"Kishu Ken Color"

It is not a crime to have a favorite coat color in the breeds you are interested in. It's not shameful to prefer a coat color in your companion. It's not even shameful to breed for particular coat colors.

In Japanese dogs, my favorite color is red. I got into Japanese dogs wanting a vibrant, red Shiba Inu. When I learned of the Shikoku, I was hoping my first Shikoku would be a red sesame (I rather dislike the black sesame--so it's kind of funny when I got mine, he turned out to be a black sesame!) When I found the Kishu, I gave up on that because I thought that Kishu were only a white-coated dog and I was okay with a white-coated dog! In the end, coat color and type is not what got me into the breed.

Popular sire syndrome is the reason for the shift from a breed that was primarily non-white coated to the breed we know today. White coats are a trait that is foolish and improbably to cut out or breed away from, now - and there's no reason to. A white coated Kishu is just as good as a neon-green Kishu.

As prevalent as white coats are, there is no officially preferred coat color in the Kishu.
​

Don't believe me? That's alright. Why don't you check out the FCI standard for the breed:

​COLOUR : White, red and sesame (red fawn hair with black tips). 

​Or how about the UKC standard?

COLOR Red, white and sesame (red hairs with black tips).

​The NIPPO standard - arguably the most important of them - lists 5 colors (but does not permit brindle registration on Kishu Ken):

日本犬の毛色には、胡麻、赤、黒、虎、白の五毛色があります。

​The Kishu is AKC-FSS, which defers to the FCI standard above. However, three standard colors are listed on the information page-- those are red, red sesame, and white.
​

I may need to repeat that again at some point in the future. One of my major motivations in creating this site was to combat some of the misinformation I have seen on the web about the breed. I had thought, for a time, that I had achieved that goal for a minute. As it turns out, however, there are even people in this community who continue to spread misinformation about things as simple as coat color. This breaks my heart to see and profoundly upsets me.

When seeking out any dog and entering any community, I urge everyone to do as much research on what they find as possible. ​Read all sides. If there are divides in the community already, seek out people who think differently and learn why. Contact many breeders - and always be honest and transparent with them. Never stop asking questions. Learn and be enthusiastic. We need informed, enthusiastic owners who want to be part of something and coperate with one another, for these rare breeds.