| This is apparently a map of the estimated distribution of Kumano cherry blossoms. This map made me think of the local dog of Yoshino and Kumano, the "Kumano Dog." Thinking about it, one could say that the "Japan Society for the Preservation of the Dog" exterminated the local dogs that once lived throughout Japan. There are the Shiba Inu, like the San'in Shiba, the Mino Shiba, and the Shinshu Shiba, each with its own characteristics. And there are the Kishu dogs, like the Mie Boar Dog and the Wakayama Deer Dog, and it's difficult to tell them apart. In reality, the original story is about the local dogs that lived on the Kii Peninsula since time immemorial. They were respectively called Ouchiyama Dog, Taiji Dog, Nachi Dog, Kumano Dog, Hidaka Dog, Koya Dog, and Myojin Dog. Most Kishu dogs are white today, but it seems that the local dogs were once black, brown, or sesame-colored. It appears that colored dogs were selected because white dogs were popular and easy to spot in the mountains. After the Kishu dog was designated a natural monument in 1934, all local dogs were classified as such, and selective breeding continued. Kumano dogs existed in Yoshino and Kumano; trained for boar hunting, they retained the appearance of the local dogs. However, their numbers are dwindling, and it is said that they will soon disappear. Awa dogs, very similar to Kishu dogs and living in Tokushima Prefecture, opposite Wakayama Prefecture, are also said to be extinct. The pedigrees of the "Japan Society for the Preservation of the Dog" include Akita, Kishu, Shiba, Kai, Shikoku, and Hokkaido dogs. In other words, it is a group of dog breeds designated as natural monuments, not a group of native dogs. Ironically, this designation has led to the extinction of native dogs throughout Japan. |
English (United Kingdom) 
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