Himou

ABOUT COAT

AKIHO’s Akita Inu Hyoujun (breed standard) dedicates one simple but effective sentence to describe the Akita Inu coat, as seen in the slide below.

While the AKIHO Standard interestingly does not specifically mention the term double coat (nijuu himou)—like often seen for similar breeds—it does differentiate on the types of coat.

The upper hair (uwage) is normally referred to as harige (needle hair) and said to stand open (kairitsu), whereas the undercoat (shitage) is referred to as menmou (fluff, literally cotton hair) and needs to be densely standing up (kiritsu).

Of course, all of this requires proper coat quality (keshitsu). This is not only for esthetic reasons, but moreover as to provide proper insulation and therefore necessary protection against the cold weather of Akita Prefecture, which is part of Japan’s Snow Country (Yukiguni) and characterized by heavy, long-lasting snowfalls.