Episode 549 – Dog Days, Part 1

October 11, 2024

In the final footnote for our Revised Introduction, we turn our attention to a little discussed subject that is a part of daily life for many: the history of our life with dogs! How did humans live with dogs in premodern Japan, and how did that start to change when the country was opened during the Meiji years?

Sources

Skabelund, Aaron. Canines, Japan, and the Making of the Modern Imperial World.

Walker, Brett L. “Animals and the intimacy of History.” History and Theory 52, No 4 (December, 2013).

Images

A Western dog with a small child, from the Yokohama Kaiko Kenmonshi.
A chin, or Japanese spaniel.
1877 photo of a mastiff brought to Japan from the United States. The importing of foreign dogs during this period was a mark of sophistication for the wealthy in Japan, and a marker of distinction for foreigners.
A pair of Edo Period street dogs, illustrated by Shimooka Renjo.