Pierce, with the good wishes of Great Britain’s Queen Victo- ria. Both countries wanted to establish trading posts in the closed Empire. When Perry finally accomplished the task, his ships returned home laden with many Imperial gifts for himself, for President Pierce, and for Queen Victoria. Among the gifts presented were three pairs of small Impe- rial dogs; one pair for Perry, another for Pierce, and a third for Victoria. Out of the six, the only ones known to have survived the voyage were those given to Perry. According to official ships’ logs, and Presidential and Palace papers, the remaining dogs never reached their destinations. Perry gave his two little canine presents to his daughter, Caroline Perry Belmont, who was married to August Bel- mont. Their son, August Belmont, Jr., served as President of the American Kennel Club from 1888-1915. According to the Belmont family, the two Chins from Japan—one a dog and the other a bitch—were never bred and died as be- loved house pets without issue. By 1858, a full trade treaty had been negotiated between America and Japan, thus, opening the way for more ships, more gifts. An exodus of the small Imperial dogs soon fol- lowed, being given as gifts or, sometimes, stolen by Palace personnel and then sold to sailors. Additional trading with China and other Asian countries meant that more little dogs soon found their way, officially and otherwise, onto clipper ships and steamers. The long ocean voyage was dif- ficult, arduous, and taxing to the small, frail dogs. Many perished enroute, their bodies wrapped in silk as they were buried at sea. Those who did survive helped to establish the breed on the Continent, in England, and in America. They became not only pets in castles and palaces through- out the Western world, but also beloved treasures for the sailors’ wives, mistresses, and girlfriends. The Japanese Chin lorded over his environment and cared not whether it was a hundred-and-fifty room palace or a three-room cot- tage. His concern was only that he was considered to be the most important object within, and that life catered to his every whim. “THE NAME JAPANESE CHIN IS ACTUALLY A MISNOMER FOR THE BREED AND OWES ITS BASIC ORIGINS NOT TO JAPAN, BUT TO CHINA.”
“As relations between the various countries swayed to and fro, so did the fate of the small four-legged creatures. They were presents of peace, bounties of war and purveyors of trade. Gradually, particular types began to materialize as households specialized in one foundation aspect or another of key breed characteristics. Various toy breeds, among them the Pekingese, Tibetan Spaniel, Shih Tzu, Pug and Japanese Chin, owe their origins to cultivation in the Far East.” IMPERIAL CHIN The name Japanese Chin is actually a misnomer for the breed and owes its basic origins not to Japan, but to Chi- na. It has long been surmised that the Japanese Chin and Pekingese were once the same breed, with the Pekingese having been bred out to create the short, bowed-legged, long-backed, pear-shape-bodied breed of dog known today. The Chin is believed to have been kept basically pure, but in searching through Far Eastern works of art dating from the 17th to 20th Century, several patterns clearly emerge: 1. An early, small Japanese dog resembled the old Conti- nental Toy Spaniel of Europe; aristocratic in bearing, square-bodied, up-on-the leg, distinctive long muzzle, and luxurious, flowing, silky coat. 2.The Chinese Chin was the flat-faced, straight- legged, a bit long-backed, parti-color dog called the Imperial Chin. 3. These two types were blended together to bring about the Japanese Chin of today; a dainty, square-bodied, flat-faced, and richly coated, elegant Toy breed. With the exception of a small Dutch trading post and limited contacts through China and Korea, Japan closed its doors in 1636 to the outside world in an effort to prevent foreign- ers from further influencing their people and culture. This self-imposed isolationist policy lasted for more than two centuries. It was not until Commodore Matthew C. Perry opened Japan in the mid-1850s that Westerners again stepped foot in the country on a regular trading basis. Perry had been sent to Japan by United States President Franklin
20 • T op N otch T oys , O ctober 2022
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