Japanese Chin; Japanese Spaniel
A small companion dog breed with a distinctive pushed-in face and silky coat.
Our Japanese Chin is very friendly.
Japanese Chins were once kept as pets by the nobility.
spotted garden eel
pug-nosed face; person with a pug-nosed face
Standard kanji spelling for the breed.
Katakana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially in pet contexts.
The kanji 狆 is a kokuji (Japanese-made character) combining the dog radical 犭 with 中 (ちゅう), possibly chosen for its phonetic value. The exact origin of the breed name is uncertain, but it may be related to the Chinese word for 'dog' or an old term for a small dog.