A Mame Shiba for your family, from a Mame Shiba kennel in Japan

Published October 14, 2026 · Last updated October 14, 2026

The Mame Shiba is a small Shiba Inu that has lived in Japan for a long time. In English it is called the Mame Shiba Inu, or the mini Shiba Inu. We are Sesshu Hozanso, in Takatsuki, Osaka. Since the 1970s we have raised Mame Shiba and nothing else, and we are the oldest kennel in Japan dedicated to them. Small Shiba have always been part of Japan. We were the first to have them recognized as a breed of their own, under the name Mame Shiba, and we have raised only Mame Shiba all along.

Three things you can check for yourself. In 2008, KC Japan (The Kennel Club of Japan) recognized the Mame Shiba as a breed, and its English description of the breed names my late father, Masanobu Nishiyama. In 2026, a Mame Shiba born at our kennel and now living in Hungary was awarded the titles Hungária Champion in July and Hungária Grand Champion in October by the Hungarian Kennel Club. And every dog we use for breeding, without exception, has been DNA-tested for GM1 gangliosidosis.

What is a Mame Shiba?

The Mame Shiba is not a new kind of dog bred by mixing in another breed. It is a Shiba Inu. Just as the Poodle comes in standard, miniature and toy sizes, the Mame Shiba is the small size within the Shiba Inu. What we did was not to invent a new dog, but to add one more size category, the small one, to the Shiba Inu, and to have it recognized. In the mountain villages of old Japan, farmers valued small Shiba that ate little and kept wild animals away from their fields. These dogs are said to have been called "Koshiba" (little Shiba) or "Shakushiba" (one-foot Shiba).

The Nihon Ken Hozonkai (NIPPO, the Japanese Dog Preservation Society) was founded in 1928, and the Shiba Inu standard was set in 1934. The Shiba Inu is still with us today thanks to the work of those people. But a single standard could not hold every Shiba of old Japan, and different groups have kept different parts of that heritage: the Shiba Inu Preservation Society (since 1959), which keeps a head shape close to the dogs of the Jomon period; the Mino Shiba of Gifu; and the San'in Shiba of Tottori. The Mame Shiba is one of these lines: the small Shiba that fell outside the standard size. We are the kennel that has kept those small Shiba going.

More about size and bloodlines →
Why smaller is not better →

What people say about Mame Shiba, and our answers

Search for Mame Shiba in English and you will find plenty of harsh opinions. Those concerns are fair. Some sellers in Japan have earned them. Here are the things people often say, with our short answers.

"Mame Shiba isn't a breed. It's just a sales name." The Mame Shiba is the small size of the Shiba Inu. The FCI, the international federation, and the Nihon Ken Hozonkai do not recognize it as a separate breed. That is a fact. On the other hand, KC Japan recognized the Mame Shiba as a breed in 2008, and the Hungarian Kennel Club has awarded champion titles to one of our Mame Shiba. More on size and bloodlines →

"They breed the very smallest dogs together," or "small breeds were mixed in." Small Shiba have always existed, and we have kept their bloodline going, generation after generation. We have never mixed in any other breed. More on size and bloodlines →

"They are kept small by underfeeding." We never cut back on food. Feed a healthy Mame Shiba puppy well, and it still does not grow big. That is what a Mame Shiba bloodline means. How we feed our puppies → Why smaller is not better →

"They are weak and often sick." Every one of our breeding dogs is DNA-tested, and a veterinarian checks their knees and eyes. Our health records →

"They grow up to be the size of a regular Shiba Inu." Even in Japan, that is not unusual. That is exactly why there are things we would like you to check before you bring a puppy home. What to check before you buy →

Bringing a Mame Shiba home from Japan

We do not sell through pet shops. We deal directly with families overseas. I, Nishiyama, answer every inquiry and introduce each puppy myself. When you visit us in Japan, Miwako, who looks after our overseas families in English, will show you around the kennel and explain how to raise your puppy. From your first message to the day you take your puppy home, you deal with the same kennel. In countries with very strict import rules, such as the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), we sometimes work with a local agent who handles the import procedures there. We have sent puppies to families in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The steps are: inquiry, a place on our priority list, puppy introduction and contract, your country's import paperwork, and handover. If you are on our priority list, we introduce puppies to you before we offer them publicly online. Joining the priority list is free. We ask for payment only after you have chosen a puppy we introduced and signed the contract. Paperwork and waiting periods differ by country, so preparation takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

Since August 1, 2024, dogs entering the United States must be at least six months old (a rule of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Until your puppy reaches that age, we can keep it at our kennel. Please ask us.

Our kennel

Small Shiba have been kept all over Japan since long ago. Our own story begins in the 1960s. At Taruiso, the kennel nearest to us and the one we were closest to, my father, Masanobu Nishiyama, began helping to keep the small Shiba going. The owner of Taruiso was getting on in years, and my father feared the small Shiba line would die out. Taruiso also bred standard Shiba Inu, but in the 1970s my father opened his own kennel, Sesshu Hozanso, and chose to raise only Mame Shiba. He visited kennels across Japan and worked with the people who had been keeping small Shiba, while raising Mame Shiba and nothing else. Our kennel is the one that spread the name "Mame Shiba" and was the first to have it recognized as a breed of its own (KC Japan, 2008).

The way we raise dogs has been handed down over three generations: my grandmother, my father, and me. Since my father's time, our aim has been Japanese dogs that can live indoors with their families. We raise our puppies inside the house from the start and give them a foundation of good manners before they leave us.

Our history and achievements →
Shiba Inu training →

Health

We choose as breeding dogs only those over one year old whose bodies have fully matured, and every one is DNA-tested and examined by a veterinarian. We never cut back on our puppies' food. After your puppy comes home, please ask us any time you are unsure about its health or its food.

Mame Shiba health: what we test and what we don't →

In our families' own words

From our Google reviews (134 reviews, average rating 4.8). We quote them in full, exactly as written.

Tomo-san and Miwako-san are amazing individuals. I have raised two Shiba Inus prior to this visit but this was first time visiting a breeder, let alone a top breeder in Japan! Miwako's English ability made this experience possible and we ended up purchasing and exporting a beautiful mameshiba.. They let us see the kennels, which were immaculate, and the team that care takes the entire operation. They are very loving and I feel honoured to be given this opportunity. Not only was the team very loving but also very professional which made the entire experience so special. I will return again to visit the team and possibly for a sibling for our baby! Thank you!

Alexander L. · March 2023 · Google review

Miwako and his team where great in every step of the way to get our puppies!! We are a Portuguese couple that was planning doing a vacation on Japan and bring this lovely puppies as an souvenirs. After several emails and a lot of planing that was possible thanks to Miwako and his team. They helped a lot with all the details, choosing, and then with all the papers to get a smooth travel back home. Thanks Miwako, we are now enjoying this lovely "taste" of Japan in our home. Absolutely recommended for anyone that wants this MameShibas cuties!!

João S., Portugal · April 2023 · Google review

Six years after losing our previous Mame Shiba from this kennel, who lived to 18 years and 11 months, we finally felt ready to welcome a new puppy. Much of what it was like to bring a dog into the family had faded from memory, but the people at Sesshu Hozanso were truly kind and patient with all our questions. Our girl Rin, born on October 26, 2023, played with the other puppies at Sesshu Hozanso while being properly trained, and perhaps thanks to that, she never barks for no reason and plays happily with other dogs. Above all, she is growing up healthy and full of joy. Someday we would like to bring her back for a visit, so everyone at Sesshu Hozanso can see how big she has grown.

こちらからお迎えした先代の豆柴（18歳11ヵ月）を亡くしてから6年経ち、新しい仔を迎える心の準備がやっとできました。ワンちゃんを家族に迎え入れることがどうだったか記憶が薄れている部分も多々あったのですが、摂州宝山荘の方々には本当に親切に丁寧に相談に乗ってもらいました。2023年10月26日生まれの女の子（凛ちゃん）は、摂州宝山荘さんのところで他の仔犬と戯れながらきちんと躾がされていたお陰か無駄吠えもいっさいなく他のワンちゃんとも仲良く遊びます。何よりスクスクと天真爛漫に育ってくれています。いつか里帰りして摂州宝山荘の皆さんに大きくなった姿を見てもらいたいです。

N. F., Japan · June 2024 · Google review (translated from Japanese)

Read all our Google reviews →
More from our families →

About the author

Tomoyuki Nishiyama, second-generation owner of Sesshu Hozanso, a kennel dedicated to Mame Shiba. I have lived with dogs for more than 50 years and am the author of INUDŌ: The Shiba Inu Code. Everything on this site comes from my own experience.

• The book (Amazon)
• Shiba Inu training
• Instagram
• YouTube