犬
いぬ
inu
= dog
犬 (inu) means dog — Japan’s second most popular pet after cats, and an animal deeply embedded in Japanese culture, language, and mythology. From the loyal dog Hachiko who waited for his deceased owner for nearly 10 years, to Shiba Inu becoming an international internet icon, Japanese dogs have had an outsized cultural moment globally.
Inu (犬) is the general word for dog. Related vocabulary: 子犬 (koinu — puppy; literally ‘child dog’), 野良犬 (nora-inu — stray dog), 番犬 (banken — guard dog), 盲導犬 (moudouken — guide dog for the blind), 警察犬 (keisatsuken — police dog). Breeds: 柴犬 (Shiba Inu — Shiba Inu), 秋田犬 (Akita Inu — Akita), 北海道犬 (Hokkaido Inu — Hokkaido dog). The on’yomi reading 犬 (ken) appears in compounds: 愛犬 (aiken — beloved dog), 猛犬 (mouken — fierce dog, seen on warning signs), 猛犬注意 (mouken chuui — beware of dog).
犬 in Japanese idioms: 犬も歩けば棒に当たる (inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru — even a dog walking around will hit a stick = if you go out and try, you’ll encounter both luck and trouble); 犬猿の仲 (ken’en no naka — like dogs and monkeys = to be at each other’s throats, to have an extremely bad relationship). 猛犬注意 (mouken chuui — beware of dog) is the standard Japanese sign. Shiba Inu (柴犬) became globally famous as the face of the ‘doge’ internet meme (2013), making 柴犬 one of Japan’s most recognizable dog breeds internationally.
犬 is a pictograph of a dog — the original character depicted a dog in profile. It is one of the twelve zodiac animals (十二支, juunishi) representing 戌 (inu — the Dog), the eleventh sign. 犬 (inu) as kun’yomi is used for the animal itself; 犬 (ken) as on’yomi appears in compounds. A subtle distinction: 戌 (inu in the zodiac context) uses a different kanji than 犬 (the animal).
Everyday use
散歩中に近所の犬と仲良くなってしまって、毎日会うのが楽しみになった。
Sanpo-chuu ni kinjo no inu to nakayoku natte shimatte, mainichi au no ga tanoshimi ni natta.
I ended up befriending the neighbor’s dog while walking, and now meeting them every day is something I look forward to.
Casual / Social Media
今日カフェで隣の席の人が柴犬連れてて全然コーヒーに集中できなかった かわいすぎる
Kyou kafe de tonari no seki no hito ga Shiba Inu tsurete te zenzen koohii ni shuuchuu dekinakatta kawaisugiru
Today at the cafe the person next to me had a Shiba Inu and I couldn’t concentrate on my coffee at all. Way too cute
Formal / Cultural context
犬と人間の共生関係は約1万5千年前に始まったと推定されており、日本列島においても縄文時代（約1万4千年前〜約3千年前）の遺跡から犬の骨格が発見されている。日本固有犬種（柴犬・秋田犬・北海道犬等）はDNA分析において最も古い犬種系統の一つに位置づけられ、アジア大陸の原始的な狼から独自に分化したとされる。
Inu to ningen no kyousei kankei wa yaku ichi-man go-sen nen mae ni hajimatta to suitei sarete ori, Nihon rettou ni oite mo Joumon jidai (yaku ichi-man yon-sen nen mae yaku san-zen nen mae) no iseki kara inu no kokkaku ga hakken sarete iru. Nihon koyuu kenshu (Shiba Inu Akita Inu Hokkaido Inu tou) wa DNA bunseki ni oite mottomo furui kenshu keitou no hitotsu ni ichizuke rare, Ajia tairiku no genshiteki ookami kara dokuji ni bunka shita to sareru.
The cohabitation relationship between dogs and humans is estimated to have begun approximately 15,000 years ago, and in the Japanese archipelago, dog skeletal remains have been found at Jomon period (approximately 14,000 to 3,000 years ago) sites. Native Japanese dog breeds (Shiba Inu, Akita Inu, Hokkaido Inu, etc.) are positioned by DNA analysis as among the oldest dog breed lineages, said to have independently diverged from primitive wolves on the Asian continent.
忠犬ハチ公 (Chuuken Hachiko — Loyal Dog Hachiko) is Japan’s most famous dog story. Hachiko, an Akita dog, accompanied his owner Hidesaburo Ueno to Shibuya Station every day. After Ueno died suddenly in 1925, Hachiko continued returning to the station every day for nearly 10 years until his own death in 1935. The story became a symbol of loyalty (忠義, chuugi), and a bronze statue of Hachiko at Shibuya Station’s ‘Hachiko Exit’ (ハチ公口) is one of Tokyo’s most recognized landmarks and meeting spots.
Shiba Inu (柴犬) became one of the most internationally recognized Japanese cultural symbols through internet culture. The ‘doge’ meme — featuring a Shiba Inu with a particular expression and multi-colored Comic Sans text — went viral globally in 2013 and spawned the Dogecoin cryptocurrency in 2013. This made 柴犬 the most internationally recognized Japanese dog breed and brought significant tourism interest: Shiba Inu cafes where visitors can interact with the breed became attractions for foreign visitors to Japan specifically seeking the ‘doge dog.’
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