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The Tosa
One genuine modified brachycephalic breed has emerged from The Far East however, the Japanese Tosa. Japanese breeds
have longbeen amired in Britain, the little Chin had classes for it here over 130 years ago, and well over 200
are now being registered annually with the Kennel Club; in the last fifty years, the Akita, the Spitz and the Shiba
Inu have also found favour. We are not however, allowed to have the biggest breed produced in Japan, and developed
almost entirely from British breeds , the Tosa, banned under the disturbingly inconsistent Dangerous Dogs Act.
Wrestling Dog
The name Tosa comes from a region on the Japanese island of Shikoku, where the old breed of Kochi was improved
by an infusion of Mastiff, Bullmastiff, Bulldog, Bull Terrier and Great Dane blood, between 1868 and 1912 in the
Meiji era, to produce a combat dog. Being a holding or pinning breed, it performs, as a ‘fighting’ dog, more like
a Sumo Wrestler that a street fighter, holding its adversary in a prolonged grip. These canine wrestling matches
are a feature of Kochi beach to this day. There is a long history of dog fighting in Japan, with the Yakusa, Japan’s
organized gangs, alleged to be involved.
A Japanese Tosa, imported into the USA from Taiwan, 145
lbs, 30 inches high.
Imported Hunting Mastiffs
In the Kamakura period, 1185-1333 AD, the regent Hojo Takatoki promoted mass dog fighting . This involved hundreds
of vicious dogs being divided into two teams and set against each other. In the Muromachi period, 1333-1568AD,
large foreign breeds (kara inu) were imported from Europe, mastiff-type dogs for use as hunting dogs by war-lords,
From the time of the Tokugawa to the Taisho era, 1603-1925, the native breed of Akita was used both as a hunting
dog and a fighting dog. The Akita is now well established in Britain, with annual registrations running at around
1200 but has a record as a fighting dog spanning three centuries. The Tosa banned from entry and registration here,
has record as a fighting dog of just over one century.
Sandra and Hunior Perozo"s Shakuhachi Sumo' - 33 inches
high, 165 lbs,
American Breeder
Hunior Perozo of the Shakuhachi Kennels in New York uses the blood of the famous Japanese Yokuzuna line, Only outcrossing
to lines carrying the traditional temperament, stamina and agility. All his dogs can be traced back to those of
the Japanese Tosa ken
Center in Kochi, where one pup can cost its purchaser around $20,000. His dog Shakuhachi Sumo and his bitch Shakuhachi
Delilah each stand 33 inches at the shoulder.
Sandra and Hunior Perozo"s Shakuhachi Delilah' - a
top Tosa in the USA, 33 inches at the shoulder.
Need for Athleticism
The Tosa has the classic mastiff phenotype: red, fawn with a black muzzle, dull black and brindle in colour, with
red preferred, on a short, hard, dense coat, weighing 100lbs or more from a minimum height of 25 inches (males)
and 23 inches (females). The Tosa is described in its standard as having a ‘stately’ manner and a ‘robust’ build,
with a temperament ‘noteworthy for patience, composure, boldness and courage’. Sensibly it is required to have
the gait of a powerful athlete. A dog weighing 100lbs needs to be athletic if it is to avoid threats to its health
and comfort. A ‘non-athletic’ overall appearance is considered a minor fault, together with a slight over or undershot
jaw. A major fault is listed as shyness and I applaud that: shy, frightened, fearful dogs bite more people than
bold ones. However I do not like one of the other major faults, accepted by The FCI, ‘a lack of boldness towards
other dogs’. What may be undesirable in a fighting dog must be related to the needs of dog in society.
Distasteful Activity
Despite the role of Tosa bouts in Japanese tradition and their accompanying ceremonial rituals, modern society
does not find attractive the spectacle of two dogs artificially being made to fight each other for protracted periods.
Such activity is actually foreign to the nature of dog and should be repulsive to human beings, no longer classed
as barbarians. Humane societies should combine to get this loathsome so-called ‘sport’ banned in Japan; it only
occurs in a small area and is more rooted in past than likely to receive
long-term public support. It is the activity whish should be banned, not the breed.
This quite superb specimen had to be castrated if to remain in Britain,
Valuable breeding material has therefore lost to us.
The Negativity of Banning
Just as other dogs breed for fighting have been reclaimed as companion dogs, so too could the Tosa. By banning
the breed in the UK, we help to condemn it the dog-fighting arena and ownership by the social misfits who enjoy
such degrading events. Already the breed is a domestic pet in the USA and in continental Europe. Tosa dogs are
trained and bred to fight in this manner in Japan by human beings; they are not acting naturally. Dogs of every
breed soon sort out their pecking order and if correctly socialised as pups, rarely fight for real. Furthermore
the Tosa does not have a reputation for being aggressive with people; as with any mastiff breed, it is stable,
equable and has the inherent magnanimity of all bogs, Why do we abandon this breed to man’s baseness?
This magnificent dog, a Tosa with superb temperament, has
to be permanently muzzled.when in public in Britain.
Bred Behavior
When I re-read books on the instincts and temperament of dogs, such as Eberhard Trumler’s Understanding your dog,
Konrad Lorenz’s Man meets Dog, Clarence Pfaffenberger’s The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior and Michael Fox’s Understanding
your Dog it is quite clear to me that sufficient research has already been
conducted. Breeds do not behave simply as breeds. At the world Dog Show in Vienna, I watched a pair of Tosa, resting
with their owner, happily snoozing away whilst hundreds of humans stepped over them and hundreds more dogs of every
conceivable breed stopped to sniff them over. The two Tosas presented that resigned imperturbability of every mastiff
breed and posed no threat to any living thing. In the background could be heard a snarling dispute between two
huge ferocious permanently-muzzled Russian Owtcharkas; the latter can of course, unlike the Tosa, be freely and
legally imported into Britain.
A magnificent example of Tosa.
Victims of Man
Throughout history the mastiff breeds have been misused by man, made to fight bears, bulls, human gladiators, others
dogs, even lions. We have boasted of their courage, determination and stoicism. We have breed them to our design,
for our purposes, and now we blame them for being a threat to our well-being, We have long been a threat to theirs.
It is now reparation time. We must accept responsibility for the breeds of dog we have shaped , especially when
the bureaucrats step in, and, in their ignorance and shameful desire to be seen to be doing something, punish a
breed of dog unfairly, nstilled proclivities can never remove or permanently over-ride the innate nature of dog.
Those who occupy positions with power over dogs should learn more about dogs before they
embarrass the dog world with their unenlightened opinions. The first step in any dog-restraining legislative action
must always be to punish man not the subject creature he abuses.
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