Word of Mouth

I visited a NIPPO kennel in March, and as always, the older gentlemen that have been NIPPO members for years are a treasure trove of information regarding the Japanese dog. While some information regarding the Japanese breeds is available in printed form, a huge and indispensable portion of it is passed on from one generation to the next via word of mouth and direct instruction. This makes having and maintaining personal relationships with the people that carry this knowledge, paramount. And yeah, sometimes it's fun, and sometimes it's a pain.

I picked up a couple interesting tidbits on my visit to this kennel. How about seeing an actual photo of the famed Choshun-go, one of the founding studs of the Shikoku Ken?


Or getting a look at the famous Kokusenpu-go, a black/tan Shikoku stud, and reading that he was actually supposed to be shipped to the United States, but had trouble with rabies vaccinations and had to stay in Japan. He eventually died of heartworm



I know I've seen this picture somewhere before.


And then an amusing look at a handwritten copy of NIPPO's own original stud book. The entries on the left are the pedigree numbers. Taking a look at 76-82, a litter registration, the parents are 'Goma' from Kochi, and 'Fuji' from Mie. This is interesting because it shows that at the time of NIPPO's founding the Japanese breeds were considered to be one breed, albeit with different traits connected to the geographic area they were from. The entry here indicates that a dog from Kochi (Shikoku) was bred to a dog from Mie (Kishu), with the resulting litter being registered in the stud book. I've seen other instances of this as well, and there are examples of this that are rather well known among NIPPO members.


Interesting the things that can still be dug up. As each year goes by and more of the original powerhouse NIPPO members pass on, I wonder how much knowledge is slipping away without being properly recorded.




Comments

  1. Wooow it's wonderful Shigeru ! It's great the transmission of knowledge

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