Fibbing for a Noble Cause

Fibbing for a Noble Cause 1 An Analysis of The Akita Dogs, Part 9 By Mutsuo Okada In part 8, I have discussed about some of the famous Akita dogs of the immediate postwar period from Odate. I will now compare these Akita dogs of that period with the famous Akita dogs from Akikyo (Akitainu Kyokai, the Akita Dog Society) that was established in Tokyo in 1948 (23 rd year of Showa). This will include the photographs of Akita dogs that won at the Akikyo dog shows during the earlier years. The First Akikyo Headquarters Show was held on April 1949 (24 th year of Showa). When Tanihibiki (son of Goromaru) and Tamakumo (that was whelped in Tokyo) won at the Third Akikyo s Headquarters Show, this was a turning point in the Akita dog world. From this time on, instead of relying totally on the Akita dogs from Akita, Akita dogs produced in Tokyo began to dominate at the dog shows. Photographs of the winners at the Akikyo dog shows in this report were the contemporaries of Akita dogs that were shown at the Akiho s headquarters shows (see Part 8) [The Akiho s Thirteenth Headquarters Show was held on May 3, 1949 (24 th year of Showa)]. Upon close inspection of the photographs of the dogs of Akiho and Akikyo of that time, one should be able one to evaluate Akita dogs of respective bloodlines of that period.. Akikyo s First Headquarters Show. April 3, 1949 (24 th year of Showa). Location: Public Square behind the Statue of Hachiko. 1. Odate (See Part 5) 2. Daini-Dewa (See Part 5) 3. Kongo (See Part 3) 4. Tamazakura (Female) 5. Fuji Akikyo s Second Headquarters Show. March 25, 1951 (26 th year of Showa). Location: Shinjuku Seika Girls School. 1. Kumaso 2. Tachibana (Female) (See Part 3) 3. Kinryu 4. Bafu 5. Shoryu (See Part 3) 6. Kincho (See Part 3) Akikyo s Third Headquarters Show. December 2, 1951 (26 th year of Showa). Location: Shinjuku Jyuniso-cho, Tokyo Seimei Grand. 1. Hobun. 2. Tamazakura (Female) 3. Kincho 4. Aboshi 5. Tanihibiki 6. Hime-Goma (Female) 7. Tamakumo

Akikyo s Fourth Headquarters Show. May 25, 1952 (27 th year of Showa). Location: Bunkyoku s Ogi Public Square. 1. Taro 2. Shakanai (See Part 5) 3. Debu-kou (See Part 2) 4. Nidai-Taihei 5. Raiden 6. Sachitorame 7. Dewa-no-Fuji 8. Riki 9. Fujikaze 2 The Akikyo s Fifth Headquarters Show was held on December 12, 1952 (27 th year of Showa) at the Shinjuku Juniso-cho. Oyashu placed first. Second place went to Tachiwaka (See Part 7), while Osho (See Part 6) placed third. Dogs of the Ichinoseki line dominated at this show. They were the white female dog, Tetsumaru (littermate of Tanihibiki), Gorome, the wakainu (10 to 18 months old) Kokuo (Kunio?) (from a later litter out of Osho), and Misuzu (littermate of Kokuo). All of these dogs were out of Goromaru and won in their respective classes. From the time of the Akikyo s Third Headquarters Show, offspring of Goromaru whelped in Akita, began to win. Dogs of the Kongo line centered at Nippo (Nipponinu Hozonkai, the Japanese Dog Preservation Society established in 1928) under the leadership of Mr. Tatsuo Nakajo at that time began to go into a state of decline. Hobun-go won at the Akikyo s Headquarters Show in 1951 (26 th year of Showa), but placed only in third place at the Akiho s Headquarters Show of November 1951. At this show, Tsukasa-go (See Part 7) won, while second place went to Tetsu-go (See Part 5) of Mr. Yozaburo Ito. It rained on that day. Rumor has it that Hobun did not like the rain and did not raise his tail. This resulted in his being put into third place. Hobun was sold by Mr. Tokutaro Yamamoto of an old family from Kazuno in Akita to Mr. Kakuzo Sakurai, a man of influence in Tokyo. Because of Hobun s popularity in Akita and in Tokyo, one should become acquainted with this dog s history. This was a period when careful recording of pedigrees was not practiced and this often led to some confusion. As I have stated in part 5, prewar pedigrees from Odate were often questioned. Prior to the Pacific War, Mr. Hirokichi Saito of Nippo rejected many of the pedigrees from Odate. He has also stated that the only reliable prewar pedigrees from Akita came from the Akita Nikkei line (of Mr. Hyoemon Kyono). Mr. Katsusuke Ishihara of Akikyo was (Page 49) also strict about the recording of pedigrees. This strictness was applied by Akikyo to any pedigrees from Akiho. Therefore, discords between these two dog organizations were over this matter, especially when it came to the prewar pedigrees from Akiho. Although both dog organizations were on friendly terms, one of their reasons for their going separate ways was due to problems related to the pedigrees from Akiho. I will go into the details later. Prior to that time, Mr. Ishihara had participated at the Akiho s headquarters and regional shows as a judge. Judges from the Akiho s headquarters also participated at the Akikyo s headquarters shows (The father and son team of the Hiraizumi family, and Mr. Daisuke Sasaki, and others were invited to judge at the Akikyo shows). In the Spring of 1954 (29 th year of Showa), Akikyo decided not to invite any of the judges from Akita to their shows anymore. From that time on, only Mr. Katsusuke Ishihara, Mr. Miyoshi? Fujioka (the owner of Tachibana (See Part 3) and Mr. Masahiro Otsuki were the only three judges that were assigned to judge at the Akikyo s headquarters and branch shows.

3 Hobun-go was registered with Nippo, Akiho and Akikyo. However, all of the three pedigrees on Hobun-go differed from each other. Since Hobun was one of the representative type of Akita dog, these discrepancies in the pedigrees created a dilemma when these discrepancies became known. (Please refer to pedigree no. 1 and pedigree no. 2. (Pedigree no. 2 is from Akikyo.) Plato, in his discourse Protagoras wrote, In national politics, `hypocrisy may become necessary at times. This has been interpreted to mean telling a noble lie may become necessary at times. This could mean that any government may have to tell a lie at times.. Did such a situation exist in Akita dog circles? Hobun was first shown on November 1950 (25 th year of Showa) at the Southern Akita s Regional Show (in Omagari) by Mr. Tokutaro Yamamoto, and won. The.udges at this show were Mr. Katsusuke Ishihara and Mr. Sadakichi Tayama. Goromaru, Taihei, Senryu, Tsukasa, Matsukaze (female), Shakanai, and Kaoru (female) were also awarded prizes at this show. Azukisawa in Kazuno-gun is now the Hachimantai Station (for the Hanawa Railway Line). Mr. Ishibashi also attended this dog show. He has told me that he can still remember when Hobun was under the care of Mr. Gisuke Yamamoto (1973 Los Angeles Akiho Branch Show s judge). Mr. Tamejiro Ishibashi and Mr. Gisuke Yamamoto were close friends then. (Mr. Gisuke is the younger brother of Mr. Tokutaro Yamamoto.) Soon after this, Hobun was sold for the highest offer at about 350,000 yen (*approximately $972 at 360 yen/$1) to Mr. Kakuzo Sakurai of Tachikawa. At a later date, Hobun was entered at the Akiho s Sixteenth Headquarters Show. Hobun placed third at that show. On their way home, the dogs, Kincho and Hobun, spent a night in Yuzawa. Hobun was kept at Mr. Kyono s kennel, while Kincho was kept at Mr. Ishibashi s kennel. After the dog show, after a careful observation of Hobun, Mr. Ishibashi has stated that Hobun then reminded him of a rustic with a crew cut. Mr. Kyono refrained from making any comments about Hobun. However, when Mr. Ichiro Takahashi saw the photograph of Hachiman (sire of Hobun) from Azukisawa, Mr. Ishibashi recalls Mr. Takahashi muttering to himself, I see that CEO Sakurai from Tokyo did purchase Hobun after all. When I saw Hobun for the first time in Tokyo, he reminded me of a lioness. A month after being shown at the Akiho s headquarters show, Hobun won at the Third Akikyo s Headquarters Show, and also won the Prime Minister s Award. At this point, I would like to present two advertisements by Mr. Sakurai. In pedigree no. 1 with a photograph of Hobun, Hobun s sire is registered as Hachiman (Jugoro x Toshi) and the dam is registered as Tora (Jugoro x Toshi). However, in pedigree no. 2 under another photograph of Hobun, this ad from Akikyo reveals the differences in their pedigree from that of pedigree no. 1. Upon my inquiries into this matter with Mr. Ishihara did not respond for a long time. However, later in life, during one of our confidential talks, he told me, Since the dates on the pedigrees were not in agreement, we added the name of Oji into Hobun s pedigree When I recently wrote an article regarding this matter, I decided to investigate into the pedigree of Hachiman, the sire of Hobun, through the assistance of Mr. Terukuni Uki, the chairman of Nippo. I was in for a surprise when I studied the pedigree of Hachiman-go by Nippo. He was registered as Nippo Large no. 2380. Although the pedigree is similar to that of pedigree no. 1, the point in question is in the application form of Nippo as seen in pedigree no. 5. The breeder is Mr. Churo Yamazaki of Miyasugi Village with his kennel name, Miyasugi-so. The Akita dogs, Jugoro and Toshi were whelped at the home of Mr. Zenjio Watanabe (1971 Los Angeles Akiho Branch Show judge). Mr. Watanabe is from a distinguished family of Kazuno in Akita. Since Jugo (Fifteenth)-ro was born in the fifteenth year of Showa (1940) and Toshi (Fourteenth)-ko was born in the fourteenth year of Showa (1939), these dogs were named according to the year of their birth. Both of these dogs

4 survived the war due to the special permits that Mr. Watanabe was able to obtain from the chief of the local police department. Both of these dogs became known for producing Tsubaki-Goma (Ichinoseki-Goma) in 1943 (18 th year of Showa), while Shintora and Kumamae was whelped immediately after the war in the hollow of a huge tree on the grounds of the Watanabe family s home. The story of Mr. Takaichi (Kyoichi?) Yamamoto s (Page 51) and Kumame happens to be one of the key points in the postwar history, and I will go into the details later. Years ago, Mr. Ishibashi and I once visited Mr. Takaichi Yamamoto to obtain more information on this subject. As seen in pedigree no. 5, Hachiman was whelped as the only dog in the litter in 1944 (19 th year of Showa). The date of registration has been left with a blank. When I asked Mr.Terukuni Uki of Nippo for the information on the date of registration for Hachiman, he provided me with the following information: Aka-go (Sire: Yamazaki-Aka. Dam: Goma) with the Registration No. 2381 of October 10, 1949 (24 th year of Showa). Littermates Chimitsu (Senko?) with Registration No. 2382 and Chiharu with Registration No. 2383 with Hachiman as their sire, and Aka-go as their dam. Therefore, according to this information, the date of registration for Hachiman was October 10, 1949. This indicates that Mr. Yamazaki had registered the dogs he had in great numbers. The application form in pedigree no. 4 reveals that the name of Kurou (Continuous Serenity) was registered at a later date and thus this registration form is different from those of pedigrees nos. 1 and 2. Thus the pedigree from Akikyo reveals that Hachiman was not whelped at the Watanabe family s Jugoro and Toshi (Mr. Watanabe showed his Jugoro-go at the Nippo s prewar show). Jugoro and Toshi were in good health at the home of Mr. Watanabe when Mr. Takaichi Yamamoto went there to obtain Kumame soon after the war. Mr. Yamamoto came from a large farming family from Kakunodate. A custom in that region was when one attained the age of twenty years, one went to the home of a large family acquaintance to receive an education. The story is that Mr. Yamamoto went to the home of Mr. Watanabe before the war for that reason. According to Mr. Yamamoto, at no time did Mr. Watanabe use Jugoro and Toshi for breeding at that time. Therefore, one may surmise that Mr. Ishihara chose the fictitious name of Oji for Hachiman s sire. Negligence in the recording of pedigrees at the place of origin of the Akita dog was common at that time. This was especially true in the case of Taihei-go, which became one of the foundation dogs that I will discuss later. This problem annoyed Mr. Ishihara to no end, and he gave up in despair. The sire of Hachiman, was referred to as Oji from Azukisawa. Thus, Mr. Ishihara probably used the name Oji as a basis to use the name Oshi in the blank space for the sire of Hachiman. Therefore, the fictitious dog name of Oshi appears only in the Akikyo s pedigree for Hobun. Theefore, the true name of the sire of Hachiman is unknown. The photograph of Hachiman reveals that this is not a dog that will draw any praises. Mr. Ishihara wanted Hobun brought to Tokyo to be made known in Akita dog circles. In order to do this, he may, as a last resort, have picked another name. To carry out this transaction, Mr. Ishihara is said to have had Mr. Daisuke Sasaki (of Akiho) as the intermediary. As I have mentioned before, Mr. Tokutaro Yamamoto s younger brother was Mr. Gisuke Yamamoto, who became well known in the Akita dog circles. Hobun s business transaction was handled by Mr. Gisuke. From this time on the relationship between Mr. Gisuke and Mr. Ishihara became closer (Prior to this time, Mr. Ishibashi and Mr. Gisuke were close friends.). Mr. Gisuke Yamamoto was asked to be the judge at the Akikyo s Spring Headquarters Show of 1954 (29 th year of Showa),. However, owing to various reasons, the relationship between Mr. Ishihara and Mr. Yamamoto became strained from this time on. The foregoing practices that pertained to Hobun will not be approved in the dog circles today. Mr. Hirokichi Saito of Nippo looked upon such practices of the prewar period as disgraceful. Pedigrees

5 of many of the prewar dogs from Akita were often questioned. The phrase Any means to sell the dog was usually mentioned whenever a question was raised about a dog, (Page 52) A similar problem arose with a pinto dog named Hitachi-go. Hitachi had a large pinto spot on his torso but had an excellent body form. This dog was sold by Mr. Accordion (Mr. Tsuneo? Hirado of Ibaraki) (mentioned in Part 7) to Mr. Shigeharu Hashimoto, who was one of the Nippo s judges. According to Mr. Hirado, this dog was among the five dogs with unknown pedigrees that were sent together from Akita. However, since Hitachi-go grew up to be an excellent dog, Mr. Hirado, who had this dog kept at Mr. Ishihara s home said, This dog is without doubt from the Ichinoseki line. I believe Tsubaki-Goma (Ichinoseki-Goma) is the only dog from that line that produces pintos. With that in mind, he and Mr. Ishihara decided to create a pedigree for Hitachi-go [whelped in 1948 (23 rd year of Showa)] with his sire as Ichinoseki-Goma (Tsubaki-Goma) and for his dam, they created the name of Hinai-Hime. Such stories were told to me by Mr.Ishihara. In those days, pedigrees were often put together hastily and passed on to the following generation. Since Hitachi-go was an excellent dog, I asked Mr. Ishihara what kind of dogs Hitachi did produce. Waving his hand he said to me, They were terrible! Hitachi produced only black tans and black backs. He then added, One should not use such dogs for breeding. Thus, he did not approve any of these dogs to be used as the foundation dogs at that time. Hobun, after going to Mr. Kakuzo Sakurai of Santama, won at the Akikyo s Third Headquarters Show. He also received the Prime Minister s Award. Although he was used as a foundation dog with much expectations, he produced only dogs with dropped ears or ears that did not stand fully (attributed to the bloodline of Hachiman). Thus the popularity of Hobun ebbed. The only dog that left an impression with the public was a white male owned by a serviceman from the U.S. base at Tachikawa. This puppy won in the yoken (6 to 10 months) class at the Akikyo s Headquarters Show. This dog s name was Shiro-Boke-go and was soon taken to the United States by the dog s owner. The photos of Hobun s offspring such as Shinfuji, Howa? will not be included here since none of these dogs had the desirable ears.. When Akikyo was being established around 1948 (23 rd year of Showa), Mr. Katsusuke Ishihara happened to be visiting Mr. Kyono in Yuzawa. Mr. Kyono s Akita Nikkei line flourished just before the Pacific War (Mr. Kyono s reputation for his involvements with the large and medium type Japanese dog breeds were known nationwide.). However, during the latter part of the Pacific War, due to the government s order to kill dogs to provide fur for the military, famous dogs were also being affected by this order. This soon led to the near annihilation of these dogs. However, soon after the war, word came to Mr. Kyono that one of the medium type dogs had survived the war. Thus, Mr. Kyono asked Mr. Ishihara and the then young Tamejiro Ishibashi to look for this dog. In spite of the difficulties they encountered in finding decent means of transportation at that time, they were able to find an excellent Japanese dog of the medium type. On their way home, when the young Mr. Ishibashi told Mr. Ishihara that Mr. Kyono would be happy to hear the good news, Mr. Ishihara asked Mr. Ishibashi not to tell Mr. Kyono that such a dog was found. When the surprised Mr. Ishibashi asked Why? Mr. Ishihara s reply was, I want to draw Mr. Kyono s attention to the Akita dog. Should he see this excellent medium dog, he will become involved with the medium dogs. That will create a problem for us. Thus, both men reported to Mr. Kyono that they found no excellent medium dog. Mr. Kyono was said to have appeared puzzled and discouraged. As a result of this, instead of devoting his efforts toward the medium Japanese dog, Mr. Kyono began to devote his energy toward the Akita dog. Soon after this, Mr. Seijiro (Kiyojiro?) Sato from the town of Konoura in Yuri-gun (county) in Akita, who had a few surviving Akita dogs of the Akita Nikkei line from prewar days, came to Yuzawa with that report. Mr. Kyono, immediately went to Yuri with Mr. Ishibashi, and upon confirmation of this, decided to devote his efforts toward the Akita dog. From this beginning, Bankomaru, Oryu and other famous Akita dogs began to appear one after the other.

6 Another point of interest is a role that was played by Mr. Ishihara when Tanihibiki won at the Akiho s Headquarters Show. Although Tanihibiki placed only in the #Junyu (Good) grade at the Akiho show, Tanihibiki won at the Akikyo show, as mentioned previously. However Tanihibiki had a mild undershot jaw. (Page 53) When Tanihibiki was being shown as one of the reference dogs and was facing his sire, Goromaru, at the Akikyo s headquarters show, Tanihibiki, with an imposing figure, was growling. I happened to be near to Tanihibiki and was able to see his mild undershot jaw. At Akikyo, as a wakainu (10 to 18 months old), Tanihibiki won the top prize. After going through many owners, Tanihibiki was shown at the headquarters show when he was owned by Mr. Yoshiharu? Takahashi [also known as Mr. Kanzume ( Packer ) of Odate. See Part 4.]. It seems that the dog s upper and lower incisors were filed down to its limits. Mr. Ishihara probably wanted Tanihibiki to win to have this dog used as a foundation dog to change the breeding course of the Akita dog. As he was judging Tanihibiki, Mr. Ishihara opened the mouth of Tanihibiki to show the dog s teeth to another judge and said to him, See. The teeth are okay, and quickly closed the dog s mouth. Tanihibiki went on to win at this show. Tanihibiki was kept in Odate for a long period of time for breeding. He was later sent to Tokyo again for breeding to contribute toward improvements in the Akita dog. This led to a change in the course of the Akita dog. Could one say the deceptions by Mr. Ishihara were done for a noble cause? The filing of incisors of Tanihibiki would be considered an act of deception from the standpoint of judging. I believe that Mr. Ishihara was probably aware of this. To the dog, having its teeth filed must have been quite uncomfortable. According to Mr. Ishihara, he was amazed to see that about a third of show dogs from Odate during the postwar revival period had undershot jaws or missing teeth. Terukaze-go (Tsubaki-Goma x Tamazakura) that was used extensively for breeding in Tokyo and did well at the dog shows had a noticeable undershot jaw. The parent and offspring team of Arakaze-go and Jonan-go known for their tendency to bite also had undershot jaws. The famous Kongo-go was once shown with a different pedigree. According to Mr. Ryonosuke Hiraizumi (Breeder of Kongo) in his article in the Nihonken Taiken (@ A Manual of The Japanese Dog) (page 157), Kongo s dam, Datemitsu was under the care of another person when she produced Kongo. However, the custodian, after reporting that Kongo had died under a straw rice bag, sold the dog. Kongo made his appearance at a dog show under another name. Mr. Takeshi Fujita (mentioned in Part 8) of Aomori says he recalls that Kongo was small and lean at that time. Mr. Heihachi Hashimoto then purchased Kongo and took him back to Tokyo. Kongo contracted distemper, but recovered. Kongo began to resemble his dam, Datemistu. Since people in Odate were aware that Kongo was the offspring of Datemistu, Mr. Hashimoto went to Odate to contact the people who were acquainted with Kongo to rewrite his pedigree by adding the legitimate names of the sire, Taishu and the dam, Datemitsu. In this way, the reader can become aware of the problems that the Akita dog breed had at the beginning. One cannot say that the lie about the sale of Kongo was a lie for a noble cause. Or should one say that those who were involved with Kongo did their noble duty PEDIGREES AND PHOTOGRAPHS

7 Diagram 1 of Pedigree with Photograph of Hobun-go. (Page 49) Hobun-go. (Male) Nippo No. 2509. Akikyo No. 1131. Akiho No. 4947. Whelped on July 21, 1949 (24 th year of Showa). Coat Color: Red. Height: 2 shaku 3 sun (69.7 cm, 27.4 inches). Sire: Hachiman-go (Jugoro-go x Toshi-go) Dam: Tora-go (Jugoro-go x Toshiko-go) Diagram 2 of Pedigree with Photograph of Hobun-go. According to Akikyo, (Page 49) (of Mr. Yamamoto from Akita) (Male). Akikyo No.1131. Akiho No. 4947. Nippo No. 2509. Whelped on July 21, 1949 (24 th year of Showa). Coat Color: Red. Height: 2 shaku 3 sun (69.7 cm, 27.4 inches).

8 Sire: Hachiman-go. Nippo No. 2380. [Oji (Jugoro-go x Toshi-go) x Acha-Aka-go (Jugorogo x Aka-go)]. Dam: Kurosawa-Tora-go [Yoshida-Aka-go (Tanaka-Aka-go x Hinai-Hime-go) x Daiwa- (or Yamato-go (Tohoku-go x Taka-Tora-go)]. Diagram 3 of Application Form for Hobun and littermates. (page 50) Nipponinu Hozonkai (The Japanese Dog Preservation Society, Nippo, Nichiho) Application Form for Dogs from a Given Litter Large type. Date of Breeding: May 21, 1949 (24 th year of Showa). Whelped on July 21, 1949 (24 th year of Showa) Breeder: Tokutaro Yamamoto Address: Miyakawa?, Kazuno-gun, Akita. Kennel Name: Akita Yamamoto. Sire; Hachiman-go. Nippo Large No. 2380. Dam: Kurou (Continuous Serenity). Nippo Large No. 2508 Litter consisted of: 1. Nippo Large No. 2809. Hobun. Male. Coat Color: Red. Tail type: Left curl. Address of purchaser: Blank. Name of owner: Blank. 2. Nippo Large No. 2810. Yuse? Female. Coat Color: White. Tail type: Right curl. Address of purchaser: Miyakawa?, Kazuno-gun, Akita. Name of owner: (Name of owner illegible.)

Diagram 4. Showing Back of Application Form in Diagram 3. Application Form for Hobun s Pedigree (Page 50) 9

10 Ichinoseki-Tora-go Nippo Large No. 27 Saburo-go (of Akita) Nippo Large No, 959 Oshinai- *Jugoro Nippo Large No. 39 Kanayama-so Kennel Nippo Large No. 1201 Coat Color: Red Goma? Ichinoseki-Tora-go Nippo Large No. 27 Yama-go (of Akita) Nippo Large No. 403 Kuma-go (of Akita) Nippo Large No. 225. Sire: Hachiman-go No. 2380.

11 Coat Color: Red Goma. Curled Tail. Date of Birth: Nov, 3, 1945 (20 th year of Showa) Goma-go (of Akita) Hobun-go Nippo Large No. 176. +Toshiko-go (of Akita) Nippo Large No. 1140 Coat Color: Br.indle. Tail: Curled? Yama-go (of Akita) Nippo Large No. 403 Dam: Kuro-go (Continuous Serenity) of Akita) Nippo Large No, 2508 Coat color: Brindle. Curled tail. Date of birth: Nov. 5, 1944 (19 th year of Showa) Sire: *Jugoro. Dam: +Toshiko. Diagram 5 for. Application Form for Hachiman. (Page 50) Nipponinu Hozonkai (The Japanese Dog Preservation Society, Nippo, Nichiho) Application Form for Dogs from a Litter. Large type Date of breeding: September 1?, 1944?(19 th year of Showa?) Whelped on November 3?, 1944? (19 th year of Showa?) Breeder: Churo Yamazaki Miyasugi-so Kennel Sire: Jugoro, Nippo Large No. 1201. Dam: Toshiko. Nippo Large No.1140 Litter consisted of: 1. Nippo Large No. 2380. Hachiman-go. Male. Coat Color: Red Goma. Curled tail. Address of owner: Blank. Name of owner: Blank.

12 Photograph 1. Tamazakura-go (2). (1) in Part 8. Photograph 2. Fuji-go. Sire: Taihei (Ohira). Dam: Pochi. First showing in Tokyo of the so-called dog of the Taihei line from Senboku. Mr. Kiyomi Kuroki. Photograph 3. Kumaso-go (1) of Mr. Gordon Yamada. Photograph 4. Kumaso-go (2). Sire: Kongo. Dam: Yae (Daini-Terunishiki x Goma) This is a photo taken during his later years when he began to reveal the wrinkles. Photograph 5. Kinryu-go. Sire: Hanawa-Mutsu. Dam: Hoku-Hime (Kita-Hime). This dog is said to be from the bloodline of the prewar Tachi-go. Originally owned by the dog dealer, Mr. Tamura of the Tokiwa-so Kennel of Odate. This dog was later sold to someone in Kansai (Kyoto-Osaka area). Photograph 6. Bafu-go. Littermate of Kumaso-go. Owner: Mr. William Omura. This dog won at the Nippo s Fourteenth Headquarters Show. Photograph 7. Tamazakura-go. (Female). Sire: Kongo. Dam: Tone (Daini-Dewa x Kuma). A rare white offspring out of Kongo. Littermate of Kojin. (Refer to Part 3). Photograph 8. Aboshi-go. Sire; Yoshimine (Onishiki x Wakatora). Dam: Sakurame (Tetsuriki x Funaba-Tora). Aboshi s sire, Yoshimine was used as a foundation dog in Odate, but his bloodline was questioned by breeders. Yoshimine was sold to someone in Ibaraki. Photograph 9. Tanihibiki-go (2). (1 in Part 8). This photo was taken at the kennel of Ms. Masako Kono (Kawano) of Tokyo. Photograph 10. Hime-Goma (Female). Sire:Tatsu (Taihei x Chinpei). Dam: Hatsu-Hime (Dewataro x Gomame). Photograph 11. Taro-go. this dog went from Mr. Kanzume (Mr. Packer ) (Mr. Yoshiharu Takahashi mentioned in Par 4) to Ms. Setsuko Horikawa. Littermate of Tamakumo s dam, Sankatsu. This dog had a nervous temperament. His problem of excessive barking stopped when he was moved indoors. Under the care of Mr. Heihachi Hashimoto, of Kongo. Taro was bred to a daughter of Kongo. Almost all of the dogs from this breeding went to the United States. Photograph 12. Nidai-Taihei-go. Sire: Goromaru-go. Dam: Yohei (Taihei x Ishikawa). This dog came out of a late litter out of Fudo-go. Photograph 13. Raiden-go. Sire: Goromaru-go. Dam: Ken (Raiden x Peace). This dog went from Mr. Funakoshi to Mr. Uchihiro Oyama of Hirosaki (in Aomori).

13 Photograph 14. Dewa-no-Fuji. (Female) Sire: Daini-Dewa. Dam: Hatakeyama-Goma (See Part 8). This dog was adored by Mr. Takaisami and was the dam of Ugo-Fukuryu (See Part 6). Photograph 15. Riki-go. Sire: Koryu (Terukaze x Shirayuki). Dam: Hakuryu (Tenryu x Hakuryu?). Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka. Photograph 16. Fujikaze-go. Sire: Senzan-go. Dam: Kozakura. Littermate of Yamazakura and Mesho. (See Part 4). From Yoshiwara City in Shizuoka. Photograph 17. Mr. Kakuzo Sakurai and Hobun-go. Photograph 18. Hachiman-go. Sire of Hobun. Photo by Mr. Ichiro Takahashi. Reference: Okada, Mutsuo, Akitainu Kaiseki, 9 ( An Analysis of the Akita Dogs, Part 9 ), Aiken Journal 501:48-53, July 2001, Shin-Journal-sha, Tokyo, Japan. Translated by Tatsuo Kimura for educational purposes with permission from Mutsuo Okada #Akiho s five different grades in judging the Akita dog: 1. Tokuyu (Superior, To be awarded to senior dogs and bitches only). 2. Yushu Excellent). 3. Junyu (Good). 4. Nintei (Satisfactory). 5. Shikkaku (Disqualification). Reference: The Akita Manual, p. 6, August 1970. Akitainu Hozonkai, Los Angeles Branch. *The exchange rate of 360 yen/$1 during the early postwar years is a guess by the translator and may require some corrections. The Hachiman discussed here is not the Hachiman (Muchi x Tsuruhime) that became the sire of Azumazakura. @(Ryonosuke Hiraziumi, Akitainu Meiken Issekiwa ( A Brief History on Famous Dogs from Akita ), Nihonken Taikan (A Manual of the Japanese Dog), p. 157, 1953, Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing Co. Ltd. (Reissued in 1987). ISBN4-416-58700-7 C0076 Page number in bold italics correspond to page in the Japanese text. Words in italics added by the translator. Another article by Mr. Mutsuo Okada on Hobun-go may be found on pages 56-59 and 62 in the March/April 1996 issue of the Akita World. 9/29/2008 Revised 12/9/2008 AnalysisAkitaDogsPart9