On Sept. 3, people rescued Shiba Inu dogs that were greeting arriving passengers at Hagi-Iwami Airport in Masuda, Shimane Prefecture. Takashi Konishi MASUDA, Shimane Prefecture Shiba Inu dogs greeted passengers arriving from Haneda Airport as they walked through the arrival gate of Hagi-Iwami Airport in the morning of Sept. 3.
The canines were accompanied by their owners.
The passengers stopped and petted the dogs, saying how cute they were and posing for pictures with them.
I was surprised, but it was comforting and my fatigue went away, a passenger said.
The goal is to bring more passengers to the airport and raise the profile of the city, home of the ancestor of all living Shiba Inu.
The group has around 30 Shiba Inu owners living in the city and its neighboring municipalities.
The dogs were docile as they greeted the passengers.
Masuda is the birthplace of Ishi, a dog believed to be the ancestor of the breed.
The male of the Sekishuken line, an indigenous breed from western Shimane Prefecture, was born in 1930 in the village of Futakawa present-day Masuda s Mitocho district in the Chugoku Mountain Range about 20 kilometers east of the airport.
Ishi, who helped produce offspring, was adopted by a Tokyo dentist who was originally from present-day Hamada in the prefecture.
It is said that all Shiba Inu around the world can trace their bloodlines back to Ishi.
In the year 2019 a stone statue of Ishi was erected next to the house where he was born, with a small memorial hall introducing the dog's history.
Motoi Nishimatsu, 62, head of the business planning division at the Iwami Airport Terminal Building Inc., the airport operator, took note of Ishi's story.
He sought help from Atsuo Yanao, head of the Masuda-based Shiba Inu fostering group - who also served as chief of the Shimane branch of the Japan Dog Preservation Society, a Tokyo-based public interest organization, to organise the greeting event that started in June.
The welcome event is held in the morning of the first and third Saturdays of the month when an incoming flight from Haneda Airport arrives, bringing together 10 to 15 Shiba Inu each time.
The event has become popular among Shiba Inu enthusiasts.
Shiba Inu are cool-looking, mentally strong and loyal to their owners. Yanao hopes that their charms will become widely known.
The airport only handles two daily round-trip flights connecting with Haneda Airport.
The operator has been trying to attract more passengers, including hosting a marathon on the runway, keeping bees on the airport premises to produce honey and welcoming arriving passengers with a presentation of the traditional performing art of Iwami kagura sacred Shinto music and dancing Shiba Inu, which is also popular outside Japan, according to Nishimatsu. We hope people visit the city not only to enjoy sightseeing but also to turn their attention to Masuda as a holy site for Shiba Inu and make a pilgrimage. Akita Inu dogs greet arriving passengers at the Odate-Noshiro Airport in Kita-Akita Prefecture, on dates ending with the number eight hachi every month, in tribute to Hachiko, an Akita Inu dog known for its loyalty to its master.