This is a photo of a dog that’s part of both my current Akitas lineage. It’s the oldest photo I was able to find. Her name is Babagoma Go Ichinosek
There is a current thread that caused me to think about this and post this photo that I found a few years ago
Old photos are fascinating aren't they? Many breeds have one or more common ancestors and it's interesting to see how much a breed has either stayed true to, or progressed on from, its origins. In your case it seems that the Akita has hardly changed at all! I know very little about Akitas so would be interested in why and when did the breed registers split into Japanese and American type? Has the breed always had two distinct types - like Beagles and Harriers - or was the division created by breeders who disagreed about the way an Akita should look?
From what I remember, by WWII, there were only two lines of akitas left with very few dogs. Americans, like Helen Keller brought dogs from one line to the states. So, that line is considered "American" and the other line is considered "Japanese". The Japanese akita has a head more like a Shiba Inu - foxlike. Where the American akita has the bearlike head. @who owns who correct me if I got any of that wrong. I'm going off memory of what my dad told me years ago.
