The is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable 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 seve ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

native to the Kai region,

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, 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, cats, and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger-striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger's co ...

("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

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 (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 Mangaka, 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 on September 18th, 1953, in Higashinaruse, Akita, a village in the Tōhoku region ...

's series

Silver Fang is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Takahashi. It was published in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1983 to 1987, and collected in 18 bound volumes. The manga became digitally available i ...

and its sequel,

Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

, including the brothers Kurotora, Chūtora, and Akatora. In the sequel, Ginga Densetsu Weed, 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 Yoshihiro Takahashi's manga, ''Kacchū no Senshi Gamu'' featured a villainous Kai Ken named Gama. *Chu, a Canine Warrior from the 2006 video game

Ōkami is a 2006 action-adventure 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 afte ...

, 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'' from 2015 by director Bryan Michael Stoller. *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, an independent superhero who, having trained to the point that he can defeat any opponent with a single punch, grows bored from a lack of challenge. He ...

'' is based on a Kai Ken. *The mascot of

in Central Japan, Takeda Hishimaru (武田菱丸), is a Kai Ken samurai based on the historical figure of

Takeda Shingen was daimyō, daimyo of Kai Province during the Sengoku period of Japan. Known as "the Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyo of the late Sengoku period, and credited with exceptional military prestige. Shingen was based in a p ...

References

External links