.

Akita inu

Shiba-inu 柴犬（しばいぬ）

Shiba are compact, muscular hunting dogs with a water resistant double-coat, bred to flush out game. They do well on mountain trails and in the brush, hence the name “Shiba-inu” or brush dog. They are alert, independent and stubborn, with males weighing about 12kg standing 40cm at the withers. The second photo just below is our Shiba “Maru”, the bestest handsome boy. See the Shiba page on Wikipedia for details.

Taka Shiba

Maru the shiba, lies happy on the grass in a wide open field under a clear blue sky.

Kai-ken 甲斐犬（かいけん）

The Kai-ken or Tora-inu (“Tiger Dog”) is a striking, mountain-going hunting dog from Yamanashi prefecture, with a size and shape like a Shiba but a distinct brown-striped appearance. Also, their tongues are mottled, which adds to their good looks. There are three in our neighborhood, and all have so far been friendly and non-aggressive. See the Kai-ken page on Wikipedia for details.

Kai-front

Nihon Gensan no Inu

  • Chin 狆（ちん）
  • Tosa-touken 土佐闘犬（とさとうけん）
  • Nihon Terrier 日本テリア
  • Nihon Spitz 日本スピッツ
  • American Akita アメリカン・アキタ

Region-Specific

  • Kawakami-ken 川上犬（かわかみいぬ）
  • Ryukyu-inu 琉球犬（りゅうきゅういぬ）
  • Satsuma-inu 薩摩犬（さつまいぬ）
  • Jikkoku-inu 十石犬（じっこくいぬ）
  • Mino-shiba-inu 美濃柴犬（みのしばいぬ）
  • San’in-Shiba-inu 山陰柴犬（さんいんしばいぬ）
  • Higorou-inu 肥後狼犬（ひごろういぬ）　　etc