KENAI
Kishu Ken

The breeds · northern

AKC Foundation Stock Service · UKC Northern Breed · FCI standard 318

Kishu Ken.

FCI 318 utilization: hunting dog, companion; used for hunting, now mainly wild boar, at one time also deer. UKC: a hunting dog used mainly on wild boar. NIPPO: the Kishu Ken has a reputation among the six Japanese breeds for being so skilled that no other breed can surpass it on wild boar; most are now kept in ordinary households. Wikipedia: prized since prehistoric times for boar and deer, and 'the most commonly used purebred native Japanese breed used for hunting boar to this day'; in the US it is also run in hog bays, lure coursing and barn hunt..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

21INHeightdogs 20.5, bitches null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
30–60LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 30 to 60 lb; breed bitches 30 to 60 lb.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

dogs 20.5 in (17 to 22) · bitches 17 to 22 in

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

No single ideal: FCI and NIPPO print 49 cm (19.3 in), UKC prints 18 in. FCI prints the tolerance as '+ 3 cm'; read as plus or minus 3 cm, which NIPPO's allowed ranges and Wikipedia's 'in either direction' confirm.

Weight

dogs 30 to 60 lb · bitches 30 to 60 lb

Breed clubNihon Ken Hozonkai (NIPPO)

No ideal printed. Low is the AKC page's 30 lb (Wikipedia prints the same 30 lb beside its 14 kg); AKC and Wikipedia breed-wide ranges are counted in both rows.

Coat

FCI: outer coat harsh and straight, undercoat soft and dense, hair on cheeks and tail fairly long; white, red and sesame; since 1934 only solid colours accepted. UKC: double coat, harsh straight outer coat, soft dense undercoat; red, white and sesame; a distinctly long coat is a fault. NIPPO: most Kishu are white, some red or sesame. Wikipedia: the stiff topcoat sheds dirt easily; sheds once or twice a year.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Double coat: harsh straight outer coat over soft dense undercoat (FCI, UKC).

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Derived from the coat description (medium double = 3). No measured data.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

AKC breed page: Energy Level 3 of 5, Mental Stimulation Needs 5. Wikipedia: needs adequate space to roam, regular leash walks or runs, and can be given a job such as hunting.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands and editorial; no minutes-per-day band published.

Energy

AKC breed page: Energy Level 3, Playfulness 3, Trainability 3, Barking Level 1, Affectionate With Family 5, Openness To Strangers 5, Good With Other Dogs 3, Watchdog/Protective Nature 3. FCI/UKC: faithful, docile and very alert, of noteworthy endurance. Wikipedia: gravitates to one person, headstrong, strong prey drive, may become combative with dogs that do not respect their boundaries. NIPPO: calm at home but extremely alert, strong reactions to anything suspicious.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands, not measured. AKC's Openness To Strangers 5 sits beside Wikipedia's 'aloof or shy around strangers'; both stand.

Grooming load

1 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming

AKC breed page: Coat Grooming Frequency 1 of 5, Shedding Level 3, Drooling Level 1. Wikipedia: brush to clear impacted undercoat; stiff topcoat sheds dirt even wet and muddy; coat blown once or twice a year.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 318 utilization: hunting dog, companion; used for hunting, now mainly wild boar, at one time also deer. UKC: a hunting dog used mainly on wild boar. NIPPO: the Kishu Ken has a reputation among the six Japanese breeds for being so skilled that no other breed can surpass it on wild boar; most are now kept in ordinary households. Wikipedia: prized since prehistoric times for boar and deer, and 'the most commonly used purebred native Japanese breed used for hunting boar to this day'; in the US it is also run in hog bays, lure coursing and barn hunt.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

The AKC moved the Kishu Ken from the Working Group to the Hound Group in 2023 (Wikipedia). Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Primary game

FCI: wild boar, formerly also deer. UKC: wild boar. NIPPO: wild boar. Wikipedia: boar and deer. NIPPO hunting page (group): bears, wild boars and deer.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Search pattern

NIPPO: the traditional hunting style is 'ichi-juu, ikku' (one gun, one dog), one hunter with one dog. Wikipedia: the Kishu 'will stalk prey quietly rather than bark' and, like the Shiba, is often quiet; strong prey drive. NIPPO and Wikipedia: white coats were valued so the hunter would not mistake the dog for game. UKC: marked endurance.

Breed clubNihon Ken Hozonkai (NIPPO)

Single dog, quiet stalk is the Wikipedia reading beside NIPPO's one-gun-one-dog style; no source read describes a bay call or a voice standard. Editorial views are shown beside the standard, labelled; where they disagree both stand (Chad, Oct 8 2026).

Field trial standard

FCI 318: without working trial. NIPPO Hunting Ability Research Committee covers the Kishu as one of the medium-sized dogs. No hunting test standard was read.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Cold water

3 of 5 · Double coat; hunts boar in the mountains of the Kii peninsula (Wakayama, Mie). No source describes water work.

DerivedFederation Cynologique Internationale, 2016

Derived from the coat plus mountain work. No measured data.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia: limited data; prone to allergies, autoimmune and skin conditions, Addison's disease and hypothyroidism noted; eye concerns (persistent pupillary membranes, entropion, recent juvenile cataracts); Finnish KoiraNet data suggest mostly deformity-free hips with elbows the least favourable result.

EditorialWikipedia

Wikipedia summarises a Finnish database and owner reports; primary data were not read.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 3; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 1; Watchdog/Protective Nature 3; Good With Young Children 3; Openness To Strangers 5; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 1; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 3; Adaptability Level 3.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 4 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Kishu Ken, Kishu Inu, Kishu-ken

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

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