The Akita is named for his place of origin, the Odate region in Akita Prefecture (Americans: think ‘state’), on the Island of Honshu in northern Japan.

So the Akita is not a polar dog, though his coat resembles that of traditional polar dogs such as Huskies and the Alaskan Malamute. There is of course a reason for this: the winters in Akita prefecture are reputed to be among the snowiest and coldest in Japan.

The city of Yuzawa hosts a well known “matsuri” Snow Dog House Festival festival in winter, where the town is dotted with small snow shrines, and a large plaza is taken up with large snow shrines guarded by giant dogs. Children climb onto the snow dogs and the sky is lit by fireworks.

Separated from the principal Japanese centers of commerce, politics, and population by several hundred kilometers and the Ou and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year 600CE.

Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes. Akita dogs were used for hunting (hence the name ‘Matagi Akita’) in these regions.

Nowadays Akita’s economy remains dominated by traditional industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and forestry. This has led many young people to migrate to Tokyo and other large cities. Akita is famous for its Sake breweries (as a matter of fact: Akita is renowned for having the highest consumption of sake in Japan).

Akita Prefecture Links

Akita City Guide
Website of Akita Prefecture (English translation)