History of Imperial Japan Military Dog Association / Teikoku Gunʾyōken Kyōkai / 帝国軍用犬協会の歴史

"During the 15-year Asia-Pacifi c War - which began with the Manchurian Incident - the Japanese military deployed army dogs, most of whom were Shepherds, in vast numbers for a wide array of tasks. Japanese historians calculate that the army possessed a force of approximately 10,000 military dogs by 1944, whom they used as messengers, sentries, draft animals, trackers, and patrol auxiliaries. This statistic, however, does not include canines in the employ of the navy, constabulary, colonial police forces, or organizations such as the South Manchurian Railroad. Military authorities preferred three Western breeds - “German” Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, and Airedale Terriers, in that order - but probably more than 90% of all army dogs were Shepherds. As a result, the gunken (army dog) was widely equated with the shepādo.

Imperial Military Dog Association /Teikoku gun’yoˉken kyoˉkai/ KV emblem.


Due in part to this prominent role, the Shepherd Dog gained a significant following on the home islands, in Manchuria, and throughout the Japanese empire. In 1928, a group of private citizens had formed the Japan Shepherd Club (Nihon shepādo kurabu, or NSC). Three years later, army officials, dissatisfied with NSC leaders’ lack of enthusiasm for developing dogs for military use, founded a new group, the Imperial Army Dog Association (帝国軍用犬協会 - Teikoku gunʾyōken kyōkai, or KV). This new organization quickly eclipsed the power of any other group and established branches throughout the metropole and empire. Although shepādo was not part of the group’s name, the KV was overwhelmingly devoted to the breed. The insignia of the society’s monthly magazine, Teikoku inu (Imperial Dog) featured the figure of a Shepherd, and KV officials were responsible for the translation and publication of Stephanitz (1923) in the mid-1930s. In his short forward to the Japanese edition, Stephanitz (1934-1936) declared,“I wish our German Shepherd dog an unblemished future in his new homeland in the Far East” - an accomplishment the breed was well on the way to achieving, especially in the growing Japanese imperium".
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Skabelund, Aaron (2008) Breeding Racism: The Imperial Battlefields of the “German” Shepherd Dog. Society and Animals 16, pp. 354-371.​

 

"The Japan Shepherd Club (Nihon shepaˉdo kurabu, or NSC), established in 1928, was in many ways a progressive social club composed of people such as corporate executives, journalists, and doctors. Military officials, unsatisfied with the group, attempted to steer it toward stronger support for the development of army dogs. Finding their efforts frustrated, they founded a new group, the Imperial Military Dog Association (Teikoku gun’yoˉken kyoˉkai, or KV) in 1931, and drew away some members of the NSC. Two years later, Army Minister Araki effectively ordered the NSC to disband. Still, some former NSC members refused to join the Imperial Military Dog Association and created a new group, the Japan Shepherd Association (Nihon shepaˉdo kyoˉkai, or JSV). JSV mavericks continued to operate as a separate entity until the second National Mobilization Law in late 1941 forcibly consolidated all private organizations. The quasi-governmental Imperial Military Dog Association had long since eclipsed the power of any other group, growing from just over four hundred members in 1932 to around nine thousand organized into forty-seven branches by 1943. The group’s influence was, in fact, much larger than these figures indicate. In order for people to obtain a certificate of pedigree for their dogs, they did not have to become members of the association, but they were required to register their dogs. By 1942 the group listed some 41,000 purebred canines in its studbook.

During the Second World War, both the Allied and Axis militaries employed canines in greater numbers and for a wider variety of tasks than in the previous conflict. One analyst estimates that around the world more than 250,000 canines served in some kind of military-related capacity. In addition to Germany, Britain, and the United States, the Soviet Union created a massive army-dog program and was the only country known to have used “suicide” dogs to destroy tanks. Handlers trained the dogs to run to enemy tanks while carrying highpowered explosives on their backs, which were detonated remotely. The Japanese military used canines as messengers, sentries, draft animals, trackers, and patrol auxiliaries. In January 1944, it maintained an estimated 815 dogs on the home islands, 3,260 in Manchuria, and 130 and 110, respectively, in the colonies of Korea and Taiwan. Based on these numbers, historians Hara Takeshi and Yasuoka Akio speculate that the army possessed a force of approximately ten thousand military dogs. These statistics, however, do not include canines in the employ of the navy, constabulary, and colonial police forces, or organizations such as the South Manchurian Railway."

Skabelund, Aaron (2019) Empire of Dogs: Canines, Japan, and the Making of the Modern Imperial World (Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University). Cornell University Press.​

 

"Compared to war horses, the history of war dogs is more recent, but the experimental stage overlaps with that of carrier pigeons. It is said that the initial steps that lead to the utilization of dogs in the Imperial Army were taken by police lieutenant Hagiwara Takuji of the Shibaguchi police office around 1912-1913, when he began gathering information and knowledge about dog training and conducted training experiments near his house in Nakano. In 1916, the dogs were transferred to the Ueno police station to help fight crime in central parts of the city. In 1920 the project was discontinued due to economical difficulties, but the experience and knowledge about dog training that had been obtained was to play a role in the raising of war dogs later on as well. The utilization of war dogs in Germany and Belgium during World War I was observed with great interest, and in 1919 a war dog section was established at the Imperial Army's Infantry School (rikugun hoheigakkō) in Chiba, effectively starting research and education concerning the raising and training of war dogs. From this time on, books concerning the training of dogs start to be published, and the conclusion is drawn that rather than Japanese dog breeds, the foreign breeds (especially German Shepherds) were considered to be suitable for military use. From the 1920s onward war dog breeding starts to spread over the country. In 1928 the South Manchurian Railway Company (SMRC) employed sentry dogs to secure its mines, and from the 1930s the breeding and management of military animals expands over the national borders to the colonies of Manchuria and the Korean peninsula as well. The Dictionary of National Defense (Kokubō Daijiten) states that we may say this is still an experimental phase. In due time, this will probably develop into a War Dog Squad (gunyōkentai), and acknowledgement of the developmental character of war dogs in Japan is flanked by expressions of their splendidness (subarashisa) at the same time. Moreover, some in the Army suggest that investigation be put into the actual number of German shepherds in Japan and that they be trained for mobilization with the eye on future times of war. In the 1930s the results of these training experiments are put to practice, and the use of war dogs takes off in earnest.

3. The Golden Age of War Dogs: From the Mukden Incident Onward

The Mukden Incident (Manshū Jihen) of September 18, 1931, became an opportunity for war dog fever to really take off. In Manchuria breeding and raising war dogs had already taken on mature proportions, and stories of their achievements in the various battles broadened recognition and estimation of war dogs on the Japanese mainland as well. At that time, the Japan Shepherd Club (established in 1928), a civilian gathering of dog-lovers already existed, but in 1932 the Imperial War Dog Association (Teikoku Gunyōken Kyōkai) was established, which had the purpose to promote development of war dogs. In the same year the war dog association was established, the Association for Preservation of Japanese Dogs (Nihonken Hozonkai) came into being, ... the stories of Nachi and Kongō (two war dogs that died in the Mukden Incident) and of the loyal dog (chūken) Hachikō decorated the newspaper pages. These occurrences indicated a growing interest among the general public for both dogs as pets and military dogs. The sudden surge in demand for war dogs following the Mukden Incident could not be met by the war dog breeding stations (gunyōken ikuseisho) alone, and the army commenced the purchase of civilian dogs and began to accept dogs donated by War Dog Association members. Cover pages of the associations journal Gunyōken (1932-1944) of the latter half of the 1930s are covered with slogans such as One member per household! One dog per household! (Kogoto ni kaiin! Kogoto ni gunken!; issue 7-9), One household, one dog Service to the army and the country! (Ikko ikken Gunkoku hōshi!, issue 7-10), Start by keeping a dog enter the War Dog Association (Mazu kae gunken haireyo teiken ,issue 8-3), illustrating the atmosphere at that time clearly."​

Excerpt from Elmer Veldkamp (Department of Cultural Anthropology, University of Tokyo) working paper
"Animal monuments and memorials in pre-war Japan and postwar developments: on the treatment of monuments for the human and animal war dead"
presented at Yale University on March 26, 2008.​