Japanese Akita — an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of a real dog
An AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of a real dog.

Japanese Akita

Placed on this panel from 4 sequenced dogs, among 258 breeds.

Measured nearest to American Akita, and nothing among the other 257 breeds is nearer. The smallest branch holding them both covers 0.7% of this tree.

The 12 breeds nearest to Japanese Akita.

The line starts at the tightest pairing this panel holds and ends at the widest separation measured on it, so how far along these marks sit is the answer to how close Japanese Akita really is to anything.

1American Akita2Kishu3Chow Chow4Shiba Inu5Chinese Shar-Pei6Thai Ridgeback7Greenland Dog8Kai Ken9Alaskan Malamute10Formosan Mountain Dog11Eurasier12Japanese Chin

Closeness is measured from the genomes, and nothing else. It has no units and no dates. Two breeds sitting close together means their lines separate late in this data. It does not mean either one came from the other.

4 sequenced dogs is a thin sample. This breed’s exact neighbours could move if more were added; the neighbourhood is steadier than the order within it.