The Honshū wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax), known in Japan as the Japanese wolf (ニホンオオカミ（日本狼） Nihon Ōkami), yamainu (ヤマイヌ（豺、犲、山犬）, "mountain dog"), or simply wolf (オオカミ（狼） Ōkami), is one of the two extinct subspecies of the gray wolf once endemic to the islands of Japan. The Honshū wolf occupied the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū in Japan. The other subspecies was the Hokkaidō wolf, native to the island of Hokkaidō.
The Honshu wolf is a prominent figure in Japanese folklore and culture.
The mountains of Japan, seen as a dangerous, deadly place, are highly
associated with the wolf. The Honshu wolf is believed to be the
protector and guardian of the mountains, where it resides in its most
remote parts.
Some villages have wolf charms called shishiyoke, that protected their village and their crops against wild boar.
Sightings of the Honshu wolf were very rare, and the wolf was described
as being more of a spirit entity protecting travelers. Some legends
bring this to a whole new level, where abandoned infants are found and
raised by the wolves. The wolves also protect surrounding villages from
the dangerous wildlife.[2]
The clan leader Fujiwara no Hidehira was said to have been raised by wolves, and the wolf is often symbolically linked with mountain kami in Shinto. The most famous example is the wolf kami of Mitsumine Shrine in the town of Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture.
The Hokkaidō wolf, known in Japan as the Ezo wolf (エゾオオカミ（蝦夷狼） Ezo Ōkami, Canis lupus hattai), an endemic wolf of Japan occupied the island of Hokkaidō. The Hokkaidō wolf was larger than the Honshū wolf, more closely approaching the size of a regular gray wolf. The Hokkaidō wolf became extinct during the Meiji restoration period. Sightings of the Hokkaidō wolf have been claimed from the time of its
extinction to the present day, but none of these have been verified.[3]
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