by Jennifer Baumer, JCCA Historian THE JAPANESE CHIN HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
T he Japanese Chin is the perfect combination of wonderful Toy Dog traits and uniquely cat-like traits. The uniqueness of this combination of traits helps to explain why Chin quickly capture the hearts of their owners. It makes sense, then, for the breed’s history to also have el- ements of uniqueness. This unique- ness extends to those who have loved and bred Chin over the centuries, too. In America, current fanciers of Japa- nese Chin remember Sari Brewster Tietjen, who left us in 2019. Sari is remembered as a noted Chin breed- er and historian for over 40 years, a champion of the breed, and a well- respected AKC Judge, as well as for her writings as Japanese Chin Club of America Historian. (See AKC Ga- zette, Dec. 1998.) This article is dedi- cated to her memory. Like many dog breeds, the Japanese Chin’s origins are shrouded in the mysteries of centuries past. However, unlike some breeds, the unique histo- ry of the Japanese Chin is woven into tapestries, depicted in paintings and on china, or told through great stories which have been documented down through the ages. I have used numer- ous publications (see the source list at the end of this article) listing these great works to which I am indebted. Here are some of the mysteries.
“MOST HISTORIANS AGREE, THE CHIN WAS FIRST PRESENT IN CHINA ; HOWEVER
its long history of development is credited to the Japanese.”
Where did the Chin originate? Al- though called a “Japanese” Chin, it had long been believed the Chin origi- nated in China, with some speculat- ing even Korea. Why Korea? In A.D. 732, a Korean prince went to Japan taking gifts to Mikado of small dogs called Shoku-Ken. They were tiny dogs with snub noses. Why China? Even earlier, in the 5th century, Bud- dhist monks brought Shoku-Ken from China to Japan when they came as missionaries. Chinese royalty owned small dogs, Imperial Ch’in, which supposedly were related to the Chinese Temple Dog and the Japa- nese Spaniel. Most historians agree, the Chin was first present in China; however, its long history of develop- ment is credited to the Japanese. How did the Japanese Chin come to have its name? There is documenta- tion of small “chin-like” dogs in 5th Century China called Shoku-Ken and in the 6th Century called “Pai.” In the
1800s, they were commonly referred to as Japanese Pugs. Often, one reads of them simply called “Japanese.” By the late 1800s, the name Japanese Spaniel emerges. In 1977, in America, the name was officially changed to Japanese Chin as it is today. Some believe Chin refers to a Sino-Tibetan race from western Burma. Another mystery begged the ques- tion: Which breeds originally con- tributed to the development of the Chin? The breeds speculated to have contributed include the Pug, Peking- ese, Tibetan Spaniel, Maltese, and King Charles Spaniels. Many stories abound. Marco Polo, while in China during the Yuan Dynasty (1270- 1368), wrote of small dogs which were short of body. Collier, in Dogs of China and Japan, wrote, “It is quite possible that the modern Japanese spaniel has varied from the black and white Pekingese, common in Peking, only within recent years.” T op N otch T oys , S eptember /O ctober 2022 • 51
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