Mame Shiba Inu Breeder in Japan — Sesshu Hozanso, Osaka

In recent years, more and more people seem to believe that smaller is better. This is not true.

When we first began breeding and promoting the Mame Shiba Inu, we observed many Mame Shiba Inu across Japan, studying their skeletal structure and other characteristics in depth.

Owners sometimes bring their Mame Shiba Inu to our kennel requesting breeding services, and we occasionally see dogs purchased elsewhere that are far smaller than the Mame Shiba Inu standard. On close inspection, some of these show clear individual abnormalities — skeletal distortions, missing teeth, and similar issues.

Many Mame Shiba Inu bred to be much smaller than the standard suffer from a range of disorders and deformities. They may lose the proportions characteristic of a Shiba Inu, become mentally unstable, show poor fertility in males, or experience serious complications in females — particularly during delivery.

A Mame Shiba Inu under 25cm can be issued a pedigree, provided it is healthy and shows no particular problems. But please be cautious of dogs marketed as exceptionally small.

The Shiba Inu has long been loved and bred by the Japanese people. However, as the standard Shiba Inu is not well-suited to modern cramped living spaces, the Mame Shiba Inu was developed through generations of selective breeding — choosing the smallest Shiba Inu individuals to establish a stable, smaller lineage.

More than 80 years ago, before World War II, small Shiba Inu were kept as hunting companions by people living in mountainous regions throughout Japan. These compact, agile dogs were prized for hunting small game — rabbits, martens, mujina (Japanese badgers), raccoon dogs, and foxes.

Small Shiba Inu, in other words, are not a recent invention. They have always existed in Japan, deeply rooted in the country's hunting culture and the daily lives of mountain communities.

The Mame Shiba Inu shares its appearance with its ancestor, the Shiba Inu — the most obvious difference is size.

An adult male Shiba Inu typically stands 38–41cm tall, with females at 35–38cm. The Mame Shiba Inu, by comparison, stands 30–34cm for males and 28–32cm for females.

If you're familiar with the Shiba Inu, the Mame Shiba Inu's compact size is striking the moment you see one in person.

More and more families are choosing the Mame Shiba Inu — small, charming, and well-suited to indoor living.

You'll find Mame Shiba Inu sold in many pet shops today. However, prior to 2008, the Mame Shiba Inu was not officially recognized as a breed by any major kennel organization, which meant no formal "Mame Shiba Inu" pedigree existed.

That changed when KC Japan became the first organization in the world to officially recognize the Mame Shiba Inu as a registered breed — using the Mame Shiba Inu of our kennel, Sesshu Hozanso, as the standard.

Even today, the Mame Shiba Inu is still not recognized as a breed by some organizations. As a result, many Mame Shiba Inu continue to be bred and sold without a clear breed standard — leading to a wide range of problems for buyers and dogs alike.

To address this, KC Japan established a formal breed standard defining what a true Mame Shiba Inu should be, and became the first organization in the world to officially recognize and issue pedigrees for the Mame Shiba Inu.

This historic recognition was based on the Mame Shiba Inu bred at our kennel, Sesshu Hozanso. Our bloodline became the foundation of the world's first official Mame Shiba Inu standard.

The Mame Shiba Inu inherits many of the defining traits of the Shiba Inu — a clean, graceful build and a deep loyalty to its owner.

Where the Shiba Inu is known for its bold, fearless expression, the Mame Shiba Inu's face carries a softer, endearing quality that matches its smaller frame. As a family companion, the standard calls for a cheerful, friendly temperament — a dog that fits easily into the rhythm of daily home life.

With modern housing conditions in mind, more and more dog lovers are turning to the Mame Shiba Inu — a true Shiba Inu in spirit, sized for indoor life.

They have endearing faces and small, manageable bodies. Their compact size makes grooming and daily walks easy — even for elderly owners and children.

Mame Shiba Inu come in four coat colors: red, black, sesame, and white. More than 90% are red, including two distinct patterns — Aka-ichimai (solid red) and Ura-jiro (red with a white chest and underside).

The Mame Shiba Inu offers something rare: the soft, approachable charm of a companion dog, paired with the dignified spirit that has always defined the Shiba Inu.

The Japanese dog is said to trace its roots back to the Shiba Inu.

Despite their compact size, Shiba Inu are spirited, courageous, and deeply loyal to their owners. Their sharp senses serve them well in hunting, and they show a remarkable homing instinct when separated from home. Their faithful nature and natural cleanliness have long earned them the title of "loyal dogs" in Japan.

Shiba Inu form deep bonds with the people they love. The Mame Shiba Inu carries all of these qualities, distilled into a smaller, family-friendly form.

A small story from our own kennel: years ago, our first little Shiba Inu disappeared without warning. The whole family was heartbroken, but with a move on the horizon, we couldn't search as thoroughly as we would have liked.

A year and a half passed.

Then one day, we received a phone call from the family who had moved into our former home. "It looks like your dog has come back. She's wandering around the yard."

The whole family rushed over. There she was — covered in mud, a little tougher than before, but unmistakably our little Shiba Inu, having found her way home.

Our founder, Masanobu Nishiyama — my father and the first generation of this kennel — began his work with the Mame Shiba Inu in the 1960s, after encountering an unusually small Shiba Inu that captured his imagination.

The Shiba Inu had suffered terribly during World War II, and its population was nearly lost. In the years that followed, dedicated efforts were made to preserve this distinctly Japanese breed. Through the work of preservation societies and committed individuals across the country, the Shiba Inu eventually flourished again.

However, in the process of rebuilding the population, an averaged standard was established — and this would later create problems.

At the time, the Shiba Inu population included a wide range of sizes: many large Shiba over 38cm, and many small Shiba around 30cm. Both fell outside the newly established standard and were excluded from breeding programs. As a result, the natural diversity of size within the Shiba Inu narrowed significantly.

Nearly a century has passed since Japanese dog preservation efforts began. The fact that large Shiba over 38cm tall and weighing close to 20kg still appear today is proof that this genetic diversity was never truly lost — only set aside.

While size diversity was sacrificed in the name of species recovery, our kennel chose a different path: to preserve the small Shiba (known historically as Koshiba and Shaku-Shiba).

When our founder Masanobu first began this work, he traveled across Japan to meet the people who had fought to save the Shiba Inu, learning their stories firsthand. He searched the country for genuinely small Shiba Inu, working to protect what others had set aside.

His selection went far beyond size alone. He examined skeletal structure, overall conformation, coat quality, loyalty to people, and the lineage of parents and grandparents — anything he could verify with his own eyes. From these careful evaluations, he assembled and bred the bloodlines that would consistently produce truly small Shiba Inu, generation after generation.

Care was essential. Even if a puppy looked small, large parents meant the genetics for size could reappear suddenly in the next generation. Patience and rigor were everything.

Today, the name "Mame Shiba Inu" is widely known. But before World War II, many older Japanese remember small Shiba Inu being affectionately called Koshiba or Shaku-Shiba. They were a familiar part of rural life.

Mr. Yoshihiro Saito, who devoted himself to preserving the Japanese dog, expressed regret in his later years: "It was a mistake to limit the Shiba Inu to the current size range." Many people involved in Japanese dog preservation at the time heard this directly from him.

Today, our kennel stands as the longest-established breeder dedicated to preserving the Mame Shiba Inu — carrying forward what others nearly let slip away.