Exactly where do Shiba Inus come from? Shiba Inu origin begins in Japan, where the breed is the smallest of several Japanese dogs of the Spitz type (along with the Akita and the Kishu, among others). Dogs of this kind were represented in clay figurines from the Jomon period of prehistoric Japan, as early as 12,000 BC; the dogs were believed to have assisted the hunter-gatherer tribes of the period in flushing small game like birds and rabbits.
Another big factor in Shiba Inu history concerns the breed's name. "Shiba" loosely translates to "brushwood," which describes one type of vegetation in which the dogs hunted; the shiba bush also has a reddish-brown color, which may be a nod to the dog's coat coloring.
Whatever the case, not much other info exists about Shiba Inu evolution until the mid-20th century. The Shiba Inu breed nearly became extinct in Japan due to the ravages of World War II; a few survived, however, and the Japanese Kennel Club adopted the Shiba Inu's breed standard sometime in the 1950s.
In America, meanwhile, a few soldiers brought these dogs with them when they returned home from the war. The breed remained relatively obscure in the U.S. until the 1970s, and the first litter was born in America in 1979. The Shiba Inu was admitted to the American Kennel Club's Miscellaneous group in 1993, the to its Non-Sporting group in 1997.
As of 2022, the Shiba Inu ranks 44th on the AKC's list of 202 registered breeds.
