Wolfdogs from Manchukuo, 1941

Tags

gray wolf, japanese dogs, kai ken, manchukuo, manchuria, manchurian wolf, puppies, war dogs, wolf dog, wolf hybrid

This article from the June 19th, 1941 edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan) announces the birth of a litter of crossbred wolfdogs. Four pups were born in February 1941 from Tora, a 3-year-old Kai Ken male out of a kennel based in Yamanashi Prefecture, and Sekiroko (赤狼, “Red Wolf”), a gray wolf from Manchuria. The article claims that Nihon ken and wolves share “the same blood,” representing this union as a natural melding of not only two compatible biological orders, but geo-political ones as well. This is especially significant given that Manchuria was a Japanese-occupied puppet state at this time.

Unfortunately, one pup died, but two black pups and a red pup remain, housed in a specially built wolf house located at Koufu. The article finishes on a triumphant note, claiming that the father’s intelligence and the mother’s wild temperament (notice the juxtaposition of Japanese “culture” against Manchurian “primitivism”) will specially endow these puppies to become superior war dogs.

I can’t help but wonder how difficult these wolfdogs were to train. One needs more than a ferocious reputation and appearance to be suited for military purposes, after all…

Tale of Ururu’s Forest [Ururu no mori no monogatari]

Tags

dog movies, japanese film, japanese wolves, miya tadaomi, wolf dog, wolf hybrid, wolf movies, 宮忠臣

Film: A Tale of Ururu’s Forest, a.k.a. A Tale of Ululu’s Wonderful Forest [Ururu no mori no monogatari ウルルの森の物語]
Director: NAGANUMA Makoto 長沼誠
Performers: FUNAKOSHI Eiichiro 船越英一郎, FUKADA Kyoko 深田恭子, KITAMURA Sara　北村沙羅, KUWASHIRO Takaaki 桑代貴明, Ururu　ウルル
Breeds featured: Wolf dog, Border Collie (very briefly)
Production information: Toho, 2009 (Japan)

When their mother is hospitalized, young Shizuku and her older brother Subaru are sent to live with their father, a wildlife preservationist in rural Hokkaido. Initially, it’s a bit of a culture shock adjusting to the new environment and their estranged father. But they are soon taken in by the wonders of nature when they discover a stray, wolf-like puppy in the woods. Shizuku decides to name him Ururu, based on her mispronunciation of the English loan word urufu for wolf. This mistranslation is rather fitting, as nobody is quite sure what he is. After some poking and prodding, DNA tests come back to suggest that Ururu might be a live specimen of an Ezo okami or Hokkaido wolf, an indigenous Japanese wolf thought to have been extinct for over a hundred years.

Never mind that the pup does not look anything like a Japanese wolf — but I think the film banks on the fact that the audience has little exposure to wolves, nor much of anything truly wild. This point is hammered home pretty forcefully, as it underpins the ethical message of the whole story. As the father says, “We have to avoid each other. Then humans and wildlife can both live. […] ‘Born wild, remain wild.’ That is the rule of nature.”

But scientists apparently get to bypass that dictum in the name of advancing knowledge. A molecular biologist friend intervenes to remove “Specimen 01,” as renamed, for further study. The idea horrifies the children, who want to see the pup reunited with his mother. So they decide to sneak Ururu out of the preservation center and embark on a journey to find the mythical Kingdom of Wolves, led by little but a hand-drawn map pulled from a storybook, and their faith that this is the right thing to do.

Basically, it’s E.T. with a fluffy little wolf dog instead of a wrinkly rubber alien, and the extraterrestrial has been internalized and domesticated — then released to repopulate this world with magic.

Given the contentious nature of wolf reintroduction programs in Japan, I was very curious about the dog star and the film’s reception. Unfortunately, I’ve been able to uncover very little information about Ururu’s background. The film’s official website is rather barren. Information drawn from Toho Films and various press releases say he was a 40-day-old hybrid pup recruited for the part. Given his age, I wonder if he was imported or born in Japan, possibly extracted from some wolf breeding and management program in Hokkaido.

I was able to find information about a dog trainer, MIYA Tadaomi 宮忠臣, who has served as the primary animal handler for numerous Japanese films. This link suggests that the full-grown Ururu now lives in a petting zoo located in Wakkanai, Hokkaido. Other residents of this place include the Akita from Stargazing Dog and the Shiba from The Tale of Mari and Her Three Puppies [two films queued for review on my never-ending list]. Kind of depressing that these dog stars don’t get to retire to pet homes after their one hit, but instead are put behind bars and displayed… that is, for anyone who cares to venture waaay out to the northernmost city in Japan.

Grown-up Ururu with dog trainer (Source: unknown photographer, http://www.wappy761.com/furusato/2011/08/)

In summary, it’s a mediocre film that gives too much screentime to the child actors and not enough effort in unpacking its own romanticized eco-agenda (as well-intentioned as it seems) or providing meaningful follow-up. Nevertheless, I thought it worth considering how the figure of the wolf is localized and packaged for mass consumption, given that their extinction has been the historical burden for longer than films have documented and mythologized their absence.

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FILM: Call of the Yukon (1938)

Tags

alaska, collies, dog movies, saint bernard, wolf dog, wolf hybrid

Film: Call of the Yukon
Director: B. Reeves Easton, John T. Coyle
Performers: Richard Arlen, Beverly Roberts, Lyle Talbot, Firefly (Collie), Swift Lightning (wolf dog), Buck (St. Bernard)
Production Info: Republic Pictures (USA), 1938
Breeds featured: Collie, wolf hybrid, Saint Bernard, various sled dogs

From the vaults of yesteryear, we have a story of a glamorous writer, Jean, camped out in the Yukon wilderness armed with her Fifth Avenue furs, her typewriter, and a ridiculous talking raven. At the peak of winter, a crew of new arrivals passes through, bringing along the corpse of the would-be game warden who unfortunately died en route. The warden’s loyal Collie, Firefly, is among the crew sent by the American government to quell the packs of wild dogs whom are said to go on killing sprees in times of famine. When they start to overrun the village, a rogue trapper Gaston takes it upon himself to guide Jean to safer quarters.

Jean Williams, intrepid female writer

Wild dogs invade the village

Meanwhile, Firefly is convinced to break her vigil at her dead master’s grave by a handsome wolf-dog, Swift Lightning. Hedging their bets with the humans, Firefly and Swift Lightning follow and eventually gain the acceptance of Jean and Gaston, despite the latter’s prejudices against Swift Lightning’s wild blood.

Firefly the Collie

Firefly snarls when Swift Lightning comes on too strong

Call of the Yukon delivers pretty standard action adventure fare with a cast that’s (barely) a notch above mediocre, a few impressive on-location sequences that are otherwise bogged down by the usual dull studio fakery, and generous amounts of highly anthropomorphized canine screen time. One notable early scene has Gaston teaming up with the locals to frantically cordon off a bunch of reindeer from a large pack of attacking wolf-dogs; some dogs actually appear to be shot in the process, leading me to wonder how much of this fictional production was riding alongside real government programs to eradicate wolves.

Cordoning off a pack of reindeer from a maelstorm of wild dogs

He's just saying hi

Is it notable for its time that Swift Lightning, the wolf hybrid who is more or less the “star” of the film, comes to a favorable conclusion? Probably not, since his symbolic value as a rather unsubtle stand-in for race and class issues plays to standard discourses that abound in early melodrama. At one point, a hotshot fur trader and rival for Jean’s attentions flies in with his Saint Bernard to help the stranded travelers. The trader, Hugo, seems intent on pairing his dog Buck with Firefly. Gaston, however, is suddenly ready to stand up for the wolf-dog whom he’s been pelting with objects for half the film. “Y’know, it’d be pretty raw if the Collie were to quit Swift Lightning now,” he says. “If he want her, why should he give her up?”

“Because he’s not her kind,” rebuts Hugo. “And the lady knows it. He’s a wolf dog, and she’s a thoroughbred.”

“Buck isn’t her breed either.”

Gaston and Jean

And that’s about as zippy as it gets. For diehard dog movie lovers, the film’s worth seeing for some cute and totally staged moments of Collie-Wolfdog bonding. Otherwise, it’s pretty forgettable. Luckily you don’t have to go out of your way to catch it on archive.org. Otherwise, you can find it on DVD as part of the Canine Collection.

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