HIKAGE

This one is smart. If you call her, she answers. Sakura! Sakura!

SAKURA

Woof!

HIKAGE

Good girl! Haha!

YABUKI

Oh! She’s smiling too! Sakura! Sakura!

SAKURA

[No response]

YABUKI

Hey, am I no good? Haha!

HIKAGE

She’s really smart. She reminds me when it’s time for her food. And she does what she’s supposed to do properly, too. You know by about two months whether or not a dog is going to turn out smart.

YABUKI

When do you start training them?

HIKAGE

We don’t really train Akitas. They just have to stand properly in the dog shows. There’s none of this “Give me a paw” or “Sit!” We don’t need that.

YABUKI

Ah, so she learnt how to answer on her own then?

HIKAGE

Yeah. She just picked it up while we talk to each other every day.

YABUKI

How long have you been doing this work, Mr. Hikage?

HIKAGE

I think I’ve been doing this the longest in Ōdate. 1973 － since before the Akita Dog Preservation Society Building opened. But it’s tough rearing animals. Maybe other people think I’m crazy. In scorching midsummer, in freezing blizzards, I’m out every morning at five walking the dogs. I wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of my family.

YABUKI

So what does your family say about it?

HIKAGE

My wife doesn’t really like dogs! Haha! She sometimes pats them on the head. That’s about it! When we first got married, she hated dogs. She used to say “That bloody dog!” I mean when you have dogs, you can’t go away anywhere. And the dogs, they know when someone doesn’t like them. They hardly ever wag their tails with my wife.

YABUKI

Hahaha! Do you have a mentor showing you the way?

HIKAGE

No, no. When I first started, I had loads of breeder friends around.

YABUKI

So you used to share tips and ideas with each other…

HIKAGE

That’s right. In the old days, there used to be what we now call breeders in all parts of town. But now around here, there’s only me. There’s hardly anyone left.

YABUKI

Is that because it’s hard to look after them?

HIKAGE

You can’t really make a living from raising dogs. It costs quite a lot of money, and they are living things. But in the future, we’re going to need to bring through more people to raise the dogs. There just aren’t really many young people around.

YABUKI

How do you bring people through?

HIKAGE

It’s tough. We need some help from the local government. You know, financial support in buying dog food… that sort of thing is what’s needed, I think.

YABUKI

Well now even in the cities, they’re doing lots of PR for Akita dogs.

HIKAGE

Everyone thinks that if they come to Ōdate, they can find loads of dogs. City folk think they can come all the way here, find a nice dog and then take it home. But they get here and are surprised.

YABUKI

You mean there aren’t many dogs?

HIKAGE

No, that’s right. It’s not like how it used to be. In the old days, people used to say “Send us a photo”, but today they say “We’ll come up and get it”. But there aren’t that many dogs that people will go to the trouble of traveling to buy.

YABUKI

Oh, really…?

HIKAGE

There’s a lot of people who give you the run-around. Make you wait.

YABUKI

But they’re living things, right…!

HIKAGE

There are quite a few people who really want a dog and will come all the way to get one. For those people, I really do my best to accommodate them. But recently, there was a foreigner who just showed up and said “I’ve got the money to pay. Can you give me twenty dogs?” Of course I said no. It’s not that easy.

YABUKI

But in spite of all the hard work, you’ve been doing it for more than 40 years. There must be lots of joy keeping you in it, mustn’t there?

HIKAGE

The thing that gives me most joy is when a dog I have raised comes back to Ōdate. To the dog show we have here. That just leaves me speechless…! There’s one particular dog I’d really love to see again.

YABUKI

Oh! Where’s the dog now?

HIKAGE

It’s the best dog ever. His name is Haruto and he’s now in Gunma. He’s the kind of dog that gets his own article in the Akita dog owners’ magazine; he’ll probably be a candidate for a special award. Everyone knows him. They ask “Are you that Haruto’s dad?” One person took 24 hours to come all the way from Tanegashima earlier this year. They came here and asked “Is this the kennel where Haruto was raised?”

YABUKI

I bet looking forward to saying “That’s my boy! Look how good he is!” means you can’t stop! You should be able to see him at the next dog show.

HIKAGE

Yeah, hopefully.

YABUKI

When you have to say goodbye to one of your dogs, do you get emotional?

HIKAGE

Yeah, it’s hard to say goodbye. I mean after all, I’ve been watching over them since they were born.

YABUKI

Yeah, no doubt…!

HIKAGE

So that’s why I don’t give them out to people nearby. It’d bother me too much how they were doing.

YABUKI

You mean how they’re raising them?

HIKAGE

Yeah. It’s the same as with your own kids. One time, I went to see how one of the dogs was doing and I ended up taking it back home with me.

YABUKI

Oh, wow, really?!

HIKAGE

I went there, and they just weren’t looking after the dog properly. It had ticks, and they hadn’t even brushed its fur.

YABUKI

It’d be like sending your daughter out after getting married…

HIKAGE

And so if I ever give a dog to someone nearby, I only do it to people I know will do a good job.

YABUKI

You want to feel glad that the dog is being looked after by this person or that person, don’t you?

HIKAGE

But if they’re too enthusiastic, that can be a problem too. You know some people are so enthusiastic about the dog that they forget to prepare their own meals! Haha!

YABUKI

Hahaha!

HIKAGE

I think Sakura is going to be a great dog. I can definitely put her in a show. I’m looking forward to that.

YABUKI

Yeah, I’m looking forward to that too! I’ll come back and see her again when she’s a bit bigger. Thanks very much!

Akita prefecture needs Akita dogs to be active for its PR. They’re tremendously cute, but there are serious problems because they are living things. And being able to grasp both of these points for the first time, I feel that Akita dogs are something that we can really be proud of. But anyway, you mustn’t go away without having a look at this video of cute Akitas in action!