what are akitas bred for?

Question

what were they originally used for in japan? one person is saying a fighting dog and the other is saying grizzly bear hunting. which is it? or neither?

Answer 1

During the Ice Age, the archipelago that now comprises the Japanese Islands was a crescent-shaped strip of land surrounding an inland sea. At the northern end was the Siberian peninsula, and at the southern, what is now Korea. Stone age nomads followed game across the land bridges, migrating from different areas of Siberia into Alaska and into Japan. The earliest stone tools found so far indicate that people were in Japan as early as 15,000 years ago.
The descendants of these immigrants lived into modern times with the descendants of the spitz-type dogs who accompanied them and helped in the hunt. Excavations of Joman Period (about 10,000 years ago) sites have yielded the remains of these dogs, which are similar in type to those found with many of the primitive people of the Arctic as well as Korea, China and Japan Indonesia, and Australia.
Recent archeological findings indicate that migrations from Korea and China began an agricultural society which gradually pushed the nomadic tribes northward. The melting ice sheets of North America caused drastic changes through-out the world. In Japan, the rise in sea level created a chain of islands stretching about what is now the Sea of Japan. The islands vary in size and topography as well as climate, which ranges from tropical to almost Arctic.
Once the land mass separated into islands, the necessity for some type of raft or boat for travel between the mainland and the islands or between the islands themselves greatly restricted the exchange between them. Differentiation between the native spitz-type dogs would have begun with the resulting isolation, and over time, each area's dogs would have become more suited for an area's narrower hunting needs. These dogs would also become less generic in appearance as the number of breeding choices decreased. However, the basic spitz type remained and persisted as this 16th-century manuscript illustration demonstrates. (courtesy of Les Ray)
Trading Partners
Trade routes from the north reached the Ainu people of Hokkaido and Karafuto from Siberia and Mongolia. In the south, the Japanese alternately fought and traded with Korea. Their premier partner was the already-established empire of China. Their vigorous trade relationship stretches back over 2500 years ago.
China fascinated the Japanese, who at first enthusiastically embraced Chinese ways. They adopted Chinese writing and melded their native Shinto religion with the Chinese form of Buddhism. They also imported the techniques for planting and harvesting rice.
Between the court aristocrats, dogs were a favorite and favored gift. The Chinese sent many dogs to Japan. They varied from the little "Chin" lap dog so popular with the Japanese ladies and their Chinese counterparts to coursing hounds that worked with hunting hawks. Among pictures of dogs used by the Chinese for coursing are ones that look like a stockier, hairier Saluki than we have today. These dogs were undoubtedly introduced to China from the Middle East and Europe by caravan trade along the Silk Road.
Although they assimilated many Chinese ways into their culture, in a cycle repeated many times, the Japanese gradually became more insular and underwent a period of isolation. By the turn of the sixteenth century, the lucrative silk trade was carried out by an intermediary with ocean-going ships. The Portuguese, through Jesuit missionaries, had its sole custody, and through them, some European dogs found their way to the Japanese Court.
The end of the Portuguese stranglehold on commerce with Japan began when the crew of a Dutch East Indies shipwreck washed up on Japanese shores in 1615. With them was an English pilot, named William Adams, who caught the attention of the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu. Ieyasu made Adams a samurai, the only Westerner ever so honored, and called him Anjin (Pilot). Adams and his adventures were the model for James Clavel’s book and miniseries Shogun.
Under Ieyasu Tokugawa, Japan shed its isolation for a while and opened its ports to foreign ships from other European countries. With these Westerners came even more foreign dogs (kari inu). Most of these were of a sight-hound type. Ieyasu is reported to have kept 60-70 of them to course deer. (Kuga, "JD," 56) The popularity of foreign dogs coupled with little interest in breeding might have spelled an end to the native dogs had Ieyasu’s descendants had the same interest in foreigners.
However, by 1635, the Japanese retreated again to a period of national isolationism. In 1640, Ieyasu’s son and heir closed all of Japan except the port at Yokohoma to foreigners except for trade with Mongolia, Korea, and China. Japan’s isolation remained unbroken for two hundred years, ending when U.S. Admiral Perry sailed into Tokyo Bay and declared it at an end. His warship sitting in their harbor backed up his demands.

Open to the US and Europe
Once again, Japan began a cycle of interest in all-things foreign, focusing on the Western world this time. European mining engineers began working in the mines of northern Honshu's mountains.
Part of this area is now known as Akita Prefecture, but during the 1800s, it was called Dewa, and the main city, Odate. Located far from the cities of the western plains, it was a mountainous, rugged, cold area. The large game of this area consisted of boar, elk, and the small Yezo bear, like this one. The dogs used for hunting in the north had long been known for their larger size.
According to breed lore, a long-ago nobleman developed one strain of dog especially suited for this type of hunt. An excellent candidate for this legend was the scion of the Sanehide family who took refuge in the Akita area when the family fell out of favor with Ieyasu Tokugawa. Dewa was the perfect backwater for a Daimyo with little to do (Sanson, 415). His breeding efforts could well have been the beginning of the large Japanese hunting dog.
In contrast to the rural areas, Japan’s densely populated cities commonly had dogs of mixed native and foreign stock. Except for the Japanese Chin, no one seems to have made any effort to develop or preserve breeds.
Dog fights had been a favored sport of the samurai caste for centuries. While these dogs in earlier times would have had other jobs like hunting , with the changes brought about by Westernization, some dogs were dedicated to this sport. A favorite was the Tosa Fighting Dog, a crossbred from the native Tosa (Shikoku) Dog and various imported mastiff types.
To increase size and fighting prowess, the same kind of crosses went on in the north with the native dog of the Dewa/Akita area. Breeds likely to have been used were Great Danes (Deutsche Dogges) brought from home by German mining engineers. and Tibetan Mastiffs brought with Mongolian traders.

Answer 2

Akitas were bred both for fighting and hunting bear. They are fearless and powerful and incredibly intelligent dogs that are not suitable for novice dog owners. They were regarded as a national treasure in Japan, and the first Akita was brought to the United States as a gift for Helen Keller.

When the need for bear hunting and fighting dogs died out, Akitas were also used to guard the family children. Most well bred Akitas love children to this day.

I have an Akita/Pit mix who is 12. When we got him we realized he needed training, and that started this descent into the madness of becoming a professional dog trainer.

Answer 3

I find it interesting that this breed has this statement in it's breed description:
"Akitas are inherently aggressive toward other animals and for this reason, they should not be allowed to run free or roam at will. You can exercise your Akita off leash when you are in an area where contact with other animals and people is unlikely.
Akitas are VERY food possessive
Akitas not raised with children are not always tolerant of small children and the Akita should never be left alone with a child until you are certain you have a dog who adores all children. Often, Akitas raised with children will tolerate their own children but may not accept the neighborhood kids."
Now if this was listed under Pitbulls it would make sense that the Pit got so much grief, But of course it does not. you want to know why, because they cost to much, are to high maitenace for the low life scum that buy Pits.
To answer your question. I have heard it was for fighting.
good luck if you get one.

Answer 4

The Akita was originally bred for many uses. It was used as an imperial guard dog, a fighting dog, a hunting dog, and even a sled dog.

Answer 5

The Akita or Akita Ken is a breed of large Japanese dog, named for Akita Prefecture, where it is thought to have originated. "Inu" means "dog" in Japanese, although in practice this animal is nearly always referred as "Akita-ken," another reading of the same kanji (And also a pun, as the word "prefecture" is pronounced "ken" in Japanese).

The Akita's ancestors were dogs used by matagi for hunting. These dogs, usually called matagi inu, were not as large as modern Akita dogs.

Answer 6

They were used as palace guard dogs.